“There is a process of concentration in the pig sector and we are exploring acquisition opportunities”

Incarlopsa, Mercadona’s meat supplier, appointed Jesus Loriente de la Ossa as its new CEO in January last year. After 15 years with the company, he replaced Clemente Loriente Calonge, who resigned due to personal reasons. The company, with headquarters in Tarancon (Cuenca) and 11 production centers in Castile-La Mancha, Castile and Leon and Andalusia, specializes in the production of fresh, cured and Iberian pork products. Last year the group’s turnover was 1.169 million, up 12.7%, breaking a historical record. Its profit rose to 21.2 million, up 62%.

After performing well in 2023, what is the forecast for this year?

The evolution is very positive. We expect to end the year with a turnover above 1,200 million, with EBITDA (gross operating result) growth of 8% compared to the 73.7 million we achieved last year.

Do you then consider the difficulties you faced after the pandemic in 2021 and 2022 to have been overcome?

Yes, we worked very hard to overcome them, but we did it. As we say, we have made every effort to cut all the expenses that caused us to reduce our business so much. There was a real storm, with rising prices for raw materials, energy, transport, insurance… But we have recovered strongly. We have seen where we made mistakes and have now invested more than 40 million euros in photovoltaics, so 30% of the energy we will use will be for our own consumption. In addition, we are going to launch a biomass plant to replace gas in Tarancón with biofuels.

“We exceeded the results that we committed to the banks in the refinancing that we agreed on in 2023.”

Last year we signed a refinancing for 258 million, are you satisfied with the current situation?

Yes, we have extended the long-term expiration. And we are very happy with the current situation. We achieve results that exceed what we promised with the banks. They are very happy, and we are even more so.

They entered the USA with an outlet in Acornseekers, what are they trying to achieve with this?

Yes, this is a project that we started in 2019 and which helps to get to know a market that is very different from the one we have, especially in the ham market. This is a very emerging market that we strategically want to be in.

Export records were also broken last year. Are you considering opening factories abroad?

Not yet, although we do not rule out this in the future. Exports make up about 15% of the business and we are growing strongly, especially in higher value-added industrial products. Not so much in terms of volume, but in terms of ham, sausages and products of the fourth and fifth range.

What are your main markets?

We will have to differentiate between fresh meat and processed foods. In the first case, 40% of the business is concentrated in Europe, but outside the country the largest client is China, which accounts for another 25%. The main market for processed products is Mexico, and we are now entering new markets such as Japan, Finland or Moldova, as well as other countries. It is still 3-4% and we have a lot of growth potential as we are the largest ham producer in the world. In Spain, we account for one in every three hams consumed, but internationally we still have a long way to go.

“25% of our fresh meat exports are concentrated in China; We hope there won’t be a trade war.”

Are you worried about the situation in China?

We do all the work through employers, Enis. In any case, we cooperate with the Chinese government in everything and want to avoid a trade war. We wait to see what might happen and what it might mean for us, but there is little we can do.

There is a process of concentration in the industry, are you interested in participating?

We are open to acquisitions and alliances. There is nothing concrete at the moment, but there are opportunities in the pig sector. In 2022, 80% of pork production was in the hands of 192 companies, while last year there remained 113. These are companies that either disappeared or were acquired. There is a concentration of small pork producing companies.

What kind of pork production does Incarlopsa have?

We slaughter 2.4 million white pigs, of which approximately 25% are from our own herd. The idea now is to increase this percentage.

Is it possible to make purchases in the processing industry?

At the moment we are not looking at this in the short term. We are strengthening and optimizing our plants to achieve the highest possible capacity, reducing costs and achieving economies of scale. Yes, we are making important investments. Last year we allocated 26 million and this year we will allocate another 20 million, focusing on efficiency and sustainability.

“Mercadona represents 60% of our sales, but we have a very wide range of clients.”

What does Mercadona represent for the company?

It accounts for almost 60% of total turnover. In any case, we have a very wide range of clients and we support the growth of each of them. For example, Mercadona is actively developing in Portugal. Mercadona has helped us a lot over the years to innovate and get advanced technology that we didn’t have before.

Do you have a strategic plan?

We are currently working on a plan and hope to have it ready next year. We are finalizing our growth forecasts.

What templates do they have? Are you having problems finding workers?

We have about 4,000 people and will grow by 6% this year. At the moment, we have no difficulties finding labor, only among qualified specialists.