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Animal food firm with Inverness base hails employees as central to success during health crisis


By Andrew Dixon

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Harbro has a mill in Inverness.
Harbro has a mill in Inverness.

An animal food firm says all areas of it business reacted well to the pandemic.

The Harbro Group – which has a mill in Inverness – acknowledged immediate concern and uncertainty about what the impact of the health crisis would be.

It made its comments in its accounts for the year ended June 30, 2020 – a period when it experienced a dip in turnover and a rise in pre-tax profit.

The company, which has its headquarters in Turriff, is involved in the manufacture and supply of animal feedstuff and associated agricultural products and services.

A strategic report accompanying the firm’s latest accounts stated: “[It] was a year that no one could have predicted with the Covid pandemic creating challenges for businesses that have never been seen before.

“The immediate concern and uncertainty for the board was around the impact on cash flow within the agricultural sector – an industry that has always faced is challenges due to price sensitivities, supply and demand volatility and other uncertainties.

“All areas of the business reacted well with a clear focus on stringent cost control, reduced capital expenditure, focus on cash flow and working capital metrics and a partial utilisation of government support schemes meaning the business limited the impact.”

Turnover fell from £118,568,000 in 2019 to £115,193,000 last year. For the same period, pre-tax profit increased from £1,692,000 to £2,989,000.

The report continued: “A reduction in sales compared to 2019 was expected as we saw lower raw material prices for a large part of the year, a quieter winter period and Covid uncertainty – this being partially offset with growth across a couple of revenue stream sectors.”

The average number of employees dropped from 523 in 2019 to 483 last year, while staff costs fell from £17,152,000 to £16,536,000.

The reported added: “As always, the outlook for agriculture is difficult to predict. As a business we continue to see lots of opportunities. The board of directors has defined strategies across all revenue streams with a clear direction to focusing on core activities.

”Our employees are central to the success of the group. The company continues to invest in training and support to all employees to ensure they have the skills required to perform duties and to provide an excellent service to our customers.”


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