Food giant posts revenues of £4.7bn despite ‘market uncertainty’
Leeds-headquartered farmer-owned dairy cooperative Arla Foods saw its revenue hit £4.7bn during the first half of 2019, a 2% increase on the £4.6bn achieved for the same period of 2018.
Arla’s Half Year Report 2019 also confirmed the group’s pre-tax profits rose 9% from £120m to £131m, while the group said it had saved £88m by optimising its ways of working and spending.
And for the full year of 2019, Arla is forecasting total group revenue of between £9.3bn and £9.6bn.
Jan Toft Nørgaard Chairman of the Board of Directors at Arla, said: “Climate and sustainability have been very much in focus both professionally and in our everyday lives during the first half of 2019, as the environmental footprint of farming and food production were increasingly scrutinised and challenged by our consumers and politicians alike.
“In March, we announced Arla’s climate target to produce carbon neutral milk by 2050. Our medium goal is to reduce CO2 emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.
“This was very well received by external stakeholders as a strong signal that Arla is determined to lead the transition towards more sustainable dairy production.
“The journey towards our climate targets starts on the farm level, therefore it is important that we, dairy farmers, take a lead in this agenda and ensure that consumers maintain their confidence in dairy as part of a healthy and sustainable diet.”
Also commenting on Arla’s performance over the last six months, Chief Executive Officer Peder Tuborgh said: “We solidified our presence in the Middle East and North Africa with the formal takeover of the operations of the Kraft® branded cheese business from Mondeléz International.
“That investment and our license agreement to use Kraft® for the next 12 years will have great strategic importance for the international segment going forward.
“In the second half of 2019 we will focus on remaining on track and building additional momentum to deliver our full year targets and strengthen our competitiveness.
“As global economic and political uncertainties grow, we remain alert and prepared, particularly for the damage Brexit may cause, while also closely watching the results of trade wars. However, our outlook is positive and on several KPIs we are even increasing the expectations.”
Chief Financial Officer Natalie Knight said: “Despite increasing market uncertainty, Arla had an exceptionally strong first half of 2019. Our milk prices were stable and we significantly increased
competitiveness versus last year.”
