Brett Brothers, the animal feed compounder headquartered in Callan, Co Kilkenny, returned a solid financial performance in 2015. While turnover declined by 1.3% in the year to €32.7m due to lower feed prices, Brett Brothers reported a near 2% increase in pre-tax profits to €1.14m.

Operating profits for Brett Brothers increased by a marginal 0.4% to €1.22m as operating margins were maintained at a healthy 3.7%.

In a given year, Bretts purchases between 40,000t and 50,000t of wheat, barley and oats from local tillage farmers. From this raw material, Bretts then manufacture in excess of 120,000t of animal feed each year for supply to livestock farmers in the region.

In the lead-up to the end of dairy quotas, Bretts completed a €6m investment in 2014 by commissioning a new 20,000t store for the handling, drying and storage of grain. The business has also increased its cubing capacity by more than 50% in recent years to facilitate the growing demand for animal feed.