Insider Media Limited

The Derby-headquartered company which supplies meat for Jamie Oliver's restaurant chains has recorded a hike in turnover and profit over the past year. Turnover reached £90.2m at Russell Hume after the company invested nearly £300,000 in boosting its operations.

Russell Hume provides free range chickens, Welsh and British lamb, beef and Norfolk pork to celebrity chef Oliver's Italian Restaurant chain.

It also supplies products for his Fifteen and Barbecoa bistros.

The company is headquartered in Derby with six UK operations including Birmingham, Liverpool and London. Alongside its partnership with the Jamie Oliver brand, the business provides meat, poultry and game to hotels, restaurants and pubs across the country.

Despite recording a slight turnover increase from £87.8m to £90.2m, Russell Hume described the year ending 2 April as "extremely tough".

Pre-tax profit also grew from £2.4m in 2010 to £2.6m in its latest accounts.

The company ploughed £298,000 of targeted investment funding into its operations over the year, compared to £426,000 in 2010.

Through a statement in its annual accounts, Russell Hume said: "The market remains turbulent and we have demonstrated our ability to react to changing circumstances. Profitability is being maintained along with a strengthening balance sheet, preservation of cash and focused investment into our operations."

Nineteen jobs were slashed from the payroll over the year, taking the total number of staff employed at the company to 355 at the year-end.

Eleven jobs were cut from the production line, while three and five positions were left unaccounted for in distribution and administration respectively.

"The business environment in which we operate continues to be challenging," read a statement. "With these risks and uncertainties in mind, we are aware that any plans for the future development of the business may be subject to unforeseen events outside our control. However, we will continue to show flexibility and respond to market conditions as they arise."

Over the coming year, the company said its targets remained the same as in 2010/11, with "careful expansion, maintenance of profitability and prudent cost control" on the agenda.