Dairy Crest surged 23.6 to 372.6p after Germany's Theo Mueller Group, which makes M�ller yoghurts, said it had acquired a 3pc stake in the London-listed company. The move triggered speculation the secretive German dairy giant may be lining up a bid for Dairy Crest.

Damian McNeela, an analyst at Panmure Gordon, told Bloomberg: "This indicates that Mueller may make a formal offer for Dairy Crest � they might be looking to widen their product base in the UK".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/marketreport/8033253/Vedanta-Resources-hit-by-Indian-copper-mine-closure.html

Notification of Board Change.

The Board has appointed Richard Macdonald and Stephen Alexander as non-executive Directors with effect from 3 November 2010 and 1 January 2011, respectively.

RNS Number : 6057K

Dairy Crest Group PLC

19 July 2011

19 July 2011

Dairy Crest Group plc ("Dairy Crest")

AGM and Interim Management Statement

Anthony Fry, Chairman of Dairy Crest, will make the following Interim Management Statement at the Company's Annual General Meeting later today.

First quarter trading in line with expectations

Dairy Crest's overall trading in the first quarter has been in line with our expectations. In an increasingly tough trading environment we continue to grow added value sales and drive efficiencies.

Total sales of our five key brands (Cathedral City, Country Life, Clover, St Hubert Omega 3 and Frijj) have increased by 5 % compared to the same period last year.

We also have a strong innovation pipeline, with several interesting new products due to be launched later this year. In the UK these include Chedds, our new children's cheese snacks and new premium flavours for our branded milk shake - Frijj ('The Incredible'). In France we will launch a new St Hubert non-dairy cream and a spread that contains edible seeds.

On 30 June 2011 we purchased the branded food business, M H Foods, for GBP13 million. This business manufactures healthy 'one calorie' spray cooking oils and salad dressings. It has a good history of innovation over many years, the leading brand in its sector and fits well with our Spreads business and we believe the acquisition will allow us to build on our strong portfolio of lighter brands.

Our Dairies business has benefited from higher than anticipated cream prices. However strong competition in retail milk markets has resulted in lower residential milk sales.

As previously announced, we are facing some significant increases in input costs. We are on track to recover these through a combination of efficiency savings and selling price increases. We remain committed to making efficiency savings of GBP20 million this year.

After taking into account the acquisition of M H Foods, our financial position remains in line with our expectations.

Mark Allen, Chief Executive, commented:

"We knew at the start of the year that we faced higher input costs in an increasingly tough environment for consumers. By focusing on our brands and by becoming more efficient we are dealing with those challenges and are soundly placed for the rest of the year. We remain committed to innovating and investing in our brands and our facilities for long-term benefit."

Dairy Crest's Annual General Meeting will be held today at midday at the offices of Eversheds LLP, 1 Wood Street, London EC2V 7WS.

Dairy Crest expects to issue its half-yearly trading update on 19 September 2011 and its Interim Results for the six months ending 30 September 2011 on 10 November 2011.

RNS Number : 4135O

Dairy Crest Group PLC

19 September 2011

19 September 2011

Dairy Crest Group plc ("Dairy Crest")

TRADING UPDATE FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDING 30 SEPTEMBER 2011

Dairy Crest is issuing the following pre-close trading update for the six months ending 30 September 2011 ahead of announcing its Interim Results on 10 November 2011.

Dairy Crest's trading in the first half of the year has been in line with our expectations. Operational efficiencies and selling price increases have broadly offset higher input costs. Higher property profits will result in overall profits for the first half being slightly ahead of the same period last year.

We have continued with our successful strategy to build added value sales and make efficiency improvements across the business. Despite the pressure on consumers' disposable incomes, sales of our five key brands (Cathedral City, Country Life, Clover, St Hubert Omega 3 and Frijj) in total have continued to increase, although volumes of these brands will be lower than in the same period last year.

Innovation remains an important part of our strategy and we have completed the development of four exciting new products during the period. In the UK we have launched 'Chedds', a range of three new children's cheese snacks and 'The Incredible', three new premium flavours for our branded milk shake Frijj. In France we have launched a new St Hubert non-dairy cream and are about to launch a new spread that contains seeds.

In our Dairies business we have continued to grow our milk sales to the major retailers and have maintained milk&more sales at over GBP1million / week. However, as we identified earlier in the year, strong competition in retail milk markets has led to lower residential milk sales.

We have agreed to increase the price we pay our farmers who supply our Dairies business by 1.85 pence per litre from 1 October 2011, reflecting their higher costs. These include new bonuses for enhanced milk quality to further encourage the focus on milk quality and animal welfare. We are in the process of negotiating selling price increases to offset the impact of this.

Net borrowings at 30 September 2011 will be higher than a year ago as anticipated, reflecting higher cheese stocks, increased capital investment and our previously announced purchase of M H Foods.

Mark Allen, Chief Executive, commented: 'We are pleased that we continue to perform as expected in this tough environment. In the first half our broad base, high quality brands and ongoing cost saving measures have allowed us to balance the conflicting demands of increased input costs and subdued consumer spending. At the same time we are investing for the future, with new products and upgraded facilities. Overall we remain confident of delivering full year profits in line with our expectations.'

Dairy Crest is hosting a site visit at its Davidstow creamery on the afternoon of Monday 19 and Tuesday, 20 September, as part of its investor relations programme.

