MOY PARK has recorded a 60% fall in pre-tax profits to £30m in its most recently filed financial report, which covers the year to 31 December 2021.

Directors said the firm remained profitable in 2021 despite a “year of unprecedented cost increases in feed, utilities and labour”.

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The poultry integrator’s parent company, Moy Park Holdings (Europe) Ltd, grew revenues by 6% year on year, to £1.58bn.

It said it had partially offset some of the profitability challenges with trading models, customer negotiations and the recovery of the foodservice sector.

Moy Park is one of Europe’s largest poultrymeat producers, employing 9,972 people across 12 processing facilities in Northern Ireland, England, France and the Netherlands.

Last year £1.15bn of sales were derived from the UK and Ireland, while £422m were made in Europe.

In late July the firm placed a number of company-owned farms on the market on sale-and-leaseback arrangements.

Prospective purchasers would fund the refurbishment of the farms, with Moy Park then operating the sites on a 15-year lease as tenants.