LJ Fairburn has reported reduced annual revenue of £100.87 million for the year ending 30 September 2022 in its latest annual report. This compares to revenues of £102.39 million the previous year.
The egg production and packing company recorded a loss after taxation of £1.68 million during the same period. The previous year, the company made a profit of £532,865.
Fairburn’s said there were several reasons for the change in financial performance. In December 2021, the business suffered from an avian flu outbreak, which caused significant disruption to the business which resulted in the remainder of the financial year being a period of recovery. “We are very grateful to our retail customers and producers for the support they provided over this difficult period,” the directors said.
Cost increases were also a key factor. The company cited the war in Ukraine, causing sharp increases in the costs of production which were felt by the whole industry from producers, and packers, to retailers and consumers.
The directors noted in the report that during the year the business was restructured to meet customers’ future requirements. “This included a large write off of redundant shed equipment as part of our transition to cage-free.”
In the current year, the focus has been the continuation of the recovery phase, which was completed in March 2023. As part of our continued strategy to build our business on long-term sustainable grounds we will again invest across our business activities with particular emphasis on our fleet of vehicles and carbon offsetting projects,” the company added.
