Dairy 2022 revenue increase soured by its deficit doubling
REVENUE from milk, cheese, cream and ice-cream all rose last year, the Guernsey Dairy accounts have revealed.
But the dairy’s operating loss doubled to £463,000.
‘2022 has been another challenging year for the dairy, as it faced ongoing difficulties arising from ageing plant, unreliable equipment and deteriorating infrastructure,’ said Stuart Falla, retiring chairman of the Dairy management board.
‘The volume of raw milk supplied to the dairy in 2022 was similar to that supplied in 2021 at 7.6m litres.
'This was despite the challenges faced by farmers due to the geopolitical climate and the effect this had on rising input costs.’
Liquid milk makes up 75% of the dairy’s turnover, and the volumes sold in 2022 dropped by 2% compared to 2021.
Despite this, milk revenue increased by 2.7% – to £6.75m.
This followed a 4.8% rise in the wholesale milk price in January 2022.
Guernsey Dairy’s business plan, which was published last year, detailed how the dairy was trying to arrest the decline in milk sales and reduce the amount of milk received from farmers.
In the latest report Guernsey Dairy managing director Andrew Tabel said it had seen an increase of 35,558 litres taken in by the dairy last year.
‘Guernsey Dairy and farmers are working together to ensure the ideal production level of liquid milk for the islands’ needs is met,’ he said.
‘To achieve this, production levels need to align closely with demand with as little over or under production as possible, and supplies maintained equally over a rolling 12-month period.’
The dairy’s other products are made from the cream left over from the processing of milk.
They brought in £2.14m. last year, up from £1.95m.
Guernsey butter had a 7.3% increase in sales revenue last year, despite a fall of nearly 10% in exports to the UK.
‘There has been an upsurge in local sales due to product availability and rising costs of imported milk-products,’ said Mr Tabel.
‘However, whilst there were several instances of rationing, supply was maintained throughout the trading period.’
Meanwhile, revenues from sales of cheese increased by 25.5%, cream revenues by 12.3% and ice-cream revenues by 15.9%.
Like all business, the dairy has faced rising costs. Administration expenses, like fuel, power and wages increased by £243,000 – 11% – last year, which was more than £150,000 over budget.
