Bremen, 16 June 2015. With a turnover of 5.3 billion euros, the DMK GROUP successfully built on the previous year's excellent results in the past fiscal year. Despite the volatile market environment and falling prices for a number of dairy products, turnover increased by 13 million euros. The recently decided merger with the Netherlands' second-largest cheese manufacturer, DOC Kaas, will rank the DMK GROUP sixth in the European rankings. The two companies together process around 8 billion kilos of raw milk every year.
With a processed volume of 6.8 billion kilos of raw milk (previous year: 6.7 billion kilos), DMK GROUP its cooperative’s 8,900 dairy farmers a stable average milk price of 36.86 eurocents per kilo in 2014, against a background of less buoyant global markets and the upheavals caused by the embargo on Russia in the second half of the year. Dr Josef Schwaiger, CEO, says: "With a turnover that is actually slightly higher than last year's and an improved equity ratio of 37.5 percent, we are on a very sound footing economically. On this financially secure base, we are well positioned for future market fluctuations and further investments. In a highly volatile market, we have demonstrated that we are on the right track as Germany's largest dairy cooperative". All four key business areas could boast growth in 2014 – DMK CONSUMER with brands such as MILRAM and Oldenburger and DMK BABY with the strong Humana brand, but also DMK ICE CREAM and DMK INGREDIENTS succeeded in expanding their market positions.
Company and farmers invest in the future
To the DMK GROUP, entrepreneurial performance implies high earning power, competitive milk prices and successful presence in promising future markets. A sound economic basis for the company and its subsidiaries is the top priority, and is more important than rapid growth. For this reason, the DMK GROUP re-invests profits into developing new technologies and innovative products and into an attractive environment for its employees and dairy farmers as well as driving expansion in its sales markets. The majority of the capital expenditure of around 200 million euros for the year under review went towards expanding the production facilities and sites. Investments included the new ArNoCo whey factory in Nordhackstedt, the new mozzarella cheese-making plant in Georgsmarienhütte and the cutting-edge milk powder plant in Zeven, which is to open shortly. DMK pays the farmers-cum-shareholders more than 2.5 billion euros through its milk prices. In addition, a dividend of 4 percent is to be paid.
The DMK GROUP has developed a long-term strategy to safeguard the long-term profitability of the company and its shareholders, and continued with its implementation in the reporting period. The focus is on profitable growth in the four strategic business units Dairy Products, Cheese, Ingredients and Subsidiaries in the German and international markets. One of the core pillars is expansion in the branded products business. With attractive products and marketing concepts that are aligned with consumers’ wants, the DMK GROUP further boosted its domestic brand MILRAM’s leadership position in the last year. The targeted activities of MILRAM Food Service in the bulk consumer segment also contributed. Export brand Oldenburger flourished in the international market, particularly in growth countries such as China. Another important component is Research and Development. The company's Milk Innovation Center worked on a large number of projects last year and applied for several patents.
Rigorous expansion course In addition to investments into the strategic business units, the systematic progression of our internationalisation is a further core pillar in coping with the future growth in milk volumes expected after the end of the milk quota system. Exports currently account for a share of around 40 percent of the total turnover, a figure which is to be further increased. "A survey of our dairy farmers revealed that we can reckon with a regional annual increase of up to four percent in milk volumes," reports Dr Schwaiger. "Since we have guaranteed to go on taking all the milk our farmers have to offer in the future, the year under review saw us preparing to process and market larger volumes profitably in the future: we drove forward internationalisation in global growth markets, invested in modern production systems and continued to develop our portfolio towards highly profitable products that are in line with customer needs.
DMK GROUP aims to further expand its earning power through alliances and strategic part-nerships. Current examples are the ArNoCo joint venture, of which DMK and Arla Foods each own 50 percent, and the merger with Dutch cheese-maker DOC Kaas. ArNoCo went into production last year. This joint venture at DMK's Nordhackstedt site processes the whey produced by DMK's cheese-making operations – around 700,000 tonnes every year – to make whey protein concentrate and lactose.
