Moy Park reports 60% fall in pre-tax profits
Accounts for Moy Park Holdings (Europe) for 2021 showed a dive in pre-tax profits from £75.8m, despite 6% growth in revenues to nearly £1.6bn.
Moy Park, based in Craigavon, is Northern Ireland’s largest private sector company and one of Europe’s biggest poultry producers.
It sells branded and own-label poultry to retailers and foodservice companies and also manufactures beef and pork products, vegetarian food and desserts.
The company said that its performance had been hit by high cost inflation, which had affected the whole of the poultry industry.
However, it said measures such as cost control, close customer relationships and constant innovation had mitigated some of the challenges.
The strategic report filed alongside the accounts added: “In 2022, the whole poultry food sector experienced unprecedented cost increases in feed, utilities and labour.
“Moy Park’s customer models [and] additional negotiations, together with the recovery of the food service segment, has partially negated some of these costs.”
It explained that a big chunk of the costs were attributable to ingredients used in feed production, the prices of which were affected by global supply and demand, weather patterns and government policy.
But the business said that it monitored feed price closely and took advice from experienced commodity traders. The war in Ukraine has inflated the price of grain used in chicken feed.
Of its £1.58bn in revenue at Moy Park Holdings (Europe), £1.16bn was from sales in the UK in Ireland and £422m from sales in Europe. Its biggest individual customers accounted for revenues of £415m, £229.4m and £266.4m.
The company has sites in Northern Ireland, England, the Netherlands and France. During 2021, the company’s workforce fell slightly, from 10,209 to 9,972. However, the company report said that the wage bill had gone up, from £289m to £300m.
Looking ahead, the company said: “With an experienced management team, a strong product portfolio, a well-invested asset base and a robust financial position, we remain confident in the continued success and development of the business.”
Moy Park is part of US giant Pilgrim’s Pride but is controlled by Brazilian business JBS, which owns 80% of the former.
The accounts said the company had taken measures during the year to improve its sustainability and had received globally recognised certification for soya bean traceability.
It has also placed the single largest order in the UK for natural gas trucks, to help with decarbonisation of its fleet.
