Newry-based veterinary pharmaceutical manufacturer Norbrook Holdings made a loss of £20.3 million (€23.5 million) last year after part of its factory had to shut down due to a failed regulatory inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Norbrook Holdings, which is the ultimate holding company for all Norbrook’s trading businesses, distributes products to over 100 countries and has operations in Ireland and Britain, as well as Europe, the US, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The company, which was founded by the late businessman Edward Haughey, counts the US as its largest market, so it is audited by the FDA as well as UK regulators.
It is understood an audit carried out in April last year uncovered an issue related to the company’s aseptic manufacturing suites, which are areas set up to produce products in a contamination-free environment.
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It is understood no substandard or harmful products made their way on to the market, but the issue led to a “stop sale” and the company’s operations were interrupted for two months as the aseptic areas were upgraded and staff were retrained.
The group posted an operating loss of £20.3 million in the year to August 2nd, down from a profit of £5.3 million the year before, although the 2024 figure was distorted by £3.15 million the business booked in redundancy costs that year, without which profit would have fallen.
The group said last year’s loss was driven by “operational issues” which “curtailed the group’s ability to meet customer demand”.
Sales revenue was £200 million, reflecting a year-on-year reduction of £19 million. The group said it experienced a “difficult year”, which was “heavily impacted by specific operational issues”.
It said addressing these issues required it to reduce operational output for an extended period to put “substantial initiatives in place to enhance technical standards and efficiencies on a sustainable basis”.
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Norbrook said its gross margins fell from 36 per cent to 27 per cent. Shareholders’ funds fell from £163.1 million to £133.9 million.
Accounts recently filed with Companies House in the UK for Norbrook Laboratories Ltd, one of the group’s subsidiaries, show it paid £4 million in dividends to shareholders during the year, which was down from £7.5 million in the previous year.
The company’s directors shared just shy of £7.7 million in remuneration, up from just over £6.2 million the year before.
The Lord Ballyedmond Family Trust has controlled the business since Haughey’s death. The businessman became a life peer in 2004, adopting the title Baron Ballyedmond of Mourne in Co Down. His widow, Mary Haughey, has an 18 per cent direct stake in the group.
Haughey was born in Dundalk and established the business in 1968 after spending several years selling pharmaceuticals in the United States. He died in a helicopter crash in 2014.
Norbrook executive chairman Liam Nagle described 2025 as “a very challenging year” for the company. “Our operational issues resulted in an inability to meet the strong demand in the market,” he said.
“As a result, management has implemented a range of robust actions to remedy these issues, and the board is confident that these measures will deliver improved performance in the second half of the 2026 financial year and into the future.”
