Dairy company Arla Foods has revealed it enjoyed a year of UK growth in 2014, despite challenging global conditions.
Arla Foods UK recorded revenues of €2.8bn last year, which represented 27% of the Danish company’s global revenues. It also “invested significantly” in facilities in the country, including a dairy in Buckinghamshire and packing operation in Shropshire.
Stagnation towards the end of the year was compounded by global legislative and economic pressures, Arla said: “In line with group performance a strong first half of the year was impacted in the second half by downward pressure on worldwide prices for commodity products, driven by increased global supply and weakening demand, predominantly as a result of the Russian trade embargo on dairy products and weakening growth in China.”
Arla Foods UK’s executive vice president, Peter Gjørtz-Carlsen, said: “The UK business has delivered in a very challenging market and we have embedded some of the measures needed for sustainable growth in the long-term. We are acutely aware of the continuing challenge, but it is vital we remain firm in our approach to build an organisation that is competitive today and into the future.
“Our focus remains on adding value to our owners’ milk by improving our efficiencies, and having a strong position across all our dairy categories and global brands as well as maximising our revenue by moving our milk into the categories that offer us the best returns. At the same time, we have implemented a number of measures to increase efficiencies and control costs.
“Together, focusing on increasing brand strength and operational efficiency should help us build upon the firm foundations already in place and ensure we stay competitive in 2015. Our approach is already having a positive effect, for example helping us secure a new three-year contract to supply fresh milk to Morrisons, which directly benefits our farmer owners.”
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