Rebecca Hubbard
Posted: Thursday, September 2, 2010 10:52 am

Arla Foods, Scandinavian dairy giant, on the back of positive foreign exchange rates and cost reductions has more than doubled its profits.

For the first six months of 2010, the company posted profits of DKK697m (equivalent to £81.2m), which amounts to an increase of 161.94% from the same period last year. DKK23.8bn (equivalent to £2.77bn), was the posted turnover figure, up from DKK22.3bn in the same period of 2009.

Frederik Lotz, chief executive, claimed however that the results were merely “satisfactory”. He said: “We have to expect lower earnings from the commodity markets in the second half of the year".

Despite Lotz's anxious view, Arla improved its profits forecast from DKK950m to DKK1.2bn, having upped their profits target from 2% to 2.5% of turnover.

Lurpak, Anchor, Cravendale and Apetina are amongst the brands Arla supplies in the UK, as well as a number of own-label dairy products.