The owner of Cockermouth brewer Jennings has returned to profit, and predicts a bright future for its breweries. 

Marston’s made £31.3m before tax in the year to October 3, turning around a £59.2m loss in 2013-14. 

Turnover was 7.8 per cent higher at £815.3m. 

The proposed final dividend of 4.5p takes the total dividend for the year to 7.0p, an increase of 4.5 per cent. 

During the year, Marston’s completed a transformation programme that has seen it dispose of 450 pubs since 2013. 

It now has around 1,600 pubs and employs 13,500 people. The brewing division, which includes Jennings, acquired the beer business of Thwaites in April including the Lancaster Bomber and Wainwright brands. 

Marston’s says this helped boost brewing revenue by 27.6 per cent to £169.1m, while underlying profits from brewing grew to £20.7m. 

Overall ale volumes jumped by 15 per cent but would still have increased cent even without the Thwaites’ acquisition. 

The company said: “In brewing, we have continued to outperform the market with our growing portfolio of market-leading brands. 

“Our focus remains on growing our portfolio of premium and regional beers, as this is the growth segment of the market, and we believe in the importance of local provenance backed up by significant distribution capabilities.” 

It added: “Regionally, we support local brands through sponsorship of events including Keswick Jazz Festival.” 

Marston’s other regional breweries include Banks’s, Wychwood, Ringwood, Brakspear and Mansfield. 

In total, it has a near 20 per cent market share of the premium cask ale and premium bottled ale markets. 

The company expects only a “moderate” impact from the introduction of the National Living Wage in April. 

The new minimum rate of £7.20 an hour applies only to workers aged 25 and over – 60 per cent of Marston’s employees are under 25. 

The company, then known as Wolverhampton & Dudley, acquired Jennings in 2005. 

It has invested more than £2m since the takeover, building defences after the Castle Brewery flooded in 2009 and installing new fermenting vessels to boost capacity.