Food ingredients gain for Dale Farm

Dale Farm, Northern Ireland’s largest dairy processor, has reported increased profits and record sales including exports to markets such as China and Russia.

The company, owned by United Dairy Farmers, the Northern Irish co-operative, saw sales grow 30% to £293 million (€371m) in the year to end of March. Consumer product sales such as cheese, butter and yogurt were up 15% to £168 million and food ingredients rose by 80% to almost £100 million (€126.6m). Dale farm’s total exports increased to more than £102 million as the co-op processed record milk supplies from local farmers. It also acquired Mullin’s, a Northern Irish artisan ice cream producer, during the year. In the current year, the company acquired Fivemiletown Creamery’s speciality cheese brand. Turnover rose by £25 million to £443 million, mostly from Dale Farm.

Dr David Dobbin, group chief executive, says: “We saw solid results across all our businesses with cheddar and butter consumer products both delivering strong growth and increased market share in Britain. Exports of cheese, whey proteins and specialised powder ingredients also grew strongly. “Ice cream sales benefited from the better weather and the purchase of the Mullin’s ice cream business. We launched a number of new products including Spelga Greek and Far Free yoghurts and a new Dale Farm custard range, all of which showed encouraging growth.”

The company invested around £40 million in 2013 in upgrading facilities including a new cheddar cheese plant.