Saputo Inc (SAP.TO)  boosted its dividend and reported a larger quarterly profit on Tuesday, citing higher year-over-year dairy prices.

The dividend will edge up to 16 cents per share from 15 cents, payable on Sept. 15.

For its fiscal first quarter, net income rose 13 per cent to $200.3 million, or 51 cents a share, from $176.7 million, or 44 cents, a year earlier.

Revenue during the quarter, which ended June 30, rose 9.9 per cent to $2.9 billion.

Analysts were expecting Saputo to earn 52 cents per share on revenue of $3 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Saputo's shares rose 2.3 per cent to $43.25 in Toronto.

The Montreal-based company, whose brands include Dairyland milk and Armstrong cheese, is also among the biggest cheese producers in the United States.