Operating profits at Gibson O'Neill nearly trebled to £14.7m last year despite the impact of Covid - though remain well below pre-pandemic levels.
The company - which brings together the football club, chemicals transport firm Bulkhaul and luxury hotel Rockcliffe Hall - showed that turnover dipped from £218m to £213m in the year to June 30, 2021.
Annual accounts - including figures restated from 2020 - show Covid impacted the firm's football and hospitality businesses most, with turnover falling from £19.2m to £14.3m at loss-making Middlesbrough FC and from £7m to £4.7m at Rockliffe, which also reported operating losses earlier this year.
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Earlier this week Bulkhaul reported a rise in turnover to £194m and record pre-tax profits of £44.7m as it highlighted that it continued to build up its tank container fleet.
Writing in a report accompanying the accounts, director Steve Gibson said the outlook for Bulkhaul was confident and that while Covid posed challenges it had responded well.
Middlesbrough FC finished the 2020/21 season tenth in the league, and Mr Gibson said the club would keep control of operating costs to make as much income as possible available to the team, and reaffirmed its ambition for promotion to the Premier League.
In the report, he said: "Rockliffe was severely impacted by Covid 19 related issues including full and partial lockdown closures, to short periods of parts of the business being closed due to Test and Trace being applied to staff who were required to isolate.
"The directors took a decision in October 2020 to close the business until May 2021. As in the previous Covid-affected year, prior year ended June 30, 2020, the business and operating expenses were reduced to a minimum and payroll was assisted through the Government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, with only essential staff retained for the closure periods.
"The final quarter of the year, once the business was re-opened, benefited from the UK 'staycation' market. Since re-opening in May 2021 there has been a positive impact on profitability with advance bookings in-particular showing growth not just against the two 'closure' related years but in terms of previous overall historic level. The directors are aware the UK 'staycation' market will subsequently settle at a lower level as the international market recovers but believe the business is now in position to maintain strong returns going forward."
During the year, Gibson O'Neill - which employs about 920 people in total - made use of £1.8m funding from the Government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme as well as £1.1m of Premier League grants.
The highest paid director - unnamed in the accounts - was paid £655,000 during the period, down from £807,000 previously.
