Breaking News on Dairy Processing & Markets

Sealed Air in deal for Alcan packaging?

21-Aug-2007 - Sealed Air Corp. is close to a deal to buy the packaging arm of Alcan Inc. for between $4bn to $5bn in cash, according to Reuters News Agency.

Nestle nourished by health aims

16-Aug-2007 - Nestle's drive to be a major health and nutrition player resulted in a strong first half fiscal performance for the company.

Vivartia drops ice cream for restructuring aims

06-Aug-2007 - Greek dairy group Vivartia has sold its entire 24 per cent stake in ice cream producer and retailer Dodoni to the National Bank of Greece Group as it continues to restructure its operations.

Unilever takes aggressive stance for growth aims

02-Aug-2007 - Unilever today announced it will cut 20,000 jobs, accounting for 11 per cent of its total workforce, as part of a new "aggressive" growth strategy for its operations.

Healthy half year for Danone's nutrition ambition

31-Jul-2007 - Danone has increased like-for-like sales by 8.2 per cent to €7.5bn during the first half of the year as it continues to refocus its operations towards health and nutrition.

Dairy firms merge, blame CAP

26-Jul-2007 - French dairy firms Sodiaal and Entremont Alliance announced Tuesday a merger of activities, a move they claim is due to financial pressure brought on by reforms to the EU's system of agricultural subsidies.

Sales surge offsets Fonterra cost spike

25-Jul-2007 - A spike in commodity costs failed to dampen Fonterra's results for the financial year ended 31 May, as the company lifted sales by AUS$881m (€566m) to AUS$13.9bn (€8.9bn).

Parmalat reaches settlement - supposedly

24-Jul-2007 - A US federal judge last week approved a $50m partial settlement in a lawsuit over dairy firm Parmalat's bankruptcy, according to Reuters.

Arla sells yoghurt top cups division

24-Jul-2007 - Arla Foods announced yesterday the sale of Crispy Food International, a leading producer of "cereal tops" for dairy breakfast foods, to Denmark-based Koff.

High dairy prices affect Hershey's earnings

23-Jul-2007 - High dairy prices meant Hershey's operating margins fell to 3.1 per cent for the quarter ended 1 July, compared to 17.3 per cent for the same period in 2006.

Dairy Crest achieving profit goals

20-Jul-2007 - UK Dairy Crest said yesterday that profit for the year will meet expectations, thanks to strong sales of its brands, cost cutting in operations and price increases.

S&P upgrades Wimm-Bill-Dann credit rating

18-Jul-2007 - Standard & Poor's announced yesterday that it has raised its credit ratings on Russian company Wimm-Bill-Dann, after an improved financial performance in 2006.

Danone sells Danao in France

17-Jul-2007 - Danone France is selling its Danao brand, a mixed milk and fruit juice, in the country to cider company Cidreries du Calvados la Fermiere (CCLF).

Marfin acquires stake in Vivartia

17-Jul-2007 - Greek investment firm Marfin is today expected to complete the purchase of a one-third stake in the country's largest dairy and food group Vivartia.

EPI's deal with Solarec to boost milk powder ingredients supply

16-Jul-2007 - France's EPI Ingredients is expanding its supply milk powders with a new deal with Belgian dairy firm Solarec, which will give it the rights to commercialise all the powders produced at the latter's Recongne-Libramont facility.

S&P downgrades Danone's credit rating

12-Jul-2007 - Standard & Poor's announced today that it has lowered its credit ratings on French company Danone, based on the projected increased debt due its proposed acquisition of Numico.

Glanbia reports gains despite dairy difficulties

11-Jul-2007 - Glanbia remains on course for an estimated 20 per cent increase in profits, despite difficulties within its dairy production unit, the company said yesterday.

Danone eyes Numico for healthier future

10-Jul-2007 - Danone yesterday tendered a €12.3bn offer for nutrition group Numico in a bid to dominate the growing market for high margin, added-value products.

Parmalat steps up compensation drive

09-Jul-2007 - Parmalat has stepped up legal proceedings against banks alleged to have failed to prevent its 2003 financial collapse as it continues its drive to re-establish itself as a leading global dairy company.

Kirin discusses further dairy diversification

06-Jul-2007 - Japanese brewer Kirin yesterday announced that it had opened "preliminary discussions" with rival San Miguel over the possibility of acquiring a stake in its Australian dairy and soft drink subsidiary National foods.

Long-term dairy fears allayed by OECD report

05-Jul-2007 - Growing fears among dairy processors over continued increases in the cost of ingredients like milk powders could be allayed by new findings from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Bangladesh success reflects Arla's Asian ambition

03-Jul-2007 - Dairy group Arla continues to profit from its partnerships within the emerging markets of Asia as sales of its powdered milk brands in Bangladesh continue to rise rapidly.

Weekly comment

M&A: Urge to merge

02-Jul-2007 - Mergers and acquisition activity is always ongoing in every segment of industry, but this summer looks to be a particularly hot one for food and beverage manufacturers.

Raisio halts Russian margarine production

28-Jun-2007 - Raisio is to cease production of margarine at its plant in Istra, Russia from September, when it will transfer the operation to a subcontractor in an effort to reduce over-capacity and boost profitability.