COMMUNITIES

A salmon farming business based in Sutherland and the Hebrides has swam back into the black in its latest trading year, sparking a bonus bonanza for staff.

A total of 115 staff at Loch Duart Ltd will share £750,000 in bonuses after the business made a pre-tax profit of £8.5 million in the 12 months to end-march 2017.

The group had made a loss of £2.4m in its 2015/2016 financial year when it was hit by a jellyfish attack on Loch Duart’s Hebridean stock, which impacted both revenue and earnings for that and the prior year.

The attacks were not repeated in the latest year, when turnover leapt 60 per cent to £42.5m from £26.4m in the 2015/2016 year.

“Our last financial year featured good fish growth, better control of the biological challenges facing the whole industry and strong salmon prices,” Alban Denton, Loch Duart’s managing director, said.

“Loch Duart is a relatively small player on the salmon farming stage but we contribute significantly to the remote,

0 Left to right: Duncan Macnicol, Lewis Bennett, and Daniel Otieno

ALBAN DENTON, MD rural communities in which we operate.”

Denton said the “hard graft” of the company’s staff was turning around its fortunes. “We properly acknowledged their fantastic efforts by sharing around (the) bonus payments with all staff. It’s terrific that the benefits of producing this wonderful food flow through to the beautiful, rural locations where we work,” he added.

Denton said that the strategy was “to sell into niche markets where our brand values are appreciated and valued, whether at home or abroad”.

During 2017 the company won the award for Food & Drink Company of the Year at the Made in Scotland awards and Foodservice Product of the Year at the Scottish Food & Drink Awards.

Last week Loch Duart renewed its multi-million pound contract with Ewos, an aqua feed supplier located in Westfield, near Bathgate.

Loch Duart, which produces about 5,200 tonnes of salmon a year, has struck a three-year

“We contribute significantly to the remote, rural communities in which we operate”