Business

Pharma giant Norbrook sets up "Brexit Committee" as turnover eclipses £200m

Last year Norbrook saw its turnover total £206.2 million - an annual increase of £4m
Last year Norbrook saw its turnover total £206.2 million - an annual increase of £4m Last year Norbrook saw its turnover total £206.2 million - an annual increase of £4m

PHARMACEUTICAL giants Norbrook has revealed that it has set up a "Brexit Committee" to handle the potential effects the UK’s exit from the EU could have on the business.

The revelations were detailed in the firm’s annual accounts released yesterday, which saw its turnover total £206.2 million - an increase of £4m from the previous year.

Norbrook’s operating profit also rose from £34.8m to £36.3m.

Factoring in the income from shares in the group’s subsidiaries, the firm’s bottom-line profit for the financial year to the end of last July was £57m.

The company, which is based in Newry, specialises in the manufacture and sale of veterinary pharmaceutical products.

In a strategic report accompanying the accounts, the directors said that a Brexit Committee was established to "monitor developments and formulate a strategy to mitigate and manage the risks to the business that may flow from the exit of the UK from the EU."

Although they also noted that, being an exporting company, the fall in the value of sterling since the referendum was a positive, the uncertainties surrounding the ultimate outcome of Brexit have made future planning difficult.

They added: "Any restrictions to free trade or introduction of duties or tariffs which may arise in the years ahead could have a negative impact on the financial performance of the business."

The statement echoed that of chief executive Liam Nagle when he spoke to The Irish News in January.

Mr Nagle said that Norbrook would "not be making any decisions" until the process and implications of Brexit are clearer.

"Yes we’re going to be leaving the single market, but we still don’t know what exactly that will mean," he added.

"What we do know is that we as a company are growing and we will be moving forward and focusing on delivering a better service for our customers."

The average number of workers employed by the firm last year was 1,798, up from 1,710 the previous year.

Norbrook’s wage bill for the year totalled £58.9 million – an annual increase of £7.7 million. The company’s directors were remunerated to the tune of £3.2m.

The company has undergone considerable restructuring following the death of its founder Lord Ballyedmond – also known as Edward Haughey – who died in a helicopter crash at his estate in Norfolk in March 2014.

In November of the same year, the group appointed prominent Irish businessman Nagle as CEO and proceeded to remove its investments in non-veterinary pharma assets from its balance sheet, such as its shares in Cumberland Breweries.