Arla reports improved turnover for 2010

In 2010 Arla Foods reported an increase in turnover of 3 billion DKK (EUR400m) and a significant boost in earnings to the company’s cooperative owners. “The result shows that we have put the recession behind us, and that we’re in control of our costs,” says CEO Peder Tuborgh who, together with CFO, Frederik Lotz, presented the annual accounts to Arla’s Board of Directors.
“Over the past year, Arla has shaken off the effects of the recession without letting go of its tight cost controls. We’ve committed to a number of investments that demonstrate the company’s focus in the long-term and our readiness to exploit the opportunities offered by the markets in which we operate,” Tuborgh says. “One example is the decision to build the world’s largest fresh milk dairy in the UK. Another is that we will continue to streamline and invest in our ingredients business.”
Arla Foods’ turnover totalled DKK49 billion (EUR6.6bn), close to DKK3 billion above last year, and equates to an increase of approximately six per cent. In 2010, Arla Foods delivered overall growth of approximately six per cent, with organic growth accounting for three per cent.
In 2011, says CFO Frederik Lotz, “The key issue for us is that we strengthen organic growth. We want to grow through acquisitions, partnerships and mergers – such as the proposed merger in Germany. Nevertheless, organic growth is key to our strategy and it reflects our ability to expand our existing business.
“We succeeded in raising awareness of Arla and our Closer to Nature positioning. Castello saw six per cent growth in 2010 while sales of Lurpak increased by 14 per cent,” Lotz says. “Our ingredients business grew by 23 per cent and increased its market share. Overall our growth markets performed extremely well, growing by 19 per cent. While these are quite small markets and, therefore, modest figures, we believe that they are significant.”