Fresh fruit supplier Dole Fresh UK has posted an increase in operating profits for the second year running since its return to profitability in 2008.

Operating profits for the year stood at £626,000 compared with £384,000 in 2008, with turnover up from £123m to £126m. Net profit for the financial year was down from £607,000 to £450,000, largely because the company received less income from interest. Dole Fresh UK returned to profitability in 2008 after posting a loss of £2.1m in 2007.

The trading environment remained tough, with UK retailers competing to deliver lowest-priced fruit and consumers trading down, the company's directors said in accounts filed at Companies House this week. Retailers were also increasingly sourcing ­produce directly.

"These factors have put considerable pressure on margins at a time where foreign currency rates remain turbulent," they said.