Insider Media Limited

Spalding-based JO Sims Holdings is back in the black, Insider can reveal. The company, which owns fruit producer JO Sims and property developer Stoney Street Developments, made a profit of £1.1m in its latest financial accounts – a vast improvement on its final results in 2009, when a loss of £212,757 was recorded.

Despite a dip in turnover in its 2010 year-end results, the company said it was a "very pleasing" result.

Alongside its fruit producing subsidiary JO Sims Ltd, JO Sims Holdings owns an orchard operator in the USA and several property development divisions.

The holding company, which claims to be the largest supplier of cranberries and wild blueberry ingredients in the UK, soared past the £1m sales barrier after a loss-making 2009.

Cost of sales for the year ending 31 December 2010 were slashed from £52.9m in 2009 to £43.9m. Administrative expenses were reduced by nearly £600,000 to £2.9m in 2010, while distribution costs were cut from £1.2m the year before to just over £769,863 in its latest financial accounts.

JO Sims Holdings, which also operates orchards mainly in the USA, turned over £48.7m compared with £57.5m the year earlier. The reduction in revenue was attributed to lower prices and lower volumes of fruit; a result which the company said was "in accordance with expectation for the year".

Of its three business activities, 83 per cent of the group's turnover was derived from selling fruit. A further 12 per cent came from fruit growing revenues and the remainder hailed from the company's property development division.

During the year-long period, the company disposed of its London-based Evans Granary office development, which it said "realised a further small profit". High occupation levels were maintained throughout the year at the site, reported JO Sims Holdings.

The company said that trading margins had been affected by an inherently weak sterling, which it said left the business "under continued pressure" in foreign markets.

However, the company added that its risk management policy in relation to foreign currency exposure – in particular the US Dollar - had "helped to mitigate the potential adverse margin effect".

JO Sims' US-based orchard activities had "a very good year", said the company. The overseas operation produced operating profits of £817,332 over the 12-month period, and the company said it "remained optimistic" for the orchards growth in future years.

The company owns 100 per cent of the equity in the following companies: JO Sims Ltd; Stoney Street Developments; Clink Street Properties; Dippy Ridge; Blows yard; Winchester Walk Properties and Winchester Square Properties.

The company's results were published through financial accounts posted at Companies House.