Dairy Crest's French branded spread business, St Hubert, is attracting a host of potential buyers, according to industry analysts - with private equity firms looking like favourites to complete an acquisition in excess of £300m.
Arla Food’s proposed merger with UK-based dairy cooperative Milk Link could signal the demise of Dairy Crest, a food sector mergers and acquisitions expert has claimed.
Dairy Crest and Robert Wiseman Dairies are cutting the price they pay suppliers for milk, with both citing the current ‘challenging’ market environment.
Dairy Crest has announced the loss of its Tesco milk contract but says this bears no relation to new plans to close two dairies, as it cuts costs to sustain profitability in an 'extremely challenging' liquid milk market.
As UK dairy player, Dairy Crest, indicates it is ready to flog off its jewel in the crown - St Hubert - a food industry analyst reckons Groupe Lactalis is the likely buyer.
Dairy Crest surprised analysts today by announcing a strategic review of its French branded spreads business, St Hubert, with a possible divestment on the cards, and said that large dairy concerns based in the country didn't 'seemed keen'...
Dairy Crest has issued a mixed trading update for the first nine months of its fiscal year, with persistent tight margins in its dairies business sector offset by strong performance across its branded portfolio.
Dairy Crest could be the next UK processor to find itself the subject of a takeover approach, while Müller will have to leverage its stronger market position to secure stronger growth in the country, analysts have suggested.
Higher cheese prices and profits from property sales helped Dairy Crest to a strong financial performance for the period ending September 30, according to city analysts.
Major dairy processors and supermarkets in the UK have been fined almost £50m for retail price-fixing that took place almost ten years ago, according to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
City analysts have expressed continued concerns over Dairy Crest’s dairies business, following the release of the firm’s first quarter trading results yesterday.
Dairy Crest announced a new set of efficiency measures as it released what one City analyst described as “a good set of numbers” for the year to March 31 this morning.
German dairy giant Müller is a more likely candidate than Groupe Lactalis to mount a takeover bid for Dairy Crest, one City analyst has told FoodManufacture.co.uk in light of recent whispers of a move for the UK firm.
Pre-close trading updates from Robert Wiseman and Dairy Crest today highlighted the continued turf wars between the major UK processors, with no clear winner in sight.
Dairy Crest will pump the best part of £25m into its factories this year as it embarks on the first stage of a three-year, £75m capital expenditure programme.
Dairy Crest and Sainsbury’s are putting their full marketing weight behind milk bags and jugs - confident that now is the time for the format to take root in the UK.
Glanbia and Dairy Crest have both reported this week that business is continuing in line with expectations but warned that dairy ingredients markets are weak.
As UK dairy processors continue to push ahead with developments in reusable packaging schemes like bagged milk, further work is required within the supply chain for wider long-term success, claims one processor.
UK-based Dairy Crest says that it remains committed to branded dairy production despite its decision to offload its yoghurt operations that it ran as a joint venture Yoplait.
This week, Dairy Crest says cost pressures have failed to derail
its full year expectations and a supplier of whey-based products
moves to step up its global retail presence.
UK-based Dairy Crest has extended a product recall to another batch
of its 2kg tubs of Vitalite brand due to incorrect packaging
labeling claiming the product is 'soya free' and 'suitable for
vegans'.
UK-based Dairy Crest says that is full year financial expectations
remain unchanged following its third fiscal quarter despite
increased milk costs and a £9.4m (€12.6m) fine for alleged
anti-competitive practices.
Dairy Crest and the East of England Co-operative Society are in
discussions over the sale of the latter's dairy operations as it
struggles to meet the growing costs of development and processing
in the industry.
In this week's news roundup, Parmalat denies another out of court
settlement is on the cards, while dairy groups Dairy Crest and Dean
Foods report mix fortunes in dealing with rising commodity costs.
Higher pricing and an increasing focus on healthier products
continues to ensure that Dairy Crest remains in line to achieve its
full year sales targets, the company announced today.
Talks to get UK dairy farmers a better deal with supermarkets are
expected to intensify over the next couple of weeks, as new figures
show nearly 1,000 producers have quit the sector in the last year.
Dairy Crest, Britain's largest dairy group, is set to significantly
increase its collection of brands and capture leading market
positions abroad after signing a deal to buy French and Italian
spreads firm St Hubert.
Soaring input costs threaten to drag down recovering profit margins
for UK dairy firm Robert Wiseman, highlighting ongoing pressure on
sector earnings.
Adverts praising Dairy Crest's Country Life butter for being made
in Britain while lambasting brands shipped in from abroad appear to
have paid off for the firm, in another round of branded sales
rises.
Britain's second biggest supermarket, Asda Wal-Mart, has attempted
to head off supply chain complaints by signing a two-year deal to
buy cheese from a Dairy Crest plant in northern England.
Dairy Crest's shares rose to their highest point since early March
Friday morning, after the group reported in-line trading and the
retirement of its chief executive.
Dairy Crest has got backing from the National Farmers' Union for
new adverts attacking rival butter brand Anchor, which is shipped
frozen to Britain from New Zealand.
There is not enough evidence to say that certain foods can benefit
children's ability to learn, says Britain's food safety watchdog,
underlining the case against Dairy Crest's omega-3 milk adverts.
Dairy Crest misused a clinical study on omega-3 in children to
claim that its St Ivel Advance milk could benefit some children's
ability to learn, says the UK advert watchdog in its report of the
case.
Dairy Crest has criticised Britain's advert watchdog for telling
the company to drop claims that its omega-3 milk could improve
children's ability to learn.
Brands and a functional food focus helped Dairy Crest to increase
sales in 2005, but profits slumped amid rising costs and tough
times for the group's milk supply division.
