The company’s annual report shows that it had sales of €301m in the year to 31 July, which is €19m less than what they made the previous year.

Known for its grassland machinery, the Austrian family-owned company said the past financial year has presented a difficult market for agricultural machinery.

The negative development of producer prices led to a considerable downturn in earnings for farmers, who in turn recorded a marked reduction in investment volume

"The demand for agricultural technology is closely linked to the development of income in farming," Pöttinger said in a statement. "The negative development of producer prices led to a considerable downturn in earnings for farmers, who in turn recorded a marked reduction in investment volume. As a consequence, machinery sales were correspondingly lower - especially in the grassland sector."

To counter the trend, Pöttinger has invested €25m in the past year to expand its headquarters, adding an additional 12,000sqm of production space.

The company employs around 1,700 people and its main markets are Ukraine, Canada, France, Japan and China.

Pöttinger declined to share details of its financial performance with the Irish Farmers Journal.

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