The French chicken processor Duc has recorded a loss of €3.74 million over 2014. In 2013, the loss amounted to €5.17 million.
The turnover decreased by 8% to €185.3 million, mainly because Duc decided to keep the volumes down in a difficult market with lower prices. “We managed to consolidate the margins,” the company said in a statement.
Duc is in a process of restructuring for over a year now. The company suffered due to the problems in the French poultry sector in combination with the end of the European subsidy on the export of frozen chicken to non-EU countries. Duc now has ‘real ambitions’ to revive the export and also wants to concentrate on the production of chicken without antibiotics or GM in order to reconquer that specific market segment.
Because of the financial problems, the company has been granted a moratorium on the payment of tax or national security contributions. Duc intends to raise capital and also hopes to get more government support to stay afloat. According to its website, Duc produces some 54,000 tonnes a year from 300 poultry holders and has some 900 employees.