Pre-tax profits increase 39% to €6.8m at Chanelle manufacturing unit

Pre-tax profits at Chanelle Pharmaceuticals last year increased by 39 per cent to €6.8 million despite the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

New accounts filed by the Co Galway-based veterinary products company show that Chanelle Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Ltd enjoyed the rise in profits as revenues increased by 16.5 per cent from €51.47 million to €59.9 million in the 12 months to the end of April last.

On the Covid-19 impact, the directors state that following lockdowns in March 2020 “we saw a softening of demand in some markets for veterinary products but we have seen demand recover in most markets as lockdown restrictions are eased”.

The operational impact of the pandemic on the business to date “has not been material and we have increased our key stock items to ensure that we have continuity of supply where possible”.

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The directors said that “while the virus has had a significant impact on how we conduct our day-to-day activities, we have continued to operate successfully throughout the pandemic in all of our locations”.

On the outlook for the business, they said “trading since the start of the new financial year has been encouraging”.

The longer-term impact of Covid-19 and the Brexit risk to the business “cannot yet be ascertained, the indications at this stage, however, are positive with strong market demand for our products and delivery pipeline”.

Company changes

In the year under review, RTÉ Dragons' Den investor Ms Chanelle McCoy stepped down from the board of the family-owned company in October 2019.

Ms McCoy's father, Michael Burke, set up the business in 1983 at Loughrea and last November confirmed he is to move to the role of executive chairman from his chief executive post.

Numbers employed by the company increased from 318 to 339 as staff costs declined marginally from €14.7 million to €14.62 million.

The firm last year paid a dividend of €2.25 million and this followed a €2.25 million dividend payout in fiscal 2019.

The company is one of a number of pharma entities owned by the Burke family. The main activity of Chanelle Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing is the manufacture and sale of veterinary and medical pharma products worldwide, together with associated research and development.

The profit also takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €2.77 million and research and development costs of €1.47 million.

Shareholder funds at the end of April 30th totalled €13.2 million that included accumulated profits of €10.9 million, while directors’ pay increased sharply from €87,858 to €254,098.

A breakdown of the company’s revenues shows that it generated revenues of €31 million in the Republic, €24.1 million in Europe and €4.6 million in “rest of world”.

The company last year paid €1.4 million to acquire property, plant and equipment and this followed a pay-out of €4.8 million under that heading in fiscal 2019.