Fast growing producer of Good Boy dog treats Armitage Pet Care saw annual sales surge past £55m, though profits fell as it invested in growth.

Sales of the premium treats and pet products supplier for the year to 2 June were up 15.7% on the equivalent prior period to £55.2m, as it increased its retail distribution.

CEO Mark Andrews told The Grocer its sales growth had continued into the new financial year.

“Due to the strong performance of Good Boy, we are on track for another year of strong growth,” he said.

”We are going through a period of transformation that has included significant investments in capability and infrastructure that will allow us to continue to expand Armitage Petcare and continue to drive growth for the category.”

This investment partly led to pre-tax profits falling by a third to £1.3m from £1.9m in the previous 48 week period.

During the period Armitage incurred one-off costs relating to the transfer of its in-house warehousing and distribution operations to a third party provider, contributing to a rise in administration costs from £4.1m to £6.7m.

Armitage Pet Care was acquired by private equity player Rutland Partners in 2017 and has been tipped as one of a raft of private equity-owned petfood brands likely to come to market in 2020.