ADM got €21m for Cork site

The US food ingredients group ADM paid out more than €15 million in redundancy and pension payments when it closed its Ringaskiddy plant in Cork last year, but gained €21 million from the sale of the property, according to group accounts filed recently.

The group made 147 people redundant at an estimated cost of €7.56 million and put €7.62 million in additional contributions into the Ringaskiddy company's pension scheme after the decision was taken to close.

The plant, which made citric acid for the soft drinks and food industry, had been purchased by the group in 1990.

The latest accounts for ADM Ireland Holding Ltd, filed recently, show that in the year to end June 2005, ADM Ringaskiddy contributed a loss of €19.6 million to the group's overall results.

The previous year the contribution had been a loss of €9.79 million.

Reports at the time the closure was announced said the plant had come under severe competitive pressure from manufacturing operations in China.

Overall, ADM Ireland Holdings made a pre-tax profit of €96 million in the year to end June 2005, up from €23.6 million the previous year. However, the large jump in the consolidated profit figure was due to a reorganisation within the ADM structures in Europe.

The largest contribution to the consolidated profits recorded in the ADM Ireland Holdings accounts came from cocoa processing activities, which contributed €70 million in operating profits. The directors' report said the group is shifting towards biodiesel production. It said oilseed processing is undergoing increased demand as part of the shift towards biodiesel.