Sale of £17.6m site sees Dairy Crest hopeful of future profits
Dairy Crest, one of Britain's biggest milk producers, has announced the sale of the Nine Elms residential and middle-ground milk depot for £17.6m in a move that will boost the company's profits above expectations.
The company anticipates sales from properties to total around £18m in 2014, close to double the previous expectations of £10m.
The company also reported increasing sales in its four key brands for the nine months to 31 December.
Trading in the third quarter was broadly in line with the company's expectations as new products such as Clover Additions and Cathedral City Grated Portions met their targets.
However, the spreads market continues to be challenging and with full year spreads profits to preform below expectations.
Mark Allen, chief executive of Dairy Crest, commented:
Dairy Crest has delivered a solid performance in the third quarter, with the combined sales of our four key brands continuing to grow. Innovation continues to support the development of these brands and our new launches are performing in line with our expectations.
The company is on track to deliver cost savings ahead of its annual target of £20m.