The owner of the Port of Liverpool and the Manchester Ship Canal has recorded a tenfold increase in pre-tax profits.

Peel Ports’ latest accounts filed at Companies House show that profit before tax in the 12 months to March 2015 was £40.6m, up from £3.9m notched up in the previous year.

The profit improvement came despite a small fall in turnover, which was £616.1m, down from £623.7m a year earlier.

In addition to the Port of Liverpool and the Manchester Ship Canal, Peel also owns or operates ports in Heysham, the River Clyde, Kent, Great Yarmouth and Dublin and it owns shipping line BG Freight Line. The group attributed the profits surge to the strong performance of its port operations, but blamed currency fluctuations in its shipping services arm for the dip in turnover.

Cargo tonnage passing through Peel’s facilities around the UK rose 2.6%. In the accounts, the company’s directors state: “Ports continued to deliver turnover and profit growth, underpinned by a diversified service offering and customer base, long term contracts and a significant level of guaranteed revenue.

“Turnover was lower in shipping, which was impacted by a higher euro to sterling exchange rate during the year, and Marine Support Services, a lower gross margin division.”

Peel Ports is 50.1% owned by Isle of Man based John Whittaker’s Tokenhouse. The remaining 49.9% stake is held by Deutsche Bank.

Source: LiverpoolEcho