The merger with DOC Kaas is a milestone for the cooperative-based DMK GROUP, says Dr Schwaiger: "For us, obtaining the consent of DOC Kaas’s cooperative members is proof of people’s confidence in our long-term corporate strategy. It encourages us to continue rigorously along the path we have taken".
With a processed volume of 6.8 billion kilos of raw milk (previous year: 6.7 billion kilos), DMK GROUP its cooperative’s 8,900 dairy farmers a stable average milk price of 36.86 eurocents per kilo in 2014, against a background of less buoyant global markets and the upheavals caused by the embargo on Russia in the second half of the year. Dr Josef Schwaiger, CEO, says: "With a turnover that is actually slightly higher than last year's and an improved equity ratio of 37.5 percent, we are on a very sound footing economically. On this financially secure base, we are well positioned for future market fluctuations and further investments. In a highly volatile market, we have demonstrated that we are on the right track as Germany's largest dairy cooperative". All four key business areas could boast growth in 2014 – DMK CONSUMER with brands such as MILRAM and Oldenburger and DMK BABY with the strong Humana brand, but also DMK ICE CREAM and DMK INGREDIENTS succeeded in expanding their market positions.
Company and farmers invest in the future
To the DMK GROUP, entrepreneurial performance implies high earning power, competitive milk prices and successful presence in promising future markets. A sound economic basis for the company and its subsidiaries is the top priority, and is more important than rapid growth. For this reason, the DMK GROUP re-invests profits into developing new technologies and innovative products and into an attractive environment for its employees and dairy farmers as well as driving expansion in its sales markets. The majority of the capital expenditure of around 200 million euros for the year under review went towards expanding the production facilities and sites. Investments included the new ArNoCo whey factory in Nordhackstedt, the new mozzarella cheese-making plant in Georgsmarienhütte and the cutting-edge milk powder plant in Zeven, which is to open shortly. DMK pays the farmers-cum-shareholders more than 2.5 billion euros through its milk prices. In addition, a dividend of 4 percent is to be paid.
The DMK GROUP has developed a long-term strategy to safeguard the long-term profitability of the company and its shareholders, and continued with its implementation in the reporting period. The focus is on profitable growth in the four strategic business units Dairy Products, Cheese, Ingredients and Subsidiaries in the German and international markets. One of the core pillars is expansion in the branded products business. With attractive products and marketing concepts that are aligned with consumers’ wants, the DMK GROUP further boosted its domestic brand MILRAM’s leadership position in the last year. The targeted activities of MILRAM Food Service in the bulk consumer segment also contributed. Export brand Oldenburger flourished in the international market, particularly in growth countries such as China. Another important component is Research and Development. The company's Milk Innovation Center worked on a large number of projects last year and applied for several patents.
Rigorous expansion course In addition to investments into the strategic business units, the systematic progression of our internationalisation is a further core pillar in coping with the future growth in milk volumes expected after the end of the milk quota system. Exports currently account for a share of around 40 percent of the total turnover, a figure which is to be further increased. "A survey of our dairy farmers revealed that we can reckon with a regional annual increase of up to four percent in milk volumes," reports Dr Schwaiger. "Since we have guaranteed to go on taking all the milk our farmers have to offer in the future, the year under review saw us preparing to process and market larger volumes profitably in the future: we drove forward internationalisation in global growth markets, invested in modern production systems and continued to develop our portfolio towards highly profitable products that are in line with customer needs.
DMK GROUP aims to further expand its earning power through alliances and strategic part-nerships. Current examples are the ArNoCo joint venture, of which DMK and Arla Foods each own 50 percent, and the merger with Dutch cheese-maker DOC Kaas. ArNoCo went into production last year. This joint venture at DMK's Nordhackstedt site processes the whey produced by DMK's cheese-making operations – around 700,000 tonnes every year – to make whey protein concentrate and lactose.
The merger with DOC Kaas is a milestone for the cooperative-based DMK GROUP, says Dr Schwaiger: "For us, obtaining the consent of DOC Kaas’s cooperative members is proof of people’s confidence in our long-term corporate strategy. It encourages us to continue rigorously along the path we have taken".
