Thanet Earth January 2009

UK-based fresh produce company Fresca has revealed a turnaround in the performance of Thanet Earth Marketing, the joint venture company which oversees operations at the country's largest glasshouse vegetable project, Thanet Earth.

The project, which last year posted a €5.04m (£4.4m) operating loss, recorded a €1.03m (£900,000) profit this time around, a figure which executive chairman Christopher Mack described as “remarkable”.

In its recently published annual report, the company put the result down to the leadership of new managing director Ian Craig and the dedication of staff at the site.

Inan upbeat overall assessment of its activities over the past financial year, Fresca announced that turnover for the year to 29 April 2011 increased 6.9 per cent to €445.8m (£389.5m), with pre-tax profits rising from €5.6m (£4.9m) in 2010 to €8.4m (£7.3m).

Proclaiming a “new era” at Fresca, Mack said the company had undertaken an internal review to identify priorities and new opportunities and this had led to the creation of a three-year strategy addressing everything from facilities and support capacity to its customer mix and product direction.

“Theprocess has been designed to help us make our business more proactive and intuitive, less reactionary and more clearly planned in advance,” Mack said.