Nitrofert sees profits fall in 2016

Profits at Nitrofert, the New Ross-based fertiliser importer and distributor, fell 4% last year. The family-owned company reported operating profits of €1.3m for the year ended 31 December 2016.

Turnover at the company was down 5% during the period to €29.1m. Operating margins were 4.4%. Net assets at year end were €10.6m. The company employed 17 people in 2016 with a total staff cost of €666,798.

Founded by Eamonn Galavan 20 years ago, the business was built on importing Russian prilled fertiliser, mainly 27-2.5-5. It has since expanded to provide the full range of products including blends to distributors across Ireland.

Arvum Group doubles profit

Recently filed accounts for the Arvum group, which is owned by the Power family, show that operating profits more than doubled to reach €824,911 for the year ended 30 June 2016. Turnover decreased 2.5% to €26.9m in the same period. The Waterford-based company made a pre-tax profit of €764,610 during the 2016 financial year. Operating margins increased from 1.2% to 3% during the year. The company had net assets of €7.9m at year end.

The majority of the company’s turnover is derived from Ireland, with about €2.8m of sales generated in Europe. The company invested €110,601 in R&D, slightly lower than the €141,921 it invested in 2015.

The group employs 35 people across its companies which include Seed Technology, Forage Systems, Trident Nutrition, Advanced Fertiliser and Biacert. Seed Technology has a joint venture with DLF Trifolium, the Danish grass and clover seed producer. It has a research site in Waterford with more than 3,000 grass plots where 1,500 varieties are tested.

Grain importer sees profits rise 15%

Family owned Comex McKinnon, one of Ireland’s largest grain importers, reported a 15% rise in operating profits to reach €1.3m for the year ended 31 July 2016.

The company, which is owned by the Hunt family, saw turnover rise 5% to €138.3m during the year, while pre-tax profits increased to €1.7m. The business, which employs 16 people, made a thin 1% operating margin.

Total staff costs amounted to €1.1m. Net assets were €8.9m at year end. The business is involved in the trading, importing and exporting of grain in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland imports around 2.5m tonnes of feed every year.

Minch Malt reports 2016 profit increase

Minch Malt, the Athy-based grain business now owned by Boortmalt, reported a 10% rise in profits for the year ended 30 June 2016. It made an operating profit of €2.5m in its financial year.

Turnover increased 4% to €57.6m. Operating margins increased from 4.2% in 2015 to 4.4% in 2016.

The company, which is ultimately owned by French Co-operative, Société Coopérative Agricole Axereal, made a pre-tax profit of €2.6m and had net assets of €38.7m at year end. Staff costs amounted to €1.1m, while the company also paid a dividend to its owners of €1.9m during the year. It received government grants of €349,527 in 2016.

A separate company, Minch Sales Ltd, which relates to the agri-trading of fertilisers and other agricultural inputs, had a turnover of €5.7m for the year ending 30 June 2016. This is a 30% increase on the same period last year. The business made an operating loss of €92,825, down from a €145,767 loss it made in 2015. Staff costs which related to 20 people amounted to €764,120 during the year.

Boortmalt, the Belgium-based malt group, purchased Minch Malt from Greencore for €116m in 2010. It is Ireland’s oldest and largest malt producer for the brewing and distilling industry and supplies companies such as Diageo with malt. It has around 600 growers across eight counties in Ireland. It recently announced it will add 30,000t of malting capacity at its Athy site.

AW Ennis profits increase in 2016

Operating profit at animal feed company AW Ennis increased 25% to €2.1m for the year ended 31 December 2016. The Virginia, Co Cavan-based company saw turnover modestly fall (down 1%) to €59.8m. Operating margins were 3.5% for the year. The company made a pre-tax profit of €2.0m.

Net assets were €22.8m at year end. The company employs 50 people and total staff costs amounted to €2.3m in 2016.

The mill at Virginia produces over 200,000t of animal feed per year.

Profits increase 25% at Malting Company of Ireland

Malting Company of Ireland, the 50:50 joint venture between Dairygold and Glanbia, saw a strong improvement in profits for its 2016 financial year, according to accounts recently filed with the companies office. Malting Company of Ireland recorded a 25% increase in pre-tax profits to €500,283. As recently as 2014, the company had racked up pre-tax losses of €2.35m.

Malting Company of Ireland saw operating profits increase 20% in 2016 to just under €528,000, with the net assets of the company now valued at €6.9m. No turnover or sales figures are reported for the financial year. Malting Company of Ireland employed 13 people last year, while remuneration for key management in the business came to €370,235.

Malting Company of Ireland is supplied with about 30,000t of malting barley every year from Glanbia and Dairygold. The Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society (IAWS) also previously held a stake in the company until Glanbia and Dairygold came together in 2012 to buy out this stake.

In 2016, Malting Company of Ireland purchased grain and other services valued at €4.1m from Dairygold and €3.9m from Glanbia. The company then turns this barley into a range of malt products for supply to the brewing and distilling sectors.

Malting Company of Ireland has a number of well-known customers including Diageo, Irish Distillers, as well as a number of craft breweries.

Fermoy-based McDonnell Brothers see profits rise

Operating profits increased 30% to €1.02m at McDonnell Brothers, the agri-trading business based outside Fermoy, Co Cork. Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 reveal that turnover fell 5% at the company to reach €28.7m. Operating margin was 3.5%.

The company, which operates across three sites – Fermoy, Glanworth and Midleton – made a pre-tax profit of €920,000, while net assets were €14m.

McDonnell Brothers is one of the largest independent agri suppliers in Munster with a base of over 3,000 farmer customers. The directors of the company are Denis McDonnell, John McDonnell, Colm Griffin and Tim Looby. It employs 40 people where the total staff cost was €1.99m.

