FAMILY owned egg producer Glenrath Farms has booked £7.5 million of pre-tax profits in its most recent financial year.

While that was slightly down on the £7.7m posted in the prior period the directors indicated they were satisfied with the performance.

The most recent profits appear to have been trimmed by a near £150,000 rise in distribution costs along with a similar size of dip in the interest received on financial balances.

Capital spending during the year also rose from £5.5m to £7.9m with the Peeblesshire business outlining that it was continuing to invest in further free range and barn egg producing areas.

Annual accounts filed at Companies House show turnover in the 12 months to May 31, 2014, came in at £54.26m, a decline of three per cent from £56.1m which was attributed to lower feed costs dragging down prices.

The document shows the firm, which was named best large rural family business at The Herald Family Business Awards for 2014, ended the financial year in a strong position with net funds of £17.7m, an increase from £16.7m.

Average employee numbers dropped from 227 to 209 while staff costs were also down from £4.6m to £4.4m.

Directors' remuneration fell from £626,777 to £504,601 with the highest paid seeing their pay go from £222,000 to £153,500.

Writing in the accounts Glenrath chairman and founder John Campbell, whose son Ian is the current managing director, said there were now 18 direct family members working in different areas of the business.

Among those are Mr Campbell's granddaughters - Amy, Kitty and Lorna - who came up with the idea for the Kitty Campbell's free range egg brand which was launched four years ago.

Glenrath, which supplies to supermarkets including Sainsbury's, Asda and Tesco, said an egg processing plant on Millennium Farm near Eddleston was completed in December last year and will be providing pasteurised liquid egg products to the food manufacturing industry.

Mr Campbell said: "The overall cost of this investment was £6m and the board believes that this investment into a new associated product will prove to be of considerable value to the company in the future."

Glenrath now has planning consent for wind turbines at one of its farms and is assessing the feasibility of a hydro scheme at one location.

Mr Campbell began working at Glenrath Farm in 1959 with his wife Cathy where they had a Blackface sheep and beef cattle herd.