Profits up at Moy Park by 36% despite pandemic
POULTRY giant Moy Park has said it expects to escape any major financial hit from Covid-19 as it reported sales of £1.63bn for 2019.
The Craigavon-based firm, the biggest private sector company here, also reported pre-tax profits of £67.8m, up 36% on the year before.
Group company Moy Park Holdings (Europe) Ltd’s turnover was up 1% to £1.63bn, its accounts for 2019 show. The majority of sales — £1.2bn — were in the UK and Ireland.
The directors have proposed a dividend of £2.6m.
But the accounts reveal that orders have taken a hit in lockdown from the closure of the foodservice sector, which includes workplace canteens and restaurants.
However, retail sales through supermarkets and convenience stores have gone up.
It has also stopped non-essential costs and cut capital expenditure to maintenance and strategic projects only.
But a statement by the company within the accounts said: “With all the mitigating plans and actions in place, and despite the uncertainty of the duration of the pandemic and its economic and social consequences, we are optimistic we can recover a good portion of the financial impact of the challenges we are currently facing, and our results may not be significantly impacted when compared to prior year.”
Its workforce also increased to 10,393 from 10,307 during the year across facilities here, England, France and the Netherlands.
Around 5,500 work in Northern Ireland.
It said Brexit posed a number of challenges and that the group had put in place a Brexit steering committee to position the group for any eventual outcome.