A historic dairy farm in Gloucestershire has seen profits dip as the Covid-19 pandemic and rising costs of production continue to put pressure on the industry.
Posting its results for the year to January 2022, Cotteswold Dairy in Tewkesbury said profit before tax had fallen to £1m - down from £1.9m the year previously - despite revenues rising £10m to £68.2m.
However, directors at the company said the year had been “positive” for growth, as the lifting of lockdown restrictions for schools and business saw the return of semi retail sales, and supply began to normalise in the sector.
The company also opened a new depot in the year, which it said had contributed to the rise in sales.
“Margin has been eroded by the ongoing costs of Covid-19 and and the rising costs of production during 2021,” the company said.
“The new depot will take time to integrate into the business to run efficiently. As a business we remain quick to react and respond to changes in demand as sectors and consumer demands evolve, redirecting resources and expanding our offering to meet consumer needs as desired.”
The dairy, which sources the majority of its raw milk from local dairy farmers, said it had seen an increase in its glass bottle milk sales over the last 12 months.
The company is planning to build a new cold store at its Tewkesbury site in the current financial year in a bid to expand the capacity of the business for future growth. Construction of the facility is expected to be complete by November 2022.
Cotteswold Dairy was founded in 1938 by Harry Workman and is one of the largest independent family dairies in the UK, processing more than 100 million litres of milk each year. It is still run by the Workman family.
The business operates four different depots across the UK and its customers include wholesale, semi retail, independent milkmen and doorstep delivery.
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