Pre-tax profits at Wyeth Nutritionals, an Irish infant formula business of Swiss food giant Nestlé, fell last year by 13 per cent to €12.49 million. New accounts filed by Wyeth Nutritionals Ireland Ltd show sales also fell, down 6 per cent to €313.19 million.
Revenues decreased despite the volumes of the infant formula destined for China remaining relatively consistent with 2019. The company’s directors said the reduction is attributable to a change in the financial and supply flows introduced in June 2020.
Wyeth Nutritionals, based outside Askeaton in west Limerick, incurred an asset impairment charge of €39.4 million and restructuring costs of €44.4 million in 2020, but these costs were recharged to another Nestlé company.
The directors said they were satisfied with the performance indicators for the year. Staff employed at the plant last year dipped from 605 to 592, with staff costs totalling €80.52 million. Directors’ pay, including pension contributions, last year increased by 27 per cent from €811,000 to €1.03 million.
The company did not pay out a dividend. It paid €66.59 million in dividends in 2019.
The company’s research and development spend for last year totalled €11.1 million.
Last year Nestlé Ireland Ltd impaired its investment in Wyeth Nutritionals by €59.6 million. This came a year after the Swiss food giant slashed the value of its investment in Wyeth Nutritionals Ireland Ltd by €200 million.
The impairment pushed Nestlé’s Irish arm to a pre-tax loss of €55.99 million last year, newly-filed accounts show. Nestlé Ireland recorded an operating profit of €3.6 million before the writedown was taken into account. Its revenues last year increased by 2.45 per cent to €99.58 million.
