Arrabawn sales up to €126.8m

SALES at Arrabawn Co-op increased marginally to €126.8 million in 2004 from €125.7m in 2003, the firm disclosed yesterday.

Shareholders at the firm’s annual general meeting in Nenagh yesterday were told pretax profits fell from €3.82m in 2003 to just €520,988 last year but the 2003 results were boosted by once off gains of €4.32m which included the sell-off of IAWS shares and property.

The society, formed from the merger of Nenagh and Midwest co-ops, recorded a trading profit of €960,941 just behind the €1.01m earned in 2003.

Sales in the dairy division were up by almost 2% to €88.2m and sales in the trading division of €35.5m were the same as last year’s €35.67m.

Society chairman Patrick McLoughlin said that the Arrabawn balance sheet is very sound with assets of €26.8m with little recourse to bank borrowings.

Mr McLoughlin pointed out that restructuring costs were incurred again in 2004 amounting to €680,000.