Pig processor Karro achieves multimillion-pound turnaround

Pig buyer and processor Karro Food Group is back in the black after posting an £11m improvement in profits before tax.

Turnover was £528m in the year to 31 December 2014 and profits before tax, interest and depreciation were £8m – the first time Karro has been in profit for several years.

The turnaround has been achieved within three years of a five-year plan to improve the business’ performance.

Karro is one of the UK’s biggest meat processors, supplying pork products to retailers, manufacturers and the food service sector. It processes 45,000 pigs a week and has 10,500 outdoor sows of its own at its Brydock Farms site in Aberdeenshire.

In July it clinched a deal with US fast-food giant Chipotle, which is rapidly expanding. 

Further expansion planned

The group has just launched a £10m investment programme into processing and production in its UK manufacturing facilities, with £8m of this going into its largest site in Northern Ireland.

It will be financed by cash generated from the business, but the company has just secured a £74m funding package from GE Capital and Royal Bank of Scotland to drive Karro’s international expansion and acquisitions strategy.

Speaking about the improved profits performance, Di Walker, executive chair of Karro Food Group, said: “Our firm focus moving forward is to continue this positive trajectory.

“We have an appetite to make acquisitions and this strategy will be supported by our recently announced £74m funding package.

“We also continue to be focused on organic growth and will further develop our retail and trade partnerships, as well as  expand our international customer network in markets including Australia, China, Japan, Korea and the United States.”

Karro is a privately owned company and employs 3,000 people across the UK. It has eight divisions in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.