Dairy Crest maintains full year outlook

16th Jul 2013 07:12

Dairy foods company Dairy Crest said overall trading in the first quarter has been in line with company expectations and targets for the full year remain unchanged.The group said sales of two of its key brands Cathedral City and Clover increased in the quarter ended June 30th 2013 compared to the quarter ended 30 June 2012 despite strong comparatives and a tough consumer environment.Sales of Country Life Spreadable were flat while Country Life block sales were significantly lower after it reduced promotion costs in the wake of recent cream price increases.Overall sales of its four key brands fell 4% from the same quarter in the previous year when it posted a 15% hike in sales from the same quarter in 2011."In the period we have focused on the profitability of our key brands and our dairies business. Cost reduction remains key to our success," it said in a statement.Chief Executive Mark Allen commented: "We are pleased with our start to the financial year and despite the challenging environment we are trading in line with our expectations." "Our key brands have stood up well in the first quarter against tough comparatives, our Dairies business is improving and we are confident about our cost savings. All three of our product categories, Cheese, Spreads and Dairies, are well positioned to generate medium-term growth."Dairy Crest said it is on target to reduce costs by £20m this year. The reorganisation into a single structure that it announced in February is going to plan, it said."We are also making good progress with new projects to increase the returns we get from whey and move into other added value products," Allen added.Dairy Crest said its financial position also remains in line with expectations.