Vion Food Reverses Financial Fortunes on Efficiency Measures

15 Apr 2016 --- Vion Food has reversed its financial fortunes and made a profit of €22 million ($25 million) in 2015, compared to loss of €21 million ($24 million) the year previous.

The 2015 financial figures for Vion Foods were helped as it reaped the benefits of the closure of a number of sites in recent years.

Last year, the Dutch company closed two pork and two beef sites in Europe while upgrading other sites in an effort to be more efficient.

In particular, it said its investment in its plant in Waldkraiburg, Bavaria will result in it becoming “one of Europe’s most modern and best-performing beef slaughtering and deboning facilities”.

Across its food service division, Vion Food said it had invested to increase its production capacity across key sites.

Vion Food said market conditions had been “tough” in 2015, in particularly the pork meat industry.

It said it was trying to help farmers by better managing supply chains.

Highlights for 2015 included working on an animal welfare program for its pork division and its beef division winning praise for the efficiency of bundling fresh products in its site in GroBosthiem.

Looking ahead, Vion Food said that the pork sector would face continuing price pressure and it said that it does not anticipate a return to normal price levels before the second half of the year.

In the beef industry, it said the managed reduction of milk production will impact volumes of cattle being slaughtered.

In its food service decision, it said it planned to enhance its frozen product range.

Chief executive Francis Kint said: “In 2015, we continued the line of progress that was started in 2014. We invested in improving our production infrastructure. Over these two years, we have reduced the number of our sites from 35 to 25, without losing volume.”

“We have also made further progress in value creation from our livestock by a better valorization of the animal parts and implementing programs around animal welfare and rationality.”