Meat processor heads back towards the black after shake-up

A RESTRUCTURING of its operations is helping Scotch Premier Meat, the farmer-owned meat processing business, head back into the black following two years of losses.

Falling sales of red meat and a shift by consumers towards cheaper cuts saw losses rise to more than 1.3 million last year at the Inverurie-based business, which is part of the ANM Scottish agricultural empire.

But ANM chief executive Alan Craig said a review of the business and improved trading conditions were now starting to pay dividends.

He said: "I can't guarantee the ink will be black for this financial year but we'll be pretty close to it. We've been very encouraged by the figures for the past five months which have shown a considerable improvement after two very difficult years."

Although sales grew to 53.3m last year - a rise of 15 per cent - higher operating and restructuring costs saw pre-tax losses in 2009 rise to 1.33m from 253,175 in 2008.

The deficit incurred by SPM formed the bulk of the losses recorded across ANM's meat processing operations, prompting a restructuring of both SPM and Yorkshire Premier Meat to improve competitiveness and boost returns.

In January, the company announced the closure of SPM's lamb abattoir at Dornoch and its Highland Country Foods operation at Forres, with the loss of around 50 jobs.

But 400,000 was invested in new lamb processing facilities at SPM's plant at Inverurie and Craig said throughout at the plant had increased.

Last month the group, which has 7,500 farmer shareholders, appointed two new senior managers as part of its continuing restructuring. Keith McCall joined as finance director, while Malcolm Morrison, a Caithness crofter and former chairman of NFU Scotland's livestock committee, took charge of its Charcuterie Continental subsidiary at Twechar near Glasgow.