Profits more than halved last year at ice cream maker Mackie's as record increases in the cost of ingredients, energy and haulage have created a "challenging and unpredictable" outlook.

The family-owned company secured its highest-ever share of the UK market as it gained almost half a million customers last year across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, according to figures from Kantar Worldpanel. However, profits during the year to May 2022 tumbled by 59 per cent to £1.7 million on sales of £17.7m.

Mac Mackie – one of the three family owners who recently stepped into the post of executive chairman to make way for newly-appointed managing director Stuart Common – said it has been a "pivotal" period in the company's 111-year history.

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He credited the company's growth outside its traditional Scottish market for its success in 2022 as the overall ice cream sector shrank by 7.4%. He added that the company's early adoption of renewable energy had helped it withstand mounting cost pressures.

“It’s...been a very difficult year due to the scale of the cost increases we have been subject to," he said. "While this looks set to continue and worsen, we have robust plans in place to ensure the family business rides out the storm and is here to be successful for generations to come.”

Revenues have since rebounded to rival previous record levels of turnover, but profits are forecast to fall further in light of steep cost increases.

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Mackie's is in the final stages of installing a low-carbon refrigeration systems that will cut energy usage by up to 80%. The company has also upgraded its filling machines and improved its packaging plants.

Mr Common added: “We’ve committed to unprecedented levels of investment into our operations to make us a more efficient and sustainable business as well as being better insulated from some rising costs and position us for further future growth."