RUSSIA – Dairy processor Wimm-Bill-Dann (WBD) has announced a sales increase of 20.3% during the first nine months of 2002.

The overall gross margins showed an increase of 3.2% primarily due to the lower cost of raw milk with better terms with suppliers and economies of scale also contributing.

However, expansion has meant that WBD has had to establish a distribution network, which has lead to an increase in transportation tariffs and costs associated with hiring new warehousing facilities.

WBD’s dairy sales grew by 14.0% from US$356.8 million (