SHORTBREAD maker Dean's Of Huntly has grown sales by almost 10% from £6.3 million to £6.92m.
The company, which also makes biscuits and oatcakes, said its focus on the premium end of the market had helped pre-tax profits go from £537,117 to £587,308 despite large increases in the price of raw materials such as butter, sugar, and wheat flour.
Bill Dean, managing director of the Aberdeenshire business, said: "We have had a decent period in spite of a period of violent commodity price rises in the past 20 months.
"It takes months and months to filter an increase through the business to customers, but we have managed to maintain profitability. It could not carry on with the levels we have seen but thankfully in the past few months there has been more stability."
Net debt in the year to June 30, 2011, reduced from £1.19m to £817,416.
Now the company is spending £750,000 on an extension providing extra staff facilities and office space at its bakery on the edge of Huntly.
Mr Dean said: "We have been keeping a tight control on the purse strings but things are turning the corner and we are starting to invest again.
"The last thing any business wanted to do in the past few years is go to a bank looking for loan terms. But we have put money aside and are now confident enough to start spending it and looking at undertaking investments we have put on hold over the past 20 months."
There are plans to increase the number of products with the recent addition of the cheese oat nibbles range already proving successful.
Exports sales have doubled in the past 18 months and Mr Dean is keen to add to the 25 countries the firm sells into.
He added: "We have aspirations to grow that further in the next couple of years."
The accounts show directors' remuneration fell from £243,708 to £228,602 with the highest paid seeing their package stay flat at £90,588.
The average monthly number of employees increased six to 119, which led to salary and pension costs rising from £1.96m to more than £2m.
There was an ordinary interim dividend of £66,000 plus a further payment of £53,100 issued in July.
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