By Scott Wright
THOMAS Tunnock, the historic Scottish biscuit manufacturer, has reported a sharp rise in profits and turnover.
The Uddingston-based company, which makes and sells seven million of its famous caramel wafers every week, reported a pre-tax profit of nearly £5.5 million for the year ended February 26, new accounts filed at Companies House show.
The family-owned business, which for decades has been headed by veteran businessman Sir Boyd Tunnock, grandson of company founder Thomas Tunnock, had made a profit of £255,000 the year before, when operations were heavily disrupted by the outbreak of the pandemic. Its factory was closed for six weeks from March 24, 2020.
The new accounts show turnover at increased to £72.1m from £56.6m, while its net asset position at period end was £56.8m, an increase of £2.7m on the prior period.
Writing in the accounts, Sir Boyd, who received a knighthood for services to business and charity in 2019, said: “The financial performance has improved over the period, however, the company contributed to be negatively impacted by Covid-19 and increases in raw material costs.
“The company continued to invest in new plant with capital expenditure of £3,485,074 (2021: £5,498,152) in the period.
“This is essential to maintain our position at the forefront of the market.”
According to the accounts, Thomas Tunnock, which was established more than 130 years ago, generated £59.8m of its turnover from the UK over the period, up from £48.6m. Foreign sales were booked at £12.2m, up from £8m.
The company employed an average of 678 people during the period, up from 611, while its overall payroll costs increased to £22.1m from £20.2m. The remuneration of the highest-paid director increased to £305,986 from £289,614, which came as overall directors’ pay rose to £981,034 from £938,403.
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