Pig processors Cranswick Country Foods in Ballymena, Co Antrim, posted an operating profit of £7.6m (€9m) for the year ending March 2021.

This is down from £9.9m (€11.8m) the previous year on sales of £115.5m (137.5m), which were slightly below the sales of £116.9m (€139.2m) for the year ending March 2021.

The directors explained that the drop in profits was because of lower pig prices, even though more pigs were processed than in the previous year.

Staff costs were notably higher at £11m (€13m) compared with £9.4m (€11.2) the previous year and this was with the average monthly number of employees down from 431 in year ending March 2020 to 410 in the year ended March 2021.

Trade debtors have reduced from £9.7m (€11.5) in 2020 to £4.2m (€5m) in 2021, though the amount owed by group undertakings has increased from £6.8m (€8.1m) to £16m ((€19m).

Cranswick Ballymena is the second largest pig processor in Northern Ireland.