Food group Donegal Creameries has reported a sharp drop in pre-tax profits for the first half of this year, with the company saying trading conditions remained difficult in many of its businesses.
Turnover fell 16.5% to €54.5m, mainly due to the exclusion of sales from mushroom operations following the merger of Carbury and Monaghan Mushrooms last year. Pre-tax profits fell by 68% to €1.2m.
In the dairy division, two small acquisitions boosted turnover marginally, but lower liquid milk sales led to a drop in profits. In the agricultural and other trading sector, profits and sales fell in the group's animal feed mill and agri-trading stores, while there were also seasonal losses in the potato operations.
Donegal said profits from the mushroom business were in line with the previous year and the merger of Carbury and Monaghan Mushrooms was going well. This business is now treated as an associate, leading to its exclusion from the group's turnover figure.
