Robert Wiseman creams higher sales
Milk group Robert Wiseman Dairies today posted a 5% hike in sales over the last year, helped by good trading from customers including Tesco, Asda and Safeway.
The firm said milk sales volumes rose 8% over the year to March 31, while turnover jumped to £300.2m.
Glasgow-based Robert Wiseman said the record sales were primarily due to successful trading of its multiple retailer customer base, which also includes customers such as Iceland, Alldays and Spar.
Chairman Alan Wiseman said he was ‘‘pleased to report a satisfactory year’s performance’’, and the group was expanding sales to utilise a new dairy and distribution depot at Droitwich Spa, near Birmingham, which opened in April.
Pre-tax profits rose 3% to £18.5m.
The firm also highlighted the tough time milk producers had seen, with the foot-and-mouth outbreak coming during an already difficult time.
Robert Wiseman said it had helped in achieving higher milk prices to producers by paying a 4p-a-litre rise over the last nine months.
However it added it was concerned this was making it uncompetitive in comparison to other major dairy companies.
‘‘This is not a situation we can allow to continue and we are currently reviewing our prices to our milk suppliers’’, the group said.