The management team will make presentations on the UK Dairy Sector, Dairy Crest's Cheese Business and Innovation. These will be made available on Dairy Crest's website at www.dairycrest.co.uk/investors. No material new information will be disclosed in these presentations.

Excellent range over the last 2 years and maybe due a bounce?

RNS Number : 1570Q

Dairy Crest Group PLC

14 October 2011

14 October 2011

Dairy Crest Group plc ("Dairy Crest")

Debt refinancing completed

Dairy Crest is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed a debt refinancing by arranging a new bank facility that will mature in October 2016 and by raising additional debt private placement. In total, including existing debt private placement, Dairy Crest's facilities will remain broadly unchanged at over GBP600 million.

A new five-year revolving credit facility of GBP170 million plus EUR150 million from a syndicate of five banks and GBP54.5 million ($85 million) of debt private placement will replace existing bank facilities of GBP340 million, consisting of GBP100 million that was due to mature in November 2011 and GBP85 million plus EUR175 million that was due to mature in July 2013.

Key financial covenants remain unchanged but margins have increased slightly, reflecting current market conditions.

Mark Allen, Chief Executive, commented: "This delivers security of funding in the medium term which is important to us in today's financial markets. We continue to reduce risk in our business."

Dairy Crest will announce its Interim Results for the six months ending 30 September 2011 on 10 November 2011.

Interim Results.

- higher profits in Spreads and Cheese offsetting lower Dairies profits
- adjusted basic earnings per share up 16% helped by lower effective tax rate
-- On track with efficiency savings
- Annual efficiency savings of GBP20 million help offset higher input costs
-- Continuing growth in branded sales
- sales of five key brands up 5% in aggregate
- strong performance from St Hubert in France
- increased selling prices also helped offset higher input costs
- four new branded ranges launched
- milk&more weekly sales up to GBP1.2 million
- branded food business MH Foods acquired for GBP12.3 million (net of cash)
-- Debt refinancing complete
- bank funding in place through to 2016

2 February 2012

Dairy Crest Group plc ("Dairy Crest")

Interim Management Statement

Dairy Crest, the UK's leading dairy foods company, is issuing the following Interim Management Statement for the nine months ended 31 December 2011.

Dairy Crest has coped well in a challenging business environment and overall trading remains in line with our expectations. This demonstrates the benefits of our broadly based business. Group sales in the first nine months of the year have increased by 2% over last year on a like for like basis. This excludes the effect of the disposal of our majority stake in Wexford Creamery Limited.

We continue to focus on controlling our costs and growing added value sales. We remain on track to deliver our targeted annual cost savings of GBP20 million this year. Third quarter sales of our five key brands (Cathedral City, Country Life, St Hubert Omega 3, Clover and Frijj) are up 8% compared to last year, leading to value growth for the first nine months of the year of 6%.

The four new products that we launched last autumn have good customer listings and sales are building satisfactorily.

Foods trading strongly

Our Foods business has traded strongly. In the UK our three key Foods brands (Cathedral City, Country Life, and Clover) performed well over the third quarter, boosted by a strong marketing programme involving both TV advertising and promotions. St Hubert, our French spreads business, has had a very strong quarter and has again increased its market share.

Dairies driving efficiencies but trading difficult

Trading remains difficult in our Dairies business where a combination of high milk purchase prices and lower cream realisations is adversely affecting profitability. Our focus remains on reducing the cost base as the best way to Restore long-term profitability and our three year investment programme is on track. We also aim to increase added value sales in this business and Frijj, milk bag and milk&more sales have continued to grow.

Cash management

We remain focussed on cash management and we expect our net debt at 31 March 2012 to be below that at 30 September 2011. This is in line with the usual seasonal trends. We are committed to further reductions in the longer term.

Mark Allen, Chief Executive of Dairy Crest, commented:

"Dairy Crest has coped well in a challenging business environment and overall trading remains in line with our expectations this year. Although we remain cautious about the economic environment we continue to manage the business proactively to meet the challenges we face."

Dairy Crest expects to issue its full-year trading update on 29 March 2012 and its Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 March 2012 on 24 May 2012

RNS Number : 2806X

Dairy Crest Group PLC

13 February 2012

13(th) February 2012

Dairy Crest Group plc ("Dairy Crest") and Quadra Foods Limited

On 2(nd) February 2012 Dairy Crest issued an Interim Management Statement in which it confirmed that overall trading was in line with its expectations. Its underlying trading has continued to be in line with expectations since that date.

Dairy Crest wishes to inform the market that a customer, Quadra Foods Limited ('Quadra'), has called in Administrators. As a result Dairy Crest anticipates it will increase its bad debt provision by up to GBP4 million. This is the total debt owed to us by Quadra although we are looking at several options to reduce the amount involved.

We expect to treat any charge as an exceptional item in 2011/12 and as such it will not impact on our dividend considerations. Dairy Crest has annual sales of GBP1.6 billion and this is an isolated incident. It will have no material effect on our year end borrowings.

Dairy Crest Group plc ("Dairy Crest") announces strategic review of its French branded spreads business ("St Hubert")

Dairy Crest, the UK's leading dairy foods company, today announces that it is to commence a strategic review of its French branded spreads business. The review will evaluate all possible options available to Dairy Crest to maximise shareholder value, including a potential divestment of St Hubert.

Might see a bit of a recovery in this one, skinny, though they must have been disappointed that Müller preferred to buy out Robert Wiseman Dairies. Competition can only increase with their huge distribution machine grinding away and eating away at DCG margins. Not one I would be happy holding long term as they are mired in debt and by the look of it their credit control is also suspect (£4m arrears from one customer!). Still, 380p looks achievable, so long as we don't see a big downturn in the market over the summer months.

Agreed Harry - I have held in the past - yield 5.96% and ex dividend in June coupled with those magic words - "The review will evaluate all possible options available to Dairy Crest to maximise shareholder value".

Stopped for +10 (SB).

Hmmm - typical.

Pre-close Trading Update.

Update on Dairy Crest's Dairies business


The Board of Dairy Crest is today announcing a proposal to consult on the closure of two dairies. This is part of its long term plan to reduce costs and sustain profitability in an extremely challenging market environment for its liquid milk business.

The Board is also reporting an improved year-end net debt position.

Final Results.

Financial Highlights

· Total Revenue up 2%
o Strong growth in Foods (revenue +10%), supported by continued progress from key brands
o More focused Dairies business (revenue -2%), as action taken to improve customer mix

· Adjusted profit before tax maintained in challenging trading conditions

· Exceptional non-cash impairment charges in Dairies of £81.7 million leads to a reported loss

· Key net debt to EBITDA ratio at 2.2 well within covenant of 3.5

· Proposed final dividend up 4% at 14.7p per share, demonstrating a commitment to progressive dividend policy

Operating Highlights

· Sales of five key brands up 11%
o Record market shares for Cathedral City and St Hubert in fourth quarter

· Innovation driving added value sales and efficiencies
o 10% of sales now derived from products and services developed in the last three years, such as Chedds and Frijj the Incredible
o Milk&more weekly sales up to £1.2 million

· Input cost increases of around £80 million recovered through cost savings and selling price increases

· £22 million annualised cost savings delivered during the year, with a further £20 million identified for 2012/13

· Business In The Community gold award reflects strong commitment to Corporate Responsibility

Strategic highlights

· Strategic review of French Spreads business progressing

· Decisive steps taken since year end to return Dairies business to a satisfactory level of profitability in the medium term

· Branded food acquisition, MH Foods, widened product portfolio

Ex dividend on 20th (payable 2nd August). 14.70p (6.21% yield).

Proposed disposal of St Hubert

Proposed disposal of its French branded spreads business, St Hubert SAS ("St Hubert")

Overview

Dairy Crest, the UK's leading dairy foods company, today announces that it has received a binding offer from Montagu Private Equity SAS regarding the proposed disposal of the entire issued share capital of St Hubert for a consideration of €430 million (£3441 million) payable in cash (the "Transaction").

AGM and Interim Management Statement

Trading in line with expectations and St Hubert sale creates opportunities

Dairy Crest's overall trading in the first quarter has been challenging, especially in our Dairies business. However our expectations for the full year remain unchanged. Our financial position remains in line with our expectations.

As expected it has been a difficult quarter for our Dairies business, along with the rest of the sector. However, we have taken decisive steps to return it to a satisfactory level of profitability. We have set a medium term target of 3% return on sales and are making progress towards it. Plans to close two dairies announced in April are on schedule and resulting capacity reductions are allowing us to improve selling prices in parts of this business. Lower returns from commodity cream markets have also led us to announce milk purchase price cuts. Regrettably these cuts have put pressure on our supplying farmers and we are working with them on plans to reduce the impact of these cuts. These plans include the early adoption of a new code of practice in relation to our milk supply contracts.

Trading Update

Dairy Crest is issuing the following pre-close trading update for the six months ending 30 September 2012 ahead of announcing its Interim Results on 8 November 2012.

Trading in the first half of the year has remained challenging and our profits, having adjusted for the disposal of our French spreads business, St Hubert, will be lower than the same period last year. However, our profit expectations for the full year ending 31 March 2013 remain unchanged.

Strong momentum in Brands

Our four key UK brands (Cathedral City, Country Life, Clover and Frijj) have continued to perform strongly in the first half. Increased marketing expenditure behind these brands is supporting this growth. All four have been advertised on television in the period - the first time that has ever happened.

Innovation remains a focus in our ongoing drive for added value sales. For example, Chedds, natural cheese for children (whose annual retail sales now exceed £7 million), Frijj Incredibles and Cathedral City Selections are all performing strongly. Further innovations are planned for the second half, including a long-life variant of Frijj. This is aimed at the convenience market and provides a significant opportunity for further growth.

As part of our continued drive to grow and improve efficiency across our business, we have decided to consult with employees on plans to consolidate our spreads production into a single UK location, our existing facility at Kirkby, Merseyside. As a result of the consolidation our site in Crudgington, Shropshire, will potentially close in 2014.

Decisive action in Dairies

Our Dairies business has been facing unprecedented market conditions but we remain focused on achieving a 3% return on sales in this business in the medium term. We continue to take a number of decisive actions to achieve this, including implementing milk selling price increases, closing our Aintree creamery, consolidating milk rounds to allow the closure of 23 depots in the six months and reducing overheads. Plans are on track to close our Fenstanton dairy, as previously announced, this autumn.

We increased the price we pay our non-aligned supplier farmers for milk by 1.85 pence per litre from 1 October 2011, but a steep fall in cream prices led to a price reduction of 2 pence per litre from 1 May 2012. A second planned reduction, due to take place on 1 August 2012 was postponed while we negotiated price increases with our customers and this had a small adverse effect on profits in the period.

We have today announced higher farmgate milk prices for our suppliers. These reflect the expectations of improving returns from commodity markets and higher selling prices.

Improved financial position

Following the sale of St Hubert, our financial position is much improved. We received €430 million on 28 August 2012 which has been used in part to repay drawdowns from our revolving credit facility. The balance has been placed on short-term deposits, with the position for the longer term currently under review. Our aim in deploying cash will be to preserve the Group's capacity to make acquisitions, while providing appropriate long-term funding for the pension fund and driving towards a more efficient debt structure.

Mark Allen, Chief Executive, commented: 'We are pleased with our first half performance despite the significant pressures on our business. Although we expect these to continue into the second half our first half performance together with our plans for the second half means that our profit expectations for the full year remain unchanged. At the same time we have continued to move the business forward and the proceeds from the sale of St Hubert leave us much stronger financially.'

Dairy Crest is hosting a visit for analysts and investors at its Kirkby Spreads manufacturing facility on the afternoon of Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 September. The management team will make presentations on our Spreads and Dairies Businesses, as well as the Group's sales and marketing activities. These will be made available on Dairy Crest's website at www.dairycrest.co.uk/investors. No material new information will be disclosed in these presentations.

Up nicely with a good divi. +6% on 4-1-2013 I think.

Interim Management Statement


Half year ended 30 September



· Much improved financial position following successful disposal of St Hubert

- St Hubert sold for €430 million, generating a post-tax profit on sale of £47.7 million
- Balance sheet transformed. Net debt: EBITDA ratio 0.7x (2011: 2.4x)
- Well placed to make targeted, value-enhancing acquisitions in the UK

· Strong performance from key brands and new products

- UK Spreads and Cheese sales jointly up 3%
- Four key brands together recorded double digit volume and value growth
- New products, Chedds and FRijj the Incredible, now firmly established
- Further innovation planned for second half
- Increased A&P investment to maintain momentum - all four brands on television in the period

· Accelerated efficiency cost savings

- Ongoing costs discipline throughout business
- Annual cost savings ahead of £20 million target

· Dairies profits lower in continuing difficult trading environment

- Sales down 11% in line with strategy to reduce exposure to this sector
- Milk price support for supplying farmers in challenging times
- On track with clear plan to restore 3% return on sales in the medium term

Dairy Crest profit hurt by milk business
Thu 08 Nov 2012

DCG - Dairy Crest Group



LONDON (SHARECAST) - Cathedral City cheese maker Dairy Crest said first half profits fell 16 per cent as its milk business continues to struggle.

The group said adjusted pre-tax profit fell to £19.1m for the six months ended September 30th from £22.7m the same time a year earlier. Revenue for the period fell to £688.2m from £739.1m before.

Sales of its four key brands Cathedral City, Country Life, Clover and Frijj rose 11% in the half-year period.

However its dairies business suffered lower profits amid a difficult trading environment. Sales were down 11% in line with strategy to reduce exposure to this sector.

Milk producers such as Dairy Crest are struggling to give farmers better prices while supermarkets seek lower prices in a competitive market.

Dairy Crest said it is on track with a plan to restore 3% return on sales in the medium term.

Chief Executive Mark Allen commented: "Dairy Crest has had a busy first six months as we continued to navigate a challenging trading environment. The decisive actions we have taken during the period leave us well placed as we move forward."

Following the sale of St Hubert, the group said it has a more focused business and a much stronger balance sheet. "We now have the ability to make UK acquisitions," it added.

Despite the challenging environment, Dairy Crest said it continues to grow its key brands while reducing its cost base. Improvements to the dairies business are expected to improve future profitability.

"We remain confident that full year performance will be in line with our expectations."

Half year net debt was significantly reduced to £75.8m from £365.3m previously.

The interim dividend has been held at 5.7p.

Trying the 360 level again.

Milk price increases from Dairy Crest

Looking to close above £4.

MIDAS SHARE TIPS: A chance for investors to cream a profit at Dairy Crest



By Joanne Hart

PUBLISHED:22:17, 19 January 2013| UPDATED:22:17, 19 January 2013

Anyone who has bought a cut-price burger from a supermarket recently will almost certainly be wondering what was in it. The horse meat scare is the latest in a series of food industry scandals that all seem to arise when price is more important than quality.


Fortunately, Dairy Crest Group is not in that position. The company has nothing to do with meat and is keenly aware of the need for high standards at its facilities. At 4001⁄2p, the shares offer good, long-term value.


The firm supplies a third of the country’s milk, including all that sold by Waitrose and Marks & Spencer. Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – but not Tesco – are key customers, too, as well as corner shops, hospitals and restaurants. It even delivers milk to a million homes.





Milk monitor: Mark Allen is pushing for greater efficiency at Dairy Crest, which delivers dairy goods to a million British homes

The company buys about four billion pints a year from farmers and chief executive Mark Allen is known for his desire to see them get a fair price.


But milk is a commodity and profit margins are low, so Dairy Crest has to work hard to deliver returns to investors and keep customers and suppliers happy. The firm has made tangible progress towards that end and Allen intends to lift the milk division’s profits from about £10 million to about £30 million over two to three years.


Dairies are being merged, new machines have been acquired that process milk faster and more efficiently and the business has invested heavily in software that will ensure it transports milk more cost-effectively. The firm is doing much better with dairy products, such as Cathedral City cheddar and Frijj milkshakes.

Sales of Cathedral City have doubled over the past five years and the cheese was recently voted one of British consumers’ most trusted brands – the only food in the top ten. Frijj sales are growing strongly, too, and a long-life version, which can be sold in petrol stations and other outlets with limited fridge space, was recently launched.


Dairy Crest makes Country Life butter, Clover spread and other similar products. This market is highly competitive, but Allen is merging two factories next year to boost efficiency.


The group has also launched an internet ordering service, Milk & More, using its milk floats to deliver groceries daily.


And last year, Allen sold French spreads firm St Hubert for £344 million, since when he has been looking for acquisitions.


For the year to this March, brokers expect profits of £50 million rising to nearly £60 million in 2014.


The dividend is forecast at 22p in 2013, rising to 23p in 2014, so the stock is on a yield of more than five per cent.


Midas verdict: Dairy Crest is a well-regarded food company, doing its best to maintain standards and increase profits in a tough market. However, milk prices have at least started to rise recently and the outlook is better than it has been for years. The shares should increase. Buy

Interim Management Statement


Dairy Crest continues to cope well in a challenging environment and overall trading remains in line with our expectations. We remain focused on growing added value sales and improving efficiency across the business. Our four key brands continue to grow, aided by good performances from the innovative new products launched in recent years. We are on track to exceed our annual cost savings target by delivering savings of around £23 million this year. We have already identified several meaningful projects for next year that should enable us to maintain our track record in this area.

The sale of St Hubert has significantly strengthened Dairy Crest's financial position, and has provided a strong foundation for the future. Our aim in deploying the cash from the transaction is to make targeted acquisitions. We are determined that any acquisition must deliver strong returns for shareholders but, to date, we have not identified any such acquisition. Our short-term focus is on improving our debt structure in order to reduce future interest costs, improve earnings and underpin our dividend. We also continue to work on providing appropriate long-term funding for the pension fund.

Panmure Gordon Hold 410.75 422.00 410.00 430.00 Downgrades

Contract to supply milk to Sainsbury's

Dairy Crest, the leading UK-owned dairy foods company is today announcing that it has retained its contract to supply liquid milk to Sainsbury's from February 2014, after a competitive process. The new contract is for 3 years until 2017. Although the conditions of the contract will change from 2014 our ongoing cost reductions are expected to offset any financial impact on our business.

Dairy Crest continues to focus on driving efficiencies so it can meet customers' demands for cost, quality and service. In its IMS on 7 February 2013 it reported that it was on track to exceed its annual cost savings target by delivering savings of around £23 million for the year ending 31 March 2013 and that it had already identified several meaningful projects for the following year.


Reorganisation and Board changes

Final Results 23rd May.

Final Results

Financial Highlights

· Adjusted profit before tax is up 7% to £50.6 million
· Year-end net debt is down 82% to £60 million
· Post year-end restructuring of balance sheet reduces future interest charges
· Post year-end additional £40 million cash contribution to the pension fund reduces exposure
· Proposed final dividend is up 2%

Strategic highlights

· Successful sale of St Hubert has refocused the business on the UK
· Process is underway to move to one business structure focusing on consumer driven growth and an integrated supply chain
· Innovative new milk price formula introduced to help farmers and sustain milk supply

Operating Highlights

· Ongoing growth for Cathedral City ahead of market
· Clover and Country Life both gained market share
· Innovation driving added value sales: 5% of total revenue and 9% of key brand revenue generated from products introduced in the last three years
· Continued focus on costs: £23 million annualised cost savings delivered in 2012/13, with a further £20 million identified for 2013/14
· BITC Platinum Big Tick Award reflects ongoing strong Corporate Responsibility commitment

MILK GOING UP 4p pint ON 26 MAY

Group... Investec Add 481.20 466.00 480.00 Retains

Beaufort Securities Buy 481.20 - - Initiates/Starts

forward diary says 15p div on 3rd july.,.

Ex Divi is 26th June I think.

xd is on 26th June - 15p Final dividend - paid 1st August.

sorry was just going to put right.... brain drain.,.

Good company this. Am in profit and picking up 6+ % divi per year.

AGM and Interim Management Statement

Dairy Crest's overall trading in the first quarter has been in line with our expectations and our financial position also remains in line. Our expectations for the full year remain unchanged.

Trading Update

Starting to look intersting again.

GF - any chance of a chart in the header?

Blackrock > 5%

Interim Results

Interim Management Statement and Sale of Nine Elms Depot

Dairy Crest, the leading UK-owned dairy foods company, is today issuing its Interim Management Statement for the nine months ended 31 December 2013. It is also announcing that it has agreed the sale of its Nine Elms residential and middle-ground milk depot ("Nine Elms"). Following this transaction we expect to report profits for the year ending 31 March 2014 ahead of our expectations.

Third quarter trading in line
Trading in the third quarter was broadly in line with our expectations in an environment that remains challenging. We have continued to grow key brand sales and implement cost reduction projects.

Taken together, sales of our four key brands (Cathedral City, Country Life, Clover and FRijj) have grown by 4% over the nine month period. Innovation continues to be an important factor in the success of these brands, new products introduced earlier this year such as Clover Additions and Cathedral City Grated Portions are meeting their targets and we have recently launched Cathedral City Spreadable. We continue to expect FRijj to be in growth for the year as a whole following the successful upgrade of our production facilities in the first half of the year and a strong third quarter.

We have also continued with initiatives designed to improve the profitability of our Dairies product group and remain committed to our medium-term target of 3% on sales. We are on track to deliver cost savings ahead of our annual target of £20 million.

Our demineralised whey powder project is progressing to plan and we are in advanced discussions with a small number of potential customers.

Proceeds from sale of depot exceed expectations
The sale of Nine Elms in London to Battersea Project Phase 5 Residential Company Limited for £17.6 million in cash generates a profit of £15 million on the disposal.

Residential milk deliveries have steadily declined over recent years as supermarkets have grown their share of the market. Property profits from the sale of depots such as Nine Elms offset the costs associated with this decline. We had forecast property profits of around £8 million but we had also highlighted that Nine Elms was a particularly valuable property which would result in a spike in profits in the year in which it was sold. We anticipate profits from the sale of depots we no longer require are likely to return to a more normal £5 million to £10 million in future years.

Outlook for year
We now anticipate that profits from the sale of properties will total around £18 million this year, £10 million ahead of previous expectations. However, the challenging Spreads market will lead to full year Spreads profits below previous expectations. Taken together these changes will increase adjusted profit before tax. This will result in additional bonus payments to over 1,200 of our employees which will total around £2.5 million and lead us to report profits for the year ending 31 March 2014 ahead of expectations.

Still dithering around 450p

Preliminary results on Thursday 22nd.

Final results for year ended 31 March 2014

Financial Highlights
· Adjusted profit before tax up 31% to £65.3 million, including higher profits from sale of surplus properties
· Year end net debt at £142 million leaves net debt to EBITDA within targeted range at 1.3 x
· Proposed final dividend payment of 15.4p taking full year to 21.3p, up 3%

Strategic Highlights
· Reorganised into one business structure
· Demineralised whey project on track to enhance annual profits by £5 million from 2015/16 - in exclusive talks with one customer
· Move to a single spreads manufacturing facility nearing completion
· Reduced cash contribution to defined benefit pension scheme from 2014/15

Operating Highlights
· Ongoing growth for Cathedral City ahead of market
· Continued focus on costs: £25 million annualised cost savings delivered in 2013/14, with a further £20 million identified for 2014/15
· Strong Corporate Responsibility commitment: highest UK ranked business by BITC

May 22 (Reuters) - Dairy Crest Group Plc DCG.L , Britain's largest dairy company, reported a 31 percent rise in full-year pretax profit, helped by the sale of a property in London. The company, whose brands include Country Life, Clover and flavoured milk drink Frijj, said its adjusted pretax profit rose to 65.3 million pounds ($110.2 million) in the year ended March 31 from 49.7 million pounds a year earlier. ID:nRSV7562Ha Revenue rose 1 percent to 1.39 billion pounds. Analysts on average expected the company to report full-year pretax profit of 65.6 million pounds on revenue of 1.36 billion pounds, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Dairy Crest sold its Nine Elms residential and middle-ground milk depot located in London to Battersea Project Phase 5 Residential Co Ltd for 17.6 million pounds in cash, generating a profit of 15 million pounds on the sale. The producer of Cathedral City cheese raised its final dividend to 15.4 pence per share from 15 pence a year earlier. Shares in the company were down 0.8 percent at 456.3 pence at 0711 GMT on Thursday on the London Stock Exchange.

Tempting - yield now @4.8% at the current price - although long(er) term chart not so good.

Had a small dabble @424.1!

Looks like you've caught the bottom Skinny. You holding for yield and did you buy as an equity?

S/B - they are on my scrap of paper for June dividend cover against FTSE short potential - just bought them sooner than planned - but won't hang around if they fall and obviously will take any reasonable gain.

The falls understandable, strip out the £15m they wouldn't have had from the property sale and its clear this is another premium brand losing ground to the discounters. Also Cathedral City I'm sure I've seen in Aldi at a far discount to Tesco/Sainsbury prices. Tells you something about supply/demand and consistant margins.

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 432.70 600.00 577.00 Reiterates

Investec Hold 438.70 525.00 434.00 Downgrades

I'll take jp morgans by 1st july .,.

Chart placed in header.

started moving in the right direction yesterday skinners ;)

I got limited out yesterday +20p from the 22nd - looks to be too soon!1

very surprised you set that so low with a month to go before div date.,.

The limit was based on daily S/R and it moved before I had time to amend - it happens.

For interest, today's is 460.56p and optimistically 464.08p

With the chart looking as it does I'm sticking to it till it reaches a peak on the macd.,.

I did the same with MAB yesterday - day trade +15 and its well up again today - its easy!!!

;)

looking at the MAB chart you were lucky to hit that spot on.,.

Lucky!!

464p

LOL......defo

467p and still more to come before 2/7/14

+4p 471 going well.,.

glad we're back to 470p...... thought i'd dropped a bo**ock yesterday :)

Grrrr.

Took 472p before greed got me.,.

Well done.

Goldman Sachs Sell 469.40 469.40 - 377.00 Reiterates

Do you not like their butter Skinny you seem to have it in for this lot.

On the contrary - I'm waiting to buy back.

What have you got and hedge on a ton of butter.

See post 51 - 59 above - I was long almost at the bottom, but got limited out because I didn't amend it in time and have been ruing it ever since!

In the words of the bard - bugger!!!!

Easy done. Usualy cynic who takes my mind off what Im doing.

oy! mind your manners ... i think he really means i stop him wanking with the thought of being buggered :-)

Bitten the bullet @466.7

Ex dividend on Wednesday 2nd @15.45p

Global partnership with Fonterra to sell demineralised whey and further global growth opportunity

Dairy Crest, the leading UK-owned dairy foods company, is today announcing that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Fonterra, the world's leading dairy exporter. Fonterra will market and sell two products for the fast growing global infant formula market.

more..

AGM and Interim Management Statement

Dairy Crest, the leading UK-owned dairy foods company, is issuing the following Interim Management Statement for the 3 months ended 30 June 2014 at its Annual General Meeting later today.

Aggregate sales of our four key brands grew by 4% in the period compared to the first quarter of 2013/14. Three of our key brands, Cathedral City, Country Life and FRijj each grew sales by more than 5%. The exception was Clover where sales continued to fall in a difficult spreads market. We expect the performance of this brand to benefit over the remainder of the year from the television advertising that is scheduled for the second quarter. We also remain on target to complete the rationalisation of our spreads and butter manufacturing facilities and close our Crudgington site this year.

One of the elements of our plan to improve the profits in our Dairies operations is to grow FRijj, which is already the market leader in the ready to drink flavoured milk market. FRijj has increased its presence on retailers' shelves in recent months and secured a greater share of display. New coffee flavours are also contributing to its growth.

The second element to our Dairies plan is to reduce our costs. Across the business as a whole we are on target to again reduce our costs by £20 million this year, with Dairies benefitting most. Our focus is on reducing our distribution costs and we have made good progress in the period.

Thirdly, we aim to maximise profits from the sale of surplus properties. As previously reported, in this period we have completed the sale of a redundant depot in Surbiton, Surrey resulting in a profit on disposal of £4.9 million. We now anticipate full year profits from sales of redundant distribution depots will be in the range £10 million to £15 million.

Despite progress with these three elements of our plan, profits in our Dairies product group have remained under pressure as we maintained high milk purchase prices during the quarter despite lower cream revenues. Although we have now reduced the price we pay for milk for Dairies, profits in this product group will be second-half weighted and property profits will make up a larger part of total profits than we originally anticipated.

At the end of the first quarter our financial position remains in line with our expectations and the outlook for the full year remains unchanged.

As announced earlier this month, our £45 million investment to manufacture demineralised whey at Davidstow remains on track and we are working closely with our partner, Fonterra, to maximise the potential returns from both this investment and from the newly announced £20 million investment to manufacture galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS).

Anyone know why this is dropping?

Not sure, but they are back on my list.

Dairy Crest Group plc ("Dairy Crest") appoints new Chairman

The Board of Dairy Crest, the leading UK-owned dairy foods company, announces that Stephen Alexander will become the company's Chairman with immediate effect.

He replaces Anthony Fry, who was taken ill earlier this year. Anthony will leave the Board of Dairy Crest with immediate effect.

Stephen Alexander was appointed as a Non-executive Director in January 2011. He has been Chairman of the Remuneration Committee since May 2012.

Richard Macdonald, who has been Acting Chairman while Anthony has been unable to work, will resume his role as Senior Independent Director.

Mark Allen, Chief Executive of Dairy Crest, said: "It is sad that Anthony will no longer chair the Board. Anthony has had a significant influence on the business since his appointment as a Non-executive Director in 2007, and especially since he became Chairman in 2010. I shall miss working with him."

"Stephen has been a very strong non-Executive and makes an excellent replacement. I am looking forward to working more closely with him."

Stephen Alexander said: "I am delighted to take up the role of Chairman. Dairy Crest is a good business and I look forward to helping to continue to further develop the company."

Dairy Crest expects to issue its half-yearly trading update on 22 September 2014 and its Interim Results for the six months ending 30 September 2014 on 6 November 2014.
-ENDS-

Trading Statement

Dairy Crest is issuing the following pre-close trading update for the six months ending 30 September 2014, ahead of announcing Interim Results on 6 November 2014.

In a challenging trading environment Dairy Crest expects to report overall first half Group profits broadly in line with last year. As previously reported, property profits from the sale of surplus delivery depots will make up a greater proportion of profits than in the same period last year.

more...

Hanworth and Chard facilities

Dairy Crest starts employee consultation at its Hanworth glass bottling dairy and Chard specialist cream potting facility

Dairy Crest is today announcing that it is starting consultation with employees and their representatives regarding the closure of its glass bottling dairy in Hanworth, West London and its specialist cream potting facility in Chard, Somerset.

more...

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 395.50 530.00 480.00 Reiterates

Numis Hold 394.13 409.50 476.00 411.00 Reiterates

StockMarketWire.com
Dairy Crest has agreed to sell the assets of its dairies operations to Müller UK & Ireland Group for £80m payable in cash on completion.

The sale is conditional on the approval of the relevant competition authorities. This process is expected to take several months, during which time Dairy Crest will focus on continuing to provide high levels of service and delivery throughout the supply chain.

It is also conditional on the approval of Dairy Crest's shareholders and employee consultation

StockMarketWire.com
Credit Suisse lifts Dairy Crest to neutral from underperform, target raised from 390p to 485p.

Perhaps the gap isn't going to be filled yet!

Fresh milk contract with Morrisons



Dairy Crest today announces that it has retained its contract to supply fresh milk to Morrisons for a further three years, following a competitive tender process, but that the volumes Morrisons purchases from Dairy Crest will be reduced by around one third from March 2015.

Dairy Crest does not expect this to materially affect its financial results for the year ending 31 March 2015.

In addition to fresh milk Dairy Crest will continue to supply Morrisons with cheese, flavoured milk, butter and spreads.

Dairy Crest will issue its Interim Management Statement for the nine months ended 31 December 2014 on 5 February 2015.

Interim Management Statement

May be sales are flat, which is the reason for the down trend. Is it worth buying at the bottom of this trend?

Looking to fill the gap this time?

Final results for year ended 31 March 2015

Highlights

· Total Product group profits of retained Cheese and Spreads businesses up 19% year on year

· Sale of Dairies operations approved by shareholders; regulatory approval in progress

· Cathedral City brand continues to grow strongly - now Britain's 16th largest grocery brand, accounting for over 50% of total branded retail cheddar sales

· On track to start production of demineralised whey powder and galacto-oligosacharide this year for growing global markets

· Strong Corporate Responsibility commitment maintained - top ranked UK business by BITC for second consecutive year

· Proposed final dividend payment of 15.7p taking full year to 21.7p, up 2%

31.01.18 StockMarketWire.com
Dairy Crest reported total revenue rose 7% for the first nine months of year, while the outlook for the full year remained unchanged.

The rise in revenue for the first nine months of the year compared to the previous year was driven by combined strong performance from the company's key brands such as Cathedral City, Clover, Country Life and Frylight.

All of Dairy Crest's spreads brands - Clover, Utterly Butterly, Vitalite and Willow - continued to gain market share, the company said.

Mark Allen, Chief Executive of Dairy Crest, said:

'We have seen strong growth across our key brands, with Cathedral City, Clover and Frylight performing well and all of our spreads brands increasing market share.'

'I am delighted that Cathedral City Spreadable, one of our more recent innovations, was voted 'Product of the Year 2018' in the cheese category by consumers.'

'We continue to build the customer base for our functional ingredients business and we will talk in greater detail about this in May.'


Peel Hunt today reaffirms its buy investment rating on Dairy Crest Group PLC (LON:DCG) and cut its price target to 650p (from 680p).

StockMarketWire.com
Dairy Crest reported adjusted pre-tax profit rose 3% supported by a 10% jump in revenue despite 'unprecedented' cost inflation in the butters market.

Adjusted pre-tax profit rose 3% to £62.3m, but rose 345% to £179.2m, when an exceptional income of £130.9m related to the reduction in pension fund liabilities was included.

The pension fund swung to a surplus on an accounting basis, due largely to the agreed change to the indexation of pensions in payment, the company said.

Group revenue rose 10% to £456.8m as revenue growth was recorded across all parts of the business except the company's "other" segment, which includes third party warehousing revenue.

Cheese revenues were up 4%, and butter revenue rose 25% despite an increase in the cost of milk and butter. The company's Cathedral City brand saw revenues grow by 6%.

'We have delivered a strong performance, broadly maintaining our industry-leading margins against a backdrop of unprecedented cost inflation in the butters market,' Dairy Crest said.

All four of Dairy Crest's spreads brands grew revenues over the year, delivering a combined uplift of 10% compared to the overall spreads market which was flat, according to IRI Kantar data.

The company said it would raise £70m through a share issuance to fund an expansion of its cheese and whey production facilities amid growing demand.

Peel Hunt Buy 508.00 650.00 630.00 Reiterates

Societe Generale Hold 508.00 610.00 530.00 Reiterates

StockMarketWire.com
Dairy Crest said Monday it expected first-half profit and revenue to be ahead of last year driven by strong performance from its Cathedral City cheese and Clover spread brands.

Cathedral City's revenue was expected to deliver good growth against strong volumes a year ago, while Clover as expected to deliver both volume and revenue growth, continuing the positive performance from last year, the company said.

First-half performance would be held back by a reduction in volume and revenue for brand Frylight as unusually hot weather crimped oil usage, though the company said trading had significantly improved in recent weeks.

Dairy Crest also said it continued to restrict Country Life promotional activity as ongoing high butter costs weighed on sales.

Dairy Crest touted several new product releases within the next for months for Cathedral City.

The company maintained its outlook for the full year.

'Our Cathedral City and Clover brands continue to drive the business forward, supported by an exciting pipeline of new product developments,' said Mark Allen, Chief Executive.

' For Cathedral City to be named one of the UK's top ten brands by consumers, alongside John Lewis, Amazon and Ikea, is testament to the power of the UK's favourite cheese brand, and we see good growth potential in the UK and beyond.'

'Our balance sheet is in good shape and we are moving forward with the first phase of the expansion at Davidstow. Our expectations for the full year remain unchanged.'