Dutch dairy company reports more sales, lower profit in first H1

Dutch dairy company FrieslandCampina reported an