Donegal Meat Processors, which is owned by the Acheson family and part of the Foyle Group, recorded a €2.6m pre-tax loss for its 2016 financial year, according to accounts recently filed with the Companies Registration Office (CRO). The company made pre-tax profits of €1.8m the previous year.

Donegal reported sales of just under €93m for 2016, which was a 14% decline year on year. Having recorded operating profits of €2.3m in 2015 from profit margins of 2.2%, Donegal made an operating loss of €2.2m last year.

Donegal Meat Processers employs over 200 people at its abattoir and boning hall in Carrigans, Co Donegal, slaughtering between 50,000 and 60,000 cattle per year. The company was previously owned by Larry Goodman.

Today, it is controlled by the Foyle Group, which processes 300,000 cattle per year across nine facilities in Northern Ireland, Donegal and Britain. Despite the financial loss made by Donegal Meat Processors, the Foyle Group reported pre-tax profits of £4.1m (€4.7m) in 2016, which was a 36% increase year on year. Foyle reported a 3% increase in sales for 2016 to just over £306m (€349m).