Carr’s Milling Industries said it has weathered storms and fire as it delivered annual results ahead of expectations last month.

The Carlisle-based agriculture and food company said its Silloth flour mill lost three months’ sales due to damage left by the local McVitie’s biscuit factory in floods in January, as well as the fire that destroyed the New Rathbones bakery in Carlisle in February. But the acquisition of the Meneba mil-ling business, which has two mills in Kirkcaldy, Fife, and Maldon, Essex, has been successful, doubling the size of Carr’s flour milling operation.

Carr’s also bought various assets from the administrators of animal feed firm W & J Pye in 2005. This allowed it to rationalise and close mills at Black-burn, Penrith and Shrewsbury.

Prospects for further growth are good, with flour trading strongly and the group’s engineering division continuing to improve its performance, chairman Lord Inglewood said.

The company said pre-tax profits in the year to Septem-ber 3 were up by 19.8% to £6.14 million on turnover ahead by 23.4% at £192.1m.