FDBusiness.com

Aided by strong sales volume growth of 6.7%, Moy Park, which is one of Europe’s leading prepared food products and poultry producers, has reported a 1.4% increase in revenue to £1.442 billion for the year ended 2 January 2016 in spite of the adverse currency factors, commodity price deflation and lower international sales prices partially offsetting sales volume growth.

Underlying EBITDA increased by 4.4 % to £116.2 million in 2015 and margins improved by 30 basis points to 8.1%. The improvement in margins was the result of increased operating efficiencies and Moy Park’s ongoing focus on cost control which more than offset the lower prices on international sales.

Underlying profit before tax increased by 2.0 % to £45.5 million. Profit before tax, including exceptional costs of £12.5 million, fell by £22.9 million against the prior year, to £9.4 million. Net debt at £154.0 million was down by 5.5% from the prior year with leverage (Net Debt/EBITDA) improving from 1.51 times at the end of 2014 to 1.38 times in 2015.

Janet McCollum, chief executive of Moy Park, comments: “We are pleased to announce a strong 2015 full year financial performance in the face of challenging global market conditions. The company achieved 6.7% volume growth and increased underlying profit before tax. This strong performance was delivered against the backdrop of a highly competitive market, foreign exchange headwinds, commodity price deflation and export restrictions. One of the highlights for the business was processing, for the first time, over 5 million chickens per week, which is a significant milestone.

Reflecting its continued growth in sales, Northern Ireland-based Moy Park has commenced a £170 million expansion programme across its three Irish sites at Dungannon, Craigavon and Ballymena. The investment, which entails the installation of additional processing lines and the establishment of an Innovation Centre to drive new product development, as well as Financial Services – a new role for the Craigavon site, will result in the creation of 628 new jobs over a four year period.

Janet McCollum adds: “As part of our £170 million strategic investment programme, the company invested £28 million in our industry-leading operations, securing Moy Park’s position as one of the UK’s most advanced food manufacturing companies. A further £30 million was invested in our agricultural base through our farming partners. Positive cash flow throughout the year enabled us to do this whilst reducing net debt.”