Dale Farm, the biggest dairy business in Northern Ireland, has indicated that its pre-tax profits soared by 30 per cent to £6.1 million in the year end to March.
Dale Farm is the dairy processing unit of parent group the United Dairy Farmers Coop, who reported overall dairy sales of £293 million for the year. Consumer product sales were up 15 per cent to £168 million and food ingredients showed a massive increase of over 80 per to nearly £100 million.
Dale Farm processed record amounts of milk supplied by more than 1,600 farmers, who are also owners of the business, and paid the highest ever milk prices to these members.
The company completed a £39 million investment programme last year, which included the installation of a new cheddar cheese and non-filtration whey processing facility, and which helped to process the record amounts of milk, suggesting that the investment is already paying off.
Its export business continued to grow with strong demand from international markets, particularly Russia and China. It has also been acquiring various dairy businesses throughout the UK which has further assisted in growing the business.
CEO David Dobbin said the ambitious growth strategy was starting to pay off, with its performance helped by strong international markets and a major investment in cheese and whey processing.
© 2014 European Supermarket Magazine by Nicole Gernon
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