Robert Wiseman Dairies has reported “satisfactory” first quarter sales during a period that has seen “significant changes” to the structure of UK milk supply.
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In a statement released ahead of the company’s AGM today (9 July), chairman Alan Wiseman revealed that sales volumes in the first three-months of the fiscal rose 8.5% year-on-year.
“The financial performance of the group in the first quarter was in line with our expectations and underlying debt ran slightly lower than our own forecast,” Wiseman said.
The company said that sales of its value-added the One 1% milk and Extended Shelf Life milk were making “good progress” in a “very competitive” market.
Bulk cream returns have also recovered and should help underpin farm gate milk prices for Wiseman Milk Partnership producers over the short-term, the company added.
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By GlobalDataFollowing the collapse of Dairy Farmers of Britain, Robert Wiseman was asked “at short notice” to commence milk supply to the Co-Operative Group ahead of the planned start date in August. In June, the company also began supplying milk to Cappers and Blakemore, two wholesalers who supply Spar in England and Wales.
In the short term, the company said that it is dealing with this growth in demand by returning to a seven-day work cycle at its Manchester and Droitwich Spa dairies. However, Wiseman said that in the longer-term the company would push ahead with plans to expand capacity at its new Bridgewater facility.
“Given the new contract wins, we are pushing ahead with the planned increase in capacity to 375m litres per annum at this site, at a cost of GBP7.5m (US$12.2m), and are hopeful this extra capacity will be on stream in early 2010,” Wiseman said.
Wiseman said that it expected building work at its new Amesbury depot in Wiltshire to be completed “prior to Christmas”. The anticipated cost of the construction is GBP9.7m.
