The closure of the Carlow sugar processing plant is likely to cost Greencore €65 million, its chairman told shareholders at its annual general meeting (a.g.m.) yesterday.
Beet growers hit by the company's decision to close the facility protested outside yesterday's meeting in Dublin's Berkeley Court Hotel and made vocal contributions to the meeting, including calling on its management to step down.
Chairman Mr Ned O'Sullivan told the meeting that Greencore's accounts for this year would include a €65 million charge for the closure.
Part of this will be a non-cash writedown of assets while the rest will be largely taken up with redundancy payments to the 300 staff employed there. Neither Mr O'Sullivan nor chief executive, Mr David Dilger would give a breakdown of the two elements of the €65 million cost.
Greencore is closing the Irish Sugar facility and centralising all its production in a single plant in Mallow, Co Cork, which will process around 200,000 tonnes of beet. The move is a response to the gradual liberalisation of the EU sugar market that is opening it up to cheaper imports.
Mr O'Sullivan said that imports of sugar to the Republic had grown to 40,000 tonnes from 5,000 tonnes in the last year.
During the meeting, former Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president, Mr Joe Rea, unsuccessfully attempted to propose a motion of no confidence in Greencore's management.
Supporting Mr Rae, Greencore shareholder Mr Pat Coffey said that the company had written off 89 per cent of its profits last year, and written off €220 million in the past five years.
During the meeting, large numbers of beet growers called on Dr Seán Brady, managing director of Irish Sugar, which operates the plant, to speak. However, Mr O'Sullivan said that he would be available to meet their representatives afterwards.
One grower accused Greencore management of closing down a €10 million profit-making business while there was still demand for its product.
"I was getting a cup of coffee in the hotel here this morning, and they didn't even have Irish sugar in the bowl," he told the meeting.
