Dairy Crest buoyed by Clover and Cathedral City big brands

Dairy Crest today said pre-tax profit for the first nine months of its fiscal year was ahead of expectations, helped by a strong performance in the three months before Christmas.

The maker of Cathedral City cheese and Clover spreads said its biggest brands performed strongly but remained cautious for the year ahead.

"We remain cautious about the trading environment for 2010 but the improvements we have made to our business during 2009 leave us well positioned to cope with the challenges," said Mark Allen, chief executive.

Diary Crest said sales of its five biggest brands rose 10 per cent in the nine months to 31 December, supported by television advertising and promotions.

It said it benefited from the recent cold snap with sales of milk jumping 17 per cent above normal levels in the first week of last month.

The company said overall sales, excluding joint ventures, were down one per cent compared with the same period last year, in line with its expectations, because of lower sales of commodity ingredients and milk to minor retailers.

Dairy Crest said it remained focused on reducing its cost base and was in talks with employees at its spreads factory in Kirkby, Liverpool. It also said it had earmarked £75 million for investment in its dairies division over the next three years in addition to its normal capital expenditure.