Aberdeenshire ice-cream maker Mackie's of Scotland is poised to double its output to meet its aim of scooping up a larger share of the UK market.

Managing director Mac Mackie said yesterday that investment in new machinery would soon see the firm producing up to 5,000 litres of ice cream an hour, against current output of about 2,000 litres.

The company was on course for turnover of £7million this trading year, against £6.5million during 2004-05, he added.

He was speaking after accounts from Companies House showed annual profits at the Rothienorman-based business slumped by more than half during the year to May 31, 2005.

Mr Mackie said most of the fall was a result of one-off costs, which included an exceptional charge of £122,445 to reflect more accurately the market value of the firm's milk quota.

Pre-tax profits came in at £205,269, against £513,276 the previous year.

Mr Mackie said the underlying performance was about the same as last time, when Mackie's profits soared more than fivefold after good weather, expansion into England and an increase in exports to the Far East all helped to boost sales.

Last September, the company said sales of its ice cream in 2005 had soared by 19%, hitting new heights during a record-breaking July.

The firm expected growth of 15%-20% this trading year, Mr Mackie said yesterday.

Growth in the firm's UK market, which accounts for 98% of sales, is expected to be boosted by the recent launch of a new raspberry ripple ice cream and two flavours of pure fruit "smoothies" that will start appearing in supermarkets soon.

Mackie's is celebrating its 20th year of making ice cream.

The firm scooped several awards last year to add to a rapidly growing list of industry accolades.

Last March, its green-tea ice cream won a Business Gateway International Award for exporting innovative products.

That was followed swiftly by an international honour for its range of ice creams and dairy sorbets in the Scottish Food and Drink Excellence Awards.

In what was an extremely busy year for the firm, Mackie's also launched a low-fat dairy sorbet and installed a wind turbine to power its ice-cream production plant and dairy.

Its dairy sorbets, containing less than 2% fat, are now being served in schools across the north-east as part of the Scottish Executive's Hungry for Success campaign to improve the diets of children. The company is also eyeing up China and Japan as potential new markets for international growth following a successful first foray into Asia.

Business partners in South Korea set up a network of franchise stores under the Mackie's banner after the firm's appointment as an official supplier at football stadiums during the 2002 Fifa World Cup.

The foothold in Asia has opened up the possibility of Mackie's ice cream being sold in Beijing, Tokyo and elsewhere around the Far East, as well as in Australia.

In the latest accounts, Mackie's directors said the company had continued to focus on expanding its ice-cream market.

They added that the results were very much in line with expectation.

Mackie's accounts also showed the group employed an average of 64 people during the year, up by one from the year before.

The firm paid its directors a total of £359,494 during the latest period, compared with £315,202 in the previous year.

Figures on the executive's website show that Mackie's received farm subsidy payments totalling about £114,272 for 2005.

The company, which grew out of the associated farming business, is owned by Maitland and Halldis Mackie and their family: Karin, Mac and Kirstin, who each have senior management positions in the business.
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