Northern Irish dairy doubles pre-tax profits

Strong competition has failed to prevent Strathroy Dairy, the Northern Irish dairy business in from more than doubling its annual pre-tax profits.

The business, which processes and supplies dairy products across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has also posted a slight rise in turnover.

Latest accounts for the year to 31 July 2012 show Strathroy Dairy recorded a pre-tax profit of £216,000, up from £94,850 in the previous year.

The rise came as turnover crept up from £43.5m in 2011 to £44.3m.

Based at Omagh in county Tyrone, Strathroy Dairy can trace its history back to 1850, while its current name was first used in 1923. It has operations in Cavan, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Sligo in the Republic of Ireland as well as its main production facility in Northern Ireland.

The company supplies milk, buttermilk, butter and cream to caterers and retailers. In total it employs 135 members of staff.

In the directors' report, the business said: "The directors will continue to identify and develop new business opportunities within the industry sector with the view to continued growth.

"As for many businesses of our size, the business environment in which we operate continues to be challenging. The impact of the global economic downturn, strong competition and the rising prices of energy and other costs continue to present challenges.

"With this in mind, we are aware than any plan for the future development of the business may be subject to unforeseen events outside our control."