Profitable year for Northern Irish beef processor

Northern Irish-headquartered beef processor C&J Meats has more than quadrupled pre-tax profit and maintained turnover in excess of &pound36 million despite a "challenging" trading environment. Based in Armagh, C&J Meats, which specialises in the supply of beef cuts and trimmings from selected premium cattle for both home and export markets, has reported steady growth last year. For the year to 30 November 2014 C&J's turnover remained steady at &pound36.4 million compared to &pound36.9 million the year before. The company's UK operations accounted for the majority of this figure, contributing &pound25.3 million which was a small increase on &pound25.2 million in 2013. Despite this, pre-tax profit increased from &pound50,503 to &pound242,192. However, turnover in Europe took a hit and fell from &pound11.8 million to &pound11.1 million. The company supplies meat to customers in European markets such as the Netherlands. The company expects the outcome for the year to be "satisfactory". "The economic environment in which the business operates continues to be challenging," the company said. "However, the directors consider that both the results for the year and the level of trading are satisfactory and that the current levelof performance can be maintained."