A FAMILY-OWNED County Durham energy and property company says it remains in a “strong position” after shrugging off coal industry fluctuations.

The Banks Group yesterday revealed latest annual operating profit of £11m, adding it expects earnings and turnover to rise over the next 12 months.

The figure was complemented by a post-tax profit of £4.6m on the back of revenues falling from £101m to £74m, which officials say reflect a quieter period after a 2015 rush when generators stockpiled coal ahead of tax increases.

But bosses believe the company, which runs its group head office out of Meadowfield, near Durham City, remains in a good place, citing its work across the mining, wind farm and property sectors.

In particular, they pointed to a previously-announced £210m expansion package to support the building of the Moor House onshore wind farm near Barmpton, Darlington, as well as schemes in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, which are expected to start producing electricity in 2019.

However, the business’ mining division is also awaiting the outcome of a public inquiry into Northumberland County Council’s decision to approve its Highthorn surface mine proposals, which the company says would create at least 100 full-time jobs, bolster the local economy and reduce imports.

Simon Fisher, group finance director, said the firm remains confident over future operations, reiterating its profit expectations.

He added: “The overall performance is satisfactory, with a profit after tax of £4.6m.

“We are in a strong position to take advantage of opportunities across all our business areas with evidence of strong growth across the group.

“Our property division performed extremely well last year as market conditions further improved, and we expect to see our portfolio of successful planning applications and completed developments to continue to grow.

“The investment package we secured for our next three onshore wind farms is a real expression of confidence in both Banks Renewables and the wider UK onshore wind sector, and we firmly believe onshore wind will continue to play a key role in delivering lowest cost green energy for the UK.

"Global coal markets were depressed during 2016, but we saw significant corrections to market conditions in the second half of the year, with the result that price and demand for our coal in the UK has recovered strongly.

“Surface mining will remain a core part of our operations for the foreseeable future as the country continues its transition to a low carbon economy, and we see continuing demand in the UK for the high-quality coal from our mines across various markets.

"Overall, we expect to see continued development in each of our three core areas, and growth in turnover and profits both for our next financial year and in the longer term."

The company, which last year marked its 40th anniversary, completed the Lambs Hill wind farm, based near Stockton, in January.