Business

Strabane oil firm cooks up another year of profitability

Frylite in Strabane enjoyed another profitable year in 2014
Frylite in Strabane enjoyed another profitable year in 2014 Frylite in Strabane enjoyed another profitable year in 2014

CO Tyrone cooking oil company Frylite has reported another profitable trading period as it heads into the north's designated year of food and drink.

The Strabane firm - which supplies, collects and recycles cooking oils for customers in Ireland, Britain and Europe - made a bottom-line profit of £876,963 in the year to the end of March.

And although this is just half as much as in the previous year (£1.64 million), the directors say they are "happy" with the results for the Frylite group and anticipate "continued profitability".

Frylite, which was founded in 1988 by Eamon McCay, its current managing director, is one of Strabane's largest employers with 194 staff on its books, according to accounts just filed at Companies House.

Its turnover in the last trading year slipped back from £30.5m to £27.5 million, and its profits fell too after it took a hit on foreign currency exchanges.

Increasing its payroll also led to the company's wages bill rising to just shy of £5 million, though the accounts show that Frylite's directors took a pay cut over the trading year.

In 2013 Frylite received Jobs Fund support from Invest NI for 19 new jobs as part of a £2 million investment to build a new waste oil treatment plant, develop new washing and drying technology and enhance its marketing activities.

At the time Eamon McCay said: “This is a very substantial expansion project for us that will enable us to consolidate our position as the market leader in the supply of fresh oils in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as help accelerate our growth in the collection and recycling of waste oils.

“The investment in waste oil processing enables us to meet new international sustainability and carbon certification requirements and to offer our customers services that help them to do so.

"It will strengthen our competitive edge and enable us to develop new business opportunities that we’ve identified in Great Britain and other parts of Europe for our waste oil services.”

The company - whose client list includes the likes of KFC, Hilton Hotels, Burger King and TGI Fridays - is currently also recruiting for new staff.

According to its website, it has opportunities right now for experienced HGV drivers, van delivery salespersons, tele-sales staff and a production supervisor at its Cork operation (Frylite has other depots in Dublin and Galway).