Poultry company Moy Park has recorded revenue of £2.03 billion for 2023, up 10.7% on the previous year (£1.83 billion).
Moy Park, which is Northern Ireland’s largest private sector business and one of Europe’s leading poultry producers, also said that operating profits rose by 151% to £75.3 million (2022: £30 million).
The company, which was acquired by US-based Pilgrim’s Pride Group in 2017, said that market conditions continued to be challenging last year.
However, it pointed to operational improvements and securing contracts with key customers which resulted in “increased profitability” for the company.
Profit after tax in 2023 was recorded at £55.8 million, up from £19.8 million a year previously.
“Unrelenting focus on cost control, excellent customer relationships and a culture of constant innovation in an ever changing competitive landscape mitigated some of these challenges,” the company said.
Moy Park
Moy Park said that being part of the Pilgrim’s Pride Group offers “great opportunities” to the company to continue and accelerate its journey in delivering further growth and operational efficiency.
“With an experienced management team, a strong product portfolio, a well invested asset base and a robust financial position, we remain confident in the continued success and development of the business,” the company said.
Moy Park began as a “modest farming company” in 1943 in Moygashel, a small village and townland in Co. Tyrone.
The financial results show the Moy Park had net assets of £420 million in 2023, an increase of 15% on 2022 (£365 million).
Along with supplying chicken to retailers and food service outlets, the company also produces beef and vegetarian products and desserts.
The company deals with 700 farms and has 35 million chickens on the ground at any given time.
Costs
In 2023, Moy Park employed 8,636 people, down from 9,296 in the previous year, across 9 processing facilities in Northern Ireland, England and France.
Staff costs for the the year stood at just over £303 million, down from £313 million in 2022. Directors’ costs rose from £1.8 million to over £2.1 million last year.
The financial report notes that a significant portion of Moy Park’s costs are related to the ingredients used in feed production which can be impacted by “global supply and demand, weather patterns and government policies”.
The company said it monitors feed price carefully and uses forward purchasing agreements where possible to manage the impact of adverse price movements.
Moy Park said that it mitigates against the risk of avian influenza (bird flu) by “maintaining robust biosecurity measures”, while farms are spread across “a large number of areas” in Northern Ireland and England “to avoid reliance on a single production area”.
Looking ahead, Moy Park said that 2024 is continuing to show positive progress for the company with a “focus on innovation and effective cost control”.
