Leading Northern Irish meat processor Dunbia saw profits rise by more than 40 per cent last year, on turnover of £826 million.
Based in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Dunbia, which recently announced an intention to seek further investment for growth, reported pre-tax profits of more than £6.5 million in the year to 29 March 2015, up from £4.6 million the year before – an increase of around 8 per cent.
Dunbia recorded turnover of £769 million the previous year.
The group says that it is now focusing resources on new product development and volume growth in order to expand the business. It is now Northern Ireland’s second-biggest food processor after Moy Park, and among the top five largest local companies.
The business, formed 40 years ago by brothers Jim and Jack Dobson, who still own and manage the company, operates from around a dozen sites in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Dunbia exports to approximately 20 countries, and is a leading supplier of beef, lamb and pork to supermarkets throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, including Sainsbury's and Asda.
The company says, “While the group and the industry as a whole have battled fluctuating livestock prices, the group has been able to work closely with customers in retaining gross profit margin and will continue to do so.”
The group currently employs almost 4,000 people and added more than 350 during the year. It sources livestock from more than 22,000 producers across the UK and Ireland.
Pictured are Jim Dobson, OBE, group chief executive, Dunbia, and Arlene Foster, Acting First Minister for Northern Ireland.
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