POULTRY giant Moy Park has blamed high cost inflation for diminishing profits in 2022, despite raking in an extra £305 million in revenue last year.
The Craigavon-based food group generated £1.83 billion in the year to December 31 2022.
But Moy Park said “a year of unprecedented cost increases in feed, utilities and labour” saw its costs rise across the board.
It left Northern Ireland’s biggest private sector business with a pre-tax profit of £25.6m in 2022, down by £7 million (21.6%) from 2021, and representing less than one-third of what it made two years ago.
Moy Park is one of Europe’s biggest poultry companies.
Ultimately owned by Brazilian multinational JBS, prior to the cost and inflation crisis in 2020, the Moy Park operation generated a pre-tax profit of £82.6m on sales of £1.46bn.
Commentary published alongside its latest accounts states: “Performance was impacted by high cost inflation, which affected the whole poultry industry.”
Moy Park’s latest accounts also recorded £16m in “restructuring expenses” during 2022.
Despite being one of the north’s biggest employers, the poultry giant appeared to reduce its workforce last year.
The group said it employed 9,296 people across its nine processing facilities in Northern Ireland, England and France.
That was 361 less than 2021. The decline was bigger within the UK and Ireland operation, with staff numbers dropping by 397 to 8,532.
Despite the decline, Moy Park’s total staff costs increased by 8.3% year-on-year to £313.5m.
According to the 2022 accounts, Moy Park’s highest paid director received a salary of £1.4m last year, around £300,000 more than the top earning director in 2021.
Moy Park has been headed by Chris Kirke since 2018.
Looking at the business in the current year, Moy Park said high costs continues to impact its business.
“In 2023, the whole poultry food sector has experienced unprecedented cost increases in feed, utilities and labour.
“Moy Park’s customer’s models; additional negotiations together with the recovery of the food service segment has partially negated some of these costs.”
