In an announcement yesterday (April 29), the business, based at Craigavon, Northern Ireland, confirmed a 10% increase in revenue to £1.2bn in the year to December 31, 2013, up from £1.09bn in 2012. Pre-tax profit had risen to £33.8M, from £24.4M in the previous year, it stated.
“The demand for locally sourced poultry from the major supermarkets in the UK and Ireland has increased,” said Janet McCollum, ceo of Moy Park, the European division of Marfrig Global Foods.
“This, together with underlying market growth reflecting the popularity of poultry meat amongst consumers, has enabled Moy Park to increase fresh poultry and convenience foods sales through successfully growing with both existing and new customers.”
Challenging trading conditions
McCollum claimed the firm had shrugged off challenging economic and trading conditions and high commodity prices to post a strong financial performance.
“We achieved strong growth across both retail and foodservice channels in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe. We were also very pleased that our own Moy Park brand gained further market penetration in Ireland.
“A major part of our success has been, and will continue to be, our commitment to the production of high quality products and striving to exceed customer and consumer expectations through innovation, food development, consumer insight and category marketing.”
Investment
The company planned to continue to grow the business through investment in farming and operational facilities.
“Through great people and strong teamwork, the business is focused on the continued improvement of all of our operations in what remain highly competitive markets,” said McCollum.
In December, Moy Park announced the creation of 450 jobs at its Anwick poultry processing site in Lincolnshire.
The firm specialises in fresh, high quality, locally-farmed poultry and complementary convenience foods. It employs more than 11,500 people working across 16 production sites in the UK, Ireland, Holland and France.