moy park - july 2023 day 1-13

Source: Moy Park 

The processor said cost rises continued into 2023 

Poultry giant Moy Park’s profitability dropped by double-digits last year, driven in part by the high cost of inflation that affected the entire poultry sector, its latest accounts have shown.

The Northern Ireland-based processor’s operating profits slumped 17% from £36.2m to £30m for the year to 31 December 2022, despite turnover rising, the processor’s latest accounts showed.

The increased input costs saw Moy Park’s cost of sales significantly swell by 20.7% to £1.68bn.

However, the JBS-owned supplier hailed an “unrelenting focus on cost control, excellent customer relationships and a culture of constant innovation”, which it claimed had helped to mitigate some of the challenges, while also driving a 2% sales increase for the business to £1.83bn.

Net assets rose by 7% to £365m, reflecting the processor’s continuing focus on investing in its infrastructure, it added.

Moy Park said 2023 had continued to present “unprecedented” cost increases in feed, utilities and labour. However, it also stressed the business’ customer models, additional price negotiations, and the recovery of the foodservice segment post-pandemic had “partially negated some of these costs”.

The company’s “strong increase in revenue reflects a commitment to our sustainable growth strategy, against the backdrop of significant inflation being felt by the sector as a whole”, said Moy Park president Chris Kirke.

“Our focus on innovation, customer excellence and efficiency helps to mitigate against these challenges, and we’re proud to continue our delivery of the highest standards of food safety and quality for customers and consumers,” he added.

“We are confident in our vision to be the best and most respected company in our industry, and we will continue to invest in this vision over the course of the year.”