23rd Sep 2013 06:17
LONDON (Alliance News) - Dairy Crest Group Plc (DCG.L), a dairy foods company, issued its trading update for the six months ending September 30, 2013.
The company stated that in a challenging trading environment it would report a steady first half performance. Results would benefit from a lower interest charge compared to last year, as expected. Net debt at September 30, 2013 would be higher than at March 31, 2013 reflecting payments made to the pension fund and to redeem loan notes along with the usual first half outflow of working capital. Full-year profit expectations remain unchanged.
Sales of the company's four key brands are together likely to be broadly the same as they were in the prior-year period when they grew 11%, compared with the six months ended September 30, 2011.
Looking ahead, Dairy Crest anticipates production to begin in the first half of 2015 and believes that the project would improve annual operating profits by more than 5 million pounds after additional depreciation charges of some 4 million pounds, effectively providing a five-year cash payback.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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