Lakeland Dairies has reported a revenue increase of 20% to €1.3 billion as it published its annual results for 2021. The increase was seen across the processor’s four operating divisions namely:
- Food ingredients
- Foodservice
- Consumer Foods
- Agribusiness
According to the results, group revenues rose by €217.7 million from the 2020 figure of almost €1.1 billion. The 2021 performance resulted in an operating profit of €28.2 million, which was up by 8% or by €2.1 million. Lakeland collects two billion litres of milk annually from over 3,200 family farms across 16 counties in Ireland. In 2021, Lakeland paid a total of €751 million to its milk suppliers north and south.
The report shows that Food Ingredient revenues increased by 20% to €831.5 million, with the hike attributed to strong demands. Over 280,000t of milk powders and butter were produced in 2021, which is a 12% increase in volume shipments.
A growth of 23% was recorded in the Foodservice division with revenues at almost €224 million which the company described as “excellent” given the volatility in global markets due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The achievement was notably due to a recovery in Lakeland’s global markets, most notably in China; Asia and the Middle-East.
Consumer Foods recorded revenue growth of over €24 million or 16% to €170.2 million. This was attributed, in part, to a greater uptake of dairy by consumers in the retail grocery sector in 2021. However, the Agribusiness division, known as Lakeland Agri, posted a 14% rise in revenue to €86.5 million. This was due to strong feed sales of 218,000t and a 19% jump in fertiliser sales in 2021 compared to the previous year.
Lakeland Dairies group chief executive, Michael Hanley says the financial performance reflected “prudent management” in an “intensely competitive and increasingly volatile trading environment”.