Reynolds’ pet foods reap €2.85m profits

PROFITS at the pet food company set up by the former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds rose by close to 50% last year, according to its latest accounts.

C&D Foods, which is based in Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, and now owned by Mr Reynolds son Philip, made pre-tax profits of €2.85 million.

Sales in 2004 totalled €70.4 million, helped by the inclusion of sales from the Yorkshire-based Primetime Petfoods, which C&D bought in July 2003.

In 2003 C&D had overall sales of €58 million.

Sales at Primetime Petfoods added only €5.4 million to C&D in 2004, though this figure does not reflect the full turnover of the company as it has a different accounting year end.

In a full year sales at Primetime are about €14 million and it generates profits of €800,000.

No dividend was paid to the company's shareholders.

At the end of 2004, C&D had a cash balance of just under €70,000, down from €2.6 million the previous year.

Long-term borrowings increased from €1.1 million to almost 6 million.

The rise in debt and fall in cash are because of the €7 million takeover of Primetime Petfoods.

The number of people employed by C&D rose from 403 to 485 at the year end, with 439 of those employees engaged in manufacturing.

The expanding workforce added 25% to the company's salary bill for the year.

The company's three directors, who are listed as Philip and Anne Reynolds and HT Carr, were paid €429,635 an increase of nearly €160,000 on directors' fees, which were paid out in 2005.

The accounts note that during the year C&D Foods had dealings worth €1.03 million in which directors had an interest.

The payments were concerned with the provision of technology and services.