The owners of Callan Bacon, the Kilkenny-based pork processer, are exploring options for the sale of the business.

According to reports, the company has appointed Deloitte to find potential buyers for the business, which has been valued at around €30m.

Callan is the largest bacon processor in Ireland with an annual capacity of 45,000t.

However, the business has been particularly exposed to the weakness in sterling over the last number of years, with 50% of Callan’s business coming from the UK market.

For the financial year ended April 2018, Callan made an operating loss of €132,500. The company had made an operating profit of almost €402,000 the previous year, albeit with very slender profit margins of just 0.6%.

The business reported a near 20% drop in sales to €56.6m for 2018. Accounts filed by Callan show sales in Ireland fell by 12% in the year, or €5m in value. Sales to customers outside of Ireland (mainly the UK), plunged 30% in the year, or more than €8.5m in value.