By Gordon Deegan
Revenues recovered for the second half of last year at meat processor, Arrow Group, due in part to the shift to home cooking during the pandemic.
That is according to new accounts for the Queally family-owned Waterford headquartered company, where pre-tax profits last year more than doubled to €25.9 million.
The 123% increase in pre-tax profits came in spite of revenues decreasing marginally from €591.45 million to €583 million in the 12 months to January 3, 2021.
Covid-19 closure at Arrow Group
During the early stages of the pandemic, the group had one of its plants temporarily shut down after over 50 cases of Covid-19 detected among the workforce, at the Irish Dog Foods plant in Naas, Co. Kildare.
In the directors’ report, the emergence of Covid-19 impacted the business initially through the shutdown of the foodservice sector in quarter 2.
The directors add: “However, demand and related production volumes recovered during the remainder of the year, in part reflecting the shift to home consumption caused by the pandemic-related restrictions in Ireland and the UK. This trend has continued into 2021.”
Trading in 2020
The directors state that 2020 “has delivered a positive trading year for the group despite the ongoing challenges in the foodservice sector following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
They state that the performance “is attributable to continuing activity with new and existing customers and new product lines across all key markets”.
Numbers employed at the group decreased from 2,021 to 1,974 last year and staff costs reduced slightly from €82.8 million to €81.28 million.
The accounts disclose that the employer received €6.64 million in government Wage Subsidy Scheme payments in 2020.
The sharp rise in profits is mainly attributable to non-cash impairment charges of €7.7 million in 2019 not reoccurring last year, and the €6.64 million in wage subsidy scheme payments appearing as ‘other operating income’ in the group’s profit and loss account.
The profit last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €18.4 million.
Management and directors
Six directors – John Queally; Peter Queally; Michael Queally; Marie Crowley; Ivor Queally; and Liam Queally – served on the board during the year and directors’ pay reduced from €927,675 to €852,610.
Key management pay for last year totalled €2.35 million and this compared to €2.59 million in 2019.
On January 3, this year, the group had shareholder funds of €202 million that included accumulated profits of €181.53 million.
The group’s cash funds more than doubled from €20 million to €43.8 million.
In a post balance sheet event, the group declared and paid a dividend of €4.5 million in the first quarter of this year.
The directors also confirm that the group sold its interest in a subsidiary, Glenpatrick Natural Mineral Watercoolers Ltd. and an associate, AquaDirect creating a profit of €4 million.