THE IRISH arm of US food giant Heinz recorded an 11 per cent drop in pre-tax profits last year to €16.6 million.

According to accounts recently returned to the Companies’ Office, they show that the Dublin-based HJ Heinz Company (Ireland) Ltd also incurred an 8 per cent drop in turnover from €118.7 million to €108.9 million to the year ended April 29th last.

The filings show that the producer of iconic brands Heinz Ketchup and Heinz Baked Beanz also sustained a 13 per cent drop in operating profits from €18.24 million to €15.9 million.

The company’s Irish operation – North and south – is engaged in the sales, marketing and distribution of all Heinz brands.

The directors’ report attached to the accounts states “despite volume growth year on year, both turnover and profit have reduced compared with 2008”.

The directors cite “significant sales pricing activity and commodity cost inflation” as two of the reasons for the drop in turnover and profit.

Heinz also sells and markets former brands of HP Foods.

The filings show that the company’s cost of sales last year dropped by 8 per cent from €94.7 million to €86.8 million.

The accounts show that the company employed 39 people in Ireland last year with staff costs, including that of executive directors, increasing by 5 per cent to €2.8 million.

The accounts also show that the company had accumulated profits of €25.9 million at the end of April last year.

The filings show that the company paid a dividend of €12.2 million last year and this compared to €12.8 million paid in 2008.

The accounts show that directors’ remuneration last year increased by 14 per cent from €488,394 to €557,915.

On the “future outlook”, the directors state that “the commercial environment is expected to remain highly competitive in the year ahead with further retailer share consolidation and pressures on the availability of space in store, from food and also non-food categories as retailers continue to expand their services beyond traditional grocery”.

“In addition to competition from other third party branded players, retailers are also expanding their own brand range . . .”

On the business environment, the directors state: “The grocery trade continues to be a highly competitive market with a number of strong indigenous and international brands across the various sectors in which the business operates.”