Wester Ross Fisheries Ltd made a post-tax profit of £1.4m in 2016. Photo: Wester Ross Fisheries

Wester Ross Fisheries increases profit to £1.4m

Wester Ross Fisheries Ltd more than doubled its post-tax profit to £1.4 million in 2016, a newly-released financial statement has revealed.

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Scotland's seventh-largest salmon farmer increased turnover from £9.45m in 2015 to £14.3m last year.

Operating profit was £1.75m, more than £1m more than the £659,790 recorded in 2015.

Sales to countries outside the UK and the EU totalled £8.8m, up from £5m the year before. The value of UK sales increased from £4.2m to £5.4m, while sales to the EU were worth £50,931, down from £172,358 in 2015.

Grant income was £8,912, down from £41,816, and the Ardmair company paid £317,208 in tax.

Wester Ross operates three seawater sites in Loch Canaird, Loch Broom and Little Loch Broom. It also operates a freshwater smolt production unit at Elphin in Sutherland, a processing unit in Dingwall and a sales and administration office in Auldearn.

Although it is a relatively small producer, it harvested more than 2,000 tonnes of fish last year.

Managing director Gilpin Bradley is chairman of the Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation.