| | Branded business boosts Arla Foods UK |
 | | Sales at Arla Foods UK reached £1.7 billion in the 18 months to 30 September, and while this was inevitably higher than the previous year due to a change in the company’s reporting date following the merger with Express Dairies, it was also built on a solid performance from branded products. |
 | | But Arla has the capacity to innovate and experiment, with some of the most modern and efficient dairies in the UK under its control, and indeed it has already been at the forefront of pushing the British dairy market into new areas. |
 | | The company’s parent, Scandinavian Arla Foods amba, reported a drop in profits in 2004 as a result of lost export subsidies related to CAP reform, and the next few years could see a major shift towards branded dairy products by companies which have traditionally focused on the broader dairy sector. |
| www.foodnavigator.com /news/printNewsBis.asp?id=56443 (753 words) |