Annual sales at Moy Park declined 7.7% year-on-year to £4.6bn in the 12 months to 31 December 2020, following a year the company described as “extremely challenging”.
Operating profits, before exceptional items, during the same year were up 15% to £86.2m, a result it achieved due to an “unrelenting focus on cost control”.
Cost mitigation measures combined with operational improvements had offset the additional £12m in costs directly associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. These costs included funding PPE, modifying factory layouts, temperature checks, lateral flow tests, and a sick pay scheme for employees who were self-isolating.
In 2020, Moy Park employed 10,209 people across 12 processing sites. During 2020, the company formed a Brexit Steering Committee to prepare for the future relationship between the UK and EU. The company said it welcomed the trade deal that had been agreed late last year between the two blocs and now did not consider Brexit a standalone risk.