Changes at First Milk responsible for rise in profits says CEO

16-Dec-2016 - Last updated on 19-Dec-2016 at 13:49 GMT

First Milk has announced increased profits in its half-year financial statement.

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First Milk has released its latest mid-year financial results (for the six months to September 30, 2016), with operating profits up to £9.2m ($11.4m).

This compares to £1.2m ($1.5m) in the previous year.

The company also announced that profits before tax were up to £6.8m ($8.5m) compared to a loss of £2.4m ($3m) in the prior year.

Additionally, bank debt fell from £46.1m ($57.3m) to £26.1m ($32.4m).

Changes over 20 months

First Milk puts the improvements down to 20 months of changes, with a new business strategy, the divestment of loss making subsidiaries, improved operational performance and changes to its governance structure.

The coop says the benefits of the financial turnaround are being passed to members through milk price increases, which have risen by 8 pence per liter (9.94 cents) since July, with a further 2ppl (2.48 cents) increase anticipated in January.

CEO Mike Gallacher, who took on leadership of the business in March 2015, said First Milk is now a simpler and more efficient business.

“This is demonstrated through significantly improved financial results and most importantly through increasingly competitive milk prices to our farmer members,” Gallacher said.

About First Milk

First Milk is 100% owned by British farmers. It supplies a wide range of dairy products and dairy ingredients to customers in national and international markets including block cheeses, raw milk, butter, skimmed milk powder and whey proteins.

The company is headquartered in Glasgow with four manufacturing sites across England, Scotland and Wales.