Profits soar at Northern Ireland meat processor Linden Foods

Linden Foods, the Northern Ireland-based meat processor, saw its profits soar last year following a difficult year in 2017.

Accounts filed in the last week by Linden for its financial year ending September 2018 show the business made operating profits of £2.1m (€2.3m), which is a fivefold increase on the £337,000 (€376,000) in operating profits it made a year previous.

Operating profit margins in the business widened from a very slender 0.2% in 2017 to a much improved, albeit still very tight, 1% margin last year. Linden made a net profit of just over £1.2m (€1.3) for its 2018 financial year, which is a significant improvement on the £161,000 (€180,000) loss it made the previous year.

Linden, which operates the largest abattoir in Northern Ireland with a capacity to slaughter up to 100,000 head of cattle and more than 200,000 head of sheep per annum, reported an annual turnover of just under £207m (€231m), which is up 4% year on year.

Linden Foods is a joint venture business split 50:50 between Northern Ireland farmer co-op Fane Valley and Larry Goodman’s ABP Food Group.