Kellogg pays no corporation tax in Ireland as sales top €1.2bn

The main Irish arm of breakfast cereal giant Kellogg last year paid zero corporation tax for the second year running as revenues topped €1.28bn.

New accounts filed by Kellogg European Trading (KET) Ltd with the Companies Office show that it recorded a 27pc jump in operating profits, from €38.7m to €49.36m, in the 12 months to the end of January 2 last.

However, interest charges payable of €137.45m on loans from other group firms pushed the firm into the red to record losses of €75.5m.

The firm reduced its losses in 2015 to €65.6m with a deferred tax asset of €9.8m.

Kellogg has been based in Ireland since 2005 and employs 250 people here including its head of its European cereal business unit and a number of senior cereal functional leaders for Europe.

Along with Kellogg European Trading, Kellogg also operates a number of other subsidiaries here.

Revenues at KET last year reduced by 2pc from €1.3bn to €1.28bn. The business recorded a gross profit of €356m after its cost of sales totalled €927.7m.

The company's brands include Corn Flakes, Coco Pops, Nutri-Grain and Rice Crispies.

A breakdown of the KET's revenues show that €526.72m were generated in the UK with €747m in 'Rest of Europe' and the remaining €9.8m in 'Rest of World'.

Numbers employed at the firm last year increased by four to 215 with staff costs totalling €39.8m, including €1m in equity share based payments.

The firm's directors are well rewarded - four served on the board last year, sharing pay of €2.22m. Included in that amount is €258,000 paid to the firm's ultimate parent for the provision of director's services.

According to the directors' report, "the outlook for 2016 remains challenging with an expectation of little year on year growth in turnover or operating profit".

The report adds: "Marketing support/pressure for our brands will be in line with the previous year in real terms. The overall cost base is expected to be lower than the previous year thanks to notable efficiencies in this area offset by commodity price increases."

The principal activity of the firm is the production and marketing of ready to eat cereals and related foodstuffs in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

It states that affiliated enterprises act as consignment manufacturers and as local market distributors.

The directors stated that they consider turnover satisfactory for the year.

The company has moved about €9.78bn of foreign sales through KET in the last seven years but paid a very small amount of tax due to the interest on the group loans.

The loss last year resulted in the firm having a shareholders' deficit of €676.86m at the end of January 2 last.

Interest charges payable of €137.45m on loans from other group firms pushed the firm into the red

From Irish Independent (19/10/2016)