Somerdale’s turnover up 15%

Somerdale International, an exporter of British cheeses and dairy products, has published results that show strong growth and development with increased sales being achieved in all of its core export markets, the company says. Turnover was £32.3 million (€38.2m) an increase of 15% versus 2015, and around 95% of turnover was generated through export activity. This increased in all Somerdale’s core international markets: in particular North America, the Caribbean, Australasia, the Far East and Middle East.
Commenting on the performance, Stephen Jones, director of Somerdale International says, “I am pleased to be able to report that the business performed strongly at both a financial and operational level. We continue to invest in the business, its capabilities and presence in key international markets for the long term. As a result, we believe we are making good progress in putting in place the necessary strategic developments to ensure the future growth of Somerdale.”
Somerdale’s financial performance came against the backdrop of a highly volatile dairy market. Trading conditions during the year saw low commodity prices (created by global over production of milk and relatively weak demand for dairy commodities), and a strong dollar, which created favourable trading margins.
At the same time, Somerdale continued to benefit from the substantial investment the business has made over the last five years in developing its UK infrastructure and routes to the international market for over 250 British cheeses.
This included the acquisition in 2014 of a 10,000 square foot and fully SAP enabled, cold store and offices. During the 2015/16 year this was enhanced by Somerdale’s purchase of additional cold store facilities and office space adjacent to the existing Wellington operations. The new facility will come on line later in 2016 and will provide additional capacity.