Dunbia, the Northern Ireland-based meat processor, reported a 5% decline in turnover to £787.5m (€906m) for its financial year to the end of March 2016. The decline in turnover was mainly a result of falling livestock prices through the 2015/2016 year.

Despite the drop in sales, pre-tax profits at Dunbia increased 9% to just under £7.2m (€8.2m). Operating profits for the meat processor saw a 3% increase to £9.2m (€10.6m) as margins widened slightly to a slender 1.17%.

Management at Dunbia attributed the wider profit margins to improvements in productivity.

Loans and other borrowings in the business were also reduced in 2016 – down from £92m (€106m) in 2015 to £65m (€75m) in 2016.

Set up in 1976 by brothers Jim and Jack Dobson, Dunbia employs almost 3,800 people over 13 sites in the UK and Ireland and trades in over 36 countries. It slaughters and processes around 350,000 cattle across the UK and Ireland. It also processes up to one million lambs.