The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association’s (ICSA) latest accounts show a pre-tax loss of €48,463 for the 2023 accounting year.

The loss came as a result of a year of lower turnover and higher operating costs than the association reported for the 2022 accounting year.

Turnover fell from €324,048 in 2022 to €289,357 last year, while other operating costs rose to €336,101 from €312,065 the previous year.

The year-on-year changes to these two operating figures represents a downward shift of €58,727 in the ICSA’s accounts.

The association went into the 2023 accounting year with €64,090 in retained earnings, and ended the year with €16,835. It had entered 2022 with €55,673.

The pre-tax profit stood at €9,663 in 2022, dropping to €8,417 after tax. The post-tax loss was reduced to €47,255 from a pre-tax level of €48,463 last year.

The ICSA’s net assets came to €16,835 in its latest accounts, down from the €64,090 reported in 2022.

The value of the association’s current assets decreased from €121,151 to €42,496, but so too did the value of amounts due to creditors within one year.

The association owed less in accruals last year than it did in 2022, when it also availed of a €17,056 overdraft. No overdraft was utilised in 2023, according to the accounts.

This dropped current liabilities from €60,976 in 2022 to €29,451, leaving the group’s net current assets standing at €14,045 and its overall net assets at €16,835.

This movement saw net assets end the accounting year with €47,255 less value than they had started the year with.

The number of employees of the ICSA went unchanged from 2022 to 2023 at two, along with one secretary.