An historic Aberdeen smokehouse enjoyed a near 35% jump in annual sales just before it was swallowed up by a Baltic food production giant.
Accounts for John Ross Jnr (Aberdeen) just released by Companies House show the firm’s turnover raced ahead to £15.2million during the 12 months to June 30, 2017, from £11.3million the year before.
But pre-tax profits slipped to £1.18million in the latest period, from £1.24million previously.
In a review of the 2016/17 trading year, the Sinclair Road-based fish processor said UK and overseas turnover were “greatly helped by the completed expansion of our premises and to the energetic efforts of the production and sales teams”.
The company, whose brick kilns have been used to process salmon since 1857, was also bullish about growing its market share.
John Ross Jnr (Aberdeen) and Gloucester-based sister company Coln Valley are now owned by Estonia-based PRFoods after a £13million-plus takeover announced last July.
It marked the end of about 30 years of family ownership led by Andrew Leigh, who remains as chairman. Two other family members – Mr Leigh’s son, Christopher, and sales and marketing director Victoria Leigh-Pearson – became directors and shareholders of a new holding company under the PRFoods umbrella.
The smokehouse, which supplies fish to the Queen, was started by John Ross in 1857. It had nearly 90 employees during 2016/17.