Two small operating facilities owned by Greencore in Britain were seriously damaged by fire last month, the firm said in its annual report. One was an unoccupied Hazlewood warehouse; the other a facility attached to the Roberts Group in Yorkshire.

Greencore said satisfactory insurance was in place to cover the physical damage and the losses caused by the incidents.

A spokeswoman for the company said, however, that there had been "minimal disruption" to supplies and the company had transferred the operating line to different parts of the group.

It also said it was re-examining its level of physical protection against the risk of fire.

Meanwhile, Greencore chairman Mr Tony Barry said the current financial year had got off to "a solid start". He said the chilled and frozen food business was doing well while the chilled pizza operation continued to improve efficiencies at its new facility.

The outlook for the international malt market was favourable, Mr Barry said, while the processing campaign at Irish Sugar was satisfactory. He said Christmas cake production was manufactured on schedule and on budget.

The report also showed that Greencore chief executive Mr David Dilger was paid a basic salary of €487,000 last year while he also received a performance-related bonus of €97,000.

When additional benefits are included, his total package came to €646,000, up nearly 20 per cent on the previous year.

Mr Peter Woodall, who heads the pizza division, received €461,000 in remuneration while finance director Mr Patrick Kennedy enjoyed a total package of €364,000, up from €181,000 in 2001.