Moy Park’s pre-tax profits plunge 30%

Despite the plunge in pre-tax profit from £8.3M to £5.8M in the second quarter (Q2), Northern Ireland’s biggest employer saw revenues increase by 1.1% to £360M.

In June parent company Marfrig Global Foods agreed to sell Moy Park to the world’s largest meat packer JBS in a deal worth £944M.

‘Business as usual’​

Moy Park ceo Janet McCollum welcomed its “solid start”​ to the year even though the company faced challenging market conditions.

“While the ownership of the company will change on completion of the sale, our day to day focus remains very much business as usual and we will continue to deliver on our plans for growth," ​she said.

The revenue increase for Q2 was driven by good volume growth across Europe, with the UK and Ireland seeing underlying growth of 3%.

It was offset by lower international prices achieved for offal and dark poultry meats, as well as commodity input cost deflation and the strengthening of the pound against the euro.  

‘​Programme of infrastructure investment’​​

McCollum said the solid results resulted from the company’s commitment to deliver the highest quality product offering and its focus on controlling costs.

“We have also produced another positive cash flow while continuing our programme of infrastructure investment, which will facilitate our continued growth,”​ she said.

The sale is due to complete in the third or fourth quarter with JBS taking on Moy Park’s debt as part of the transaction. Net debt at the end of Q2 was £213M.

The deal was an important step in JBS’s strategy to grow its portfolio of prepared and convenience products with a high value-­added portfolio.

It also helps to reduce Marfrig’s debt and allows the business to focus on increasing beef exports from Brazil to Asia and the US.

Moy Park has 14 sites across the UK andrecently increased its output to 5M chickens a week, following a £170M expansion plan announced last year.