Dairy Crest has seen annual pre-tax profit jump by almost a quarter thanks to the first full-year contribution from French spreads business St Hubert.
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The UK group, which makes brands including Utterly Butterly and Cathedral City cheese, booked adjusted profit before tax of GBP96.1m (US$188m) for the year to the end of March, a rise of 24%.
Dairy Crest bought St Hubert from Uniq in November 2006 and the last 12 months has seen the business drive the growth in the company’s profits. Sales of St Hubert Omega 3 rose 16%, Dairy Crest said.
The company pointed to “strong performances” from its cheese and dairy ingredients businesses, which also helped offset the impact of the Clover butter recall last year.
Revenue climbed 20% to GBP1.6bn, the company said.
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By GlobalDataChief executive Mark Allen said Dairy Crest had “performed well” during the year. “Most of our key brands have increased market share with double-digit sales growth,” Allen said.
“This performance has been delivered despite a challenging market background where we have seen unprecedented raw milk price rises, other commodity cost inflation and significant operational disruption to Clover during the year.”
Sales of Utterly Butterly jumped 29%, while Cathedral City kept its position as the UK’s number one cheese brand after its sales rose 23%. Clover sales fell 11% in the wake of last May’s recall.
Allen said current trading is “in line with expectations” as Dairy Crest looks to offset rising costs with higher prices. “Our business is well placed to meet the challenges of the year ahead,” he added.
