THE north’s highest earning company Moy Park saw its revenues rise to £1.6 billion last year, as the poultry giant’s workforce broke the 10,000 barrier.
The chicken processor saw its operating profits rise 2% to £73.4m for the 12 months to December 29 2018, with turnover rising to £1.6bn.
The bulk of its business (£120.9m) was carried out in sterling, with £38.2m (€43.4m) generated from euro sales.
The results are the first full accounts for the poultry giant since US-based Pilgrim’s Pride completed its £1bn takeover from Brazilian group JBS.
The Colorado corporation, which acquired the Irish company in September 2017, is the world’s second largest chicken producer.
The results, which span Moy Park’s 75th year, saw the chicken processor embark on a £43m investment programme over the 12 months.
Moy Park’s president Chris Kirke said earlier this year that the firm would aim to increase that spend to £45m in 2019.
The company, which originated in Co Tyrone employs around 6,000 of its 10,061 staff across its principal factories in Dungannon, Craigavon and Ballymena. The remainder of its workforce are spread throughout Meath, England, France and the Netherlands. In all, it operates nine processing facilities in Europe.
The poultry giant paid out £272.6m in staff costs across the group during 2018, some £19m more than in 2017, with 222 more people on its books last year.
Moy Park processes around six million fresh chickens each week and some 600,000 turkeys per year,
The company said that it maintained its zero waste to landfill policy during 2018, with overall food waste reduced by more than 1,000 tonnes last year.
Despite the profit and turnover growth, Moy Park said that it is operating in “a changing competitive landscape and a market still facing significant commodity cost inflation”.
Feed prices remains a major factor for the group, with a significant portion of Moy Park’s costs attributable to the ingredients used in feed grain. The company said the costs can be affected by global supply and demand, weather patterns and government policies.
Addressing Brexit, Moy Park’s latest company report states: “As with any UK business, Brexit presents a number of challenges.
“The group has access to a global supply chain and expertise to meet these challenges. The group put in place a Brexit steering committee following the EU referendum result, which is focused on positioning the group for the eventual outcome.
“The group is focused predominantly on domestic markets which will help reduce any such impact.”
