Glanbia shares are trading at a 20-month high, reaching €18 for a period this morning (Wednesday).

The share price surge comes after a period of volatility over the last two years, which saw prices fall below €13.50 last April.

Shares in the global nutrition group previously hit highs of almost €20 in March 2017 after the announcement of its joint venture with Glanbia co-op to create Glanbia Ireland.

The co-op now owns 31.5% of the plc and based on a share price of €17.80, the co-op's shareholding is currently valued at almost €1.7bn.

Today the company announced its 2018 performance which reported a 9% adjusted earnings per share growth. Revenues increased 4.1% to €2.4bn on the prior year, while profits (EBITA) increased 5.2% to €284.9m. Margins increased 10 basis points during the year.

Glanbia's performance nutrition business reported revenue growth of 9.5%, with like-for-like branded volume growth of 9.2%. Profits (EBITA) in its performance nutrition business increased 6.7% to €173.1m in 2018.

Ingredients business Glanbia Nutritionals reported a 0.6% fall in revenues in 2018. However, profits (EBITA) increased 3% to €111.8m.

During the year, Glanbia completed the acquisition of SlimFast for $350m. It also announced today that it had agreed to acquire Watson, a US based non-dairy ingredient solutions business, for $89m.

Its share of profits from its joint ventures, which includes Glanbia Ireland and Glanbia cheese increased by €2.5m to €45.3m in 2018.