Pat O'Neill must be thanking his lucky stars that he has stepped down from the helm of Glanbia, the entity created by the merger of Avonmore and Waterford Foods.

Within the company and on the markets, the period since the merger has made for sore heads all round. This week's profit warning merely served to accelerate the decline in the shares to the lowest point in 10 years. The collapse of the stock to €1.15 (91p) in he the wake of the alert - a fall of 30 per cent - leaves it a long way from the giddy heights of €4.53 which it hit in the aftermath of the merger. Worse still is the feeling that the price has further to fall.

Several factors have contrived to undermine the group's progress. Profits from its British liquid milk business have gone following its sale to Express Dairies and margins on its cheese operations in Britain and its pigmeat operations are falling.

On top of this, it is saddled with the weight of a commitment to pay 3p a gallon over the milk price average to Irish suppliers. This was the price of acceptance for the merger. The question now is whether it was a price too heavy for the group to pay.