Dale Farm dairy co-op posts record profits

Northern Ireland-based dairy co-op Dale Farm has posted a record pre-tax profit of £12m for the year ending March 2019 – up 19% on 2018’s results.

Previously known as United Dairy Farmers, Dale Farm is supplied by 1,300 farmers in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland and is the largest UK farmer-owned co-operative.

The business also saw overall group turnover rise by 5.6% to £509m and the number of suppliers increase by 7%.

See also: United Dairy Farmers posts strong annual results

Nick Whelan, chief executive of the Dale Farm Group, said the results reflected a fourth year of consistent growth in profitability for the business.

Across the same time period, the co-op has also invested £30.2m into its facilities and operations, which has delivered a 15.8% return on capital employed for the group overall.

“We continually assess and reinvest into every step of the production process to increase our operating efficiencies and in doing so, have achieved a return on capital well above the industry average,” he said.

Mr Whelan added that the co-op’s financial performance was measured by its ability to best support its farmer owners.

“I am delighted to be able to report that Dale Farm has paid the leading milk price as per the 12-month rolling milk price league in Northern Ireland throughout this past financial year,” he said.