Cheese and milk producer Dairy Crest reported a £10.1m loss compared to a £77.8m profit the year earlier, after it incurred impairment charges at its dairies business.
For year ended 31 March 2012 revenue increased 2% to £1.6bn while adjusted pre-tax profit was unchanged at £87.4m. Exceptional non-cash impairment charges in Dairies of £81.7m led to the reported loss, the group said.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Commenting on the results, chief executive Mark Allen said, "In the current financial year, we are seeing continued strong momentum in our Foods businesses and we expect Dairies to benefit from the decisive action we are taking and our continued discipline on costs."
"Double digit growth in our branded Spreads and Cheese businesses has offset unsatisfactory results in Dairies."
Sales of its five key brands, were up 11% and included record market shares for Cathedral City and St Hubert in the fourth quarter.
Allen concluded, "We will continue to take decisive strategic action and proactively shape Dairy Crest for the long-term. In March 2012 we announced a strategic review of our French spreads business, St Hubert, which is progressing and since the year end we have also announced a series of actions to restore our Dairies business to a satisfactory level of profitability in the medium term."
Dairy Crest has proposed a final dividend of 14.7p per share, up 4%.
CJ
-
High earners face £15k income hit by 2029 following Autumn BudgetRachel Reeves’s Autumn Budget means high earners – or HENRYs – are now looking at an income hit running into the thousands. Can you avoid it?
-
Millions underestimate how many paydays are left until retirement - why you should be counting your payslipsKeeping track of how long you will be earning a salary for can help work out how much you need to put into a workplace pension
