The private company owned by the well-known Queally family from Co Waterford saw its profits collapse by almost 40% last year to less than €12m.

Accounts filed this week for Arrow Group, which is the name of the business owned by the Queally family that acts as a holding company for the family’s wide array of business interests, show the company reported a 39% fall in pre-tax profits to just over €11.6m, despite a 7% increase in sales close to €0.6bn.

Operating profits

Operating profits in the business slumped 33% to just under €13m, as profit margins in the business narrowed from 3.5% in 2018 to just 2.4% last year. The company attributed the fall in profits to a €7.6m write-down in the value of stocks and other assets.

Arrow Group employs over 2,000 people

Despite the drop in profitability, shareholder funds in Arrow Group grew to more than €186m by the end of last year.

Arrow Group employs over 2,000 people across its various operations and paid out close to €83m in wages and pension contributions last year.

Dawn Meats

Through Arrow Group, the Queally family are the 64% controlling shareholders in beef processor Dawn Meats, as well as the 90% majority shareholder in Kildare-based prepared foods business, Dawn Farm Foods.

The Queallys also own QK Meats and Naas-based pet food business, Irish Dog Foods, which was recently shuttered following an outbreak of COVID-19 among employees.

Outside of these core businesses, the Queallys also have interests in a wide array of companies involved in everything from food solutions to property and even bottled water.

The accounts also show that Dawn Farm Foods shelled out just under €18.7m in October last year to acquire a family-owned German business

The accounts filed for Arrow Group show the Queally family paid themselves a €1.85m dividend last year, which is a significant drop on the €7.5m paid out last year.

Arrow Group spent almost €4m on R&D projects last year, which helped increase net debt for the company close to €63m.

The accounts also show that Dawn Farm Foods shelled out just under €18.7m in October last year to acquire a family-owned German business called Haas GmbH, which specialises in making cooked and fermented meats for the pizza sector in Germany.

Dawn Farm Foods is the largest pizza topping supplier in Europe, thanks to major contracts with blue-chip customers such as Pizza Hut.