Profits down at Quinns of Baltinglass in 2016

Quinns of Baltinglass, the Wicklow-based privately owned agri merchant reported operating profits of €2.8m – down 10% for the period ending 30 June 2016. Turnover also fell at the group, down 2.5% to €107.8m. Operating margins were 2.6% and the business recorded a pre-tax profit of €2.5m.

Its agri-trading division accounted for the majority of turnover at €92m, while its feed manufacture and distribution business had a turnover of €12m. Its cereal and seed dressings business reported a turnover of €3m.

Quinns, which celebrated 80 years in business this year, employs over 180 people. Total staff costs amounted to €4.6m. Quinns is one of the largest buyers of grain in the country, purchasing almost 200,000t of grain annually. It produces over 50,000t of animal feed annually.

The company has six agri stores in its branch network across four counties: Baltinglass and Avoca (Co Wicklow), Naas and Athy (Co Kildare), Milford (Co Carlow) and Geashill (Co Offaly).

Liffey Mills reports decline in profits

The company behind Liffey Mills, the Tipperary-based feed and grain merchant, reported a 1.7% fall in operating profits to reach €2.3m for the year ended 30 June 2016. Labtop Ltd saw turnover fall 1.5% to €77.5m. Of this, €13.1m turnover related to its share in the Drummonds joint venture which was ended last year when Liffey decided to sell its stake in the business.

In 2015, Liffey Mills received €375,499 in operating profit from this JV. It did not receive any profit share during the 2016 financial year. Overall, the business, which is owned by Barry Liffey, Pat Ryan and John O’Grady, recorded a 3% operating margin and a pre-tax profit of €2.3m. Liffey Mills which operates from six locations, employs 75 people across its branch network. Last year it opened a new branch in Ennis, Co Clare.

Drummonds profits slip 20% in 2016

Freshmills Holdings, the company behind the grain business Drummonds, reported an operating profit of €1.3m, down 20% on the prior year, for the year ended 30 June 2016. The company is a 50:50 joint venture between Freshgrass Investments (which is owned by Liam Woulfe and Thomas Browne) and Tipperary-based, Liffey Mills.

Last September, following a review, Liffey Mills decided to sell its shareholding to its joint venture partners Freshgrass for an undisclosed sum.

The company, which purchases more than 100,000t of native grain, saw turnover fall 5% to €52.5m in 2016 to make a pre-tax profit of €1.2m during the year.

Net assets at the business amounted to €13m. The company had sales of €2m in Northern Ireland. The company, which operates from six locations across Louth, Meath and Kildare, employs 49 people. Staff costs amounted to €2.2m during the period.

In February this year, Drummonds established a new agribusiness, based out of Flynn’s premises in Mullingar called Drummonds-Flynn Agri.

Rednut pet food business reports 12% rise in profits

Rednut, the pet food joint venture between the Queally family and Connolly’s Red Mills, reported a 12% rise in operating profits to €715,729 for the year ended 3 January 2016.

The Kilkenny-based business made a pre-tax profit of €674,268. No turnover is reported for the company. However, sales are noted to William Connolly & Sons of €6.3m and €18.2m to Irish Dog Foods Limited, which is controlled by the Queally family.

Operating from a state-of-the-art petfood manufacturing facility in Gowran, the company employs more than 40 people. The company’s current directors are Peter Queally, Liam Queally, Bill Connolly and Joseph Connolly.

Profits increase at Tullow Mushrooms

Tullow Mushrooms, which is owned by the Codd family, saw pre-tax profits increase more than 40% for its 2016 financial year to €1.25m. The Carlow-based business saw operating profits also increase 40% to just under €1.3m, as profit margins widened from 9.1% to a very robust 11.9%.

Tullow reported an 8% increase in sales for the year to €10.7m, while the net asset value of the business increased slightly to €5.4m.

The company employs almost 190 people, the majority of whom are mushroom pickers.

The biggest cost to the business is the compost for growing mushrooms. The cost of this compost in 2016 came to €3.2m, which was up 5% from the previous year.

Hi-spec Engineering made loss in 2016

Hi-spec Engineering, the company known for its diet feeders and slurry equipment, reported a loss of €256,332 for the year ended 31 December 2016. The business has accumulated profits of €3.1m.

Owned by the Nolan family, it does not disclose turnover for the year. Net assets were €9.8m at year end.

The company, which manufacturers from Bagnelstown, Co Carlow, employed 44 people in 2016.

Established in 1988, Hi-Spec has a worldwide customer base with its main markets in Europe, Russia, Iceland, New Zealand and South Africa.

Mash profits fall

Northern Ireland agri-food company Mash Direct reported a 7% decline in pre-tax profits to just over £1m (€1.2m) for its financial year to the end of February 2017. Accounts recently filed with the companies office show the family-owned business grew sales by 7% in the year close to £16m (€18.2m).

Operating profits at Mash Direct declined 7% in the year to £1.2m (€1.4m), as profit margins tightened from 8.6% to a still very healthy 7.5% last year. Earnings (EBITDA) stood at £2.1m (€2.4m). Based in Co Down, Mash Direct employs over 170 staff and sources vegetables and produce from 63 farmer suppliers.

The business was established in 2004 by Martin and Tracy Hamilton on their family farm and has grown rapidly after winning supply contracts to the likes of Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrison’s. Almost half of the company’s sales come from the UK mainland and this is set to grow in the years ahead.

Mash Direct announced new supply deals in early 2017 with Morrison’s and Asda that will see the company expand its reach within the UK market.