Dairy firm Arla Group has reported a 23.2% increase in revenue in its 2022 financial year, which was 'almost exclusively' driven by increased prices, it said.
Full-year revenue for 2022 came in at €13.8 billion, compared to €11.2 billion the previous year, as 'stagnating supply and steady demand drove up commodity and retail prices', the Denmark-based firm noted.
'Inflation And Uncertainty'
"2022 was a year dominated by inflation and uncertainty for both farmers and our company," commented Arla Foods chairman Jan Toft Nørgaard. "Despite this challenging environment, we delivered solid results while taking important strides forward on sustainability."
Net profit for the year allocated to farmer owners stood at €382 million, or 2.8% of revenue, which was at the bottom end of the group's full-year target.
It said that its profit performance was driven by unprecedented high margins on commodity products, which, coupled with high production costs, put pressure on its retail and foodservice margins.
At the same time, the group's average pre-paid milk price increased by 40.5% during the year, while it also paid out an 'above target' supplementary payment to its farmer owners of 2.2 euro-cent per kg milk for the full year.
Focus On Sustainability
The year also saw Arla continue its transition to more sustainable dairy production, as it seeks to meet its on-farm target of reducing CO2e by 30% by 2030.
"As a cooperative, we took a historic step in 2022 with the decision to introduce a sustainability incentive that ties the individual farmers’ milk price to sustainability activities and performance," Nørgaard added.
"A total of up to €500 million will be redistributed every year, showing our ambition to be at the forefront of progressive dairy farming."
Read More: Arla Denmark Names Henrik Lilballe Hansen As Its New Managing Director
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest A-Brands news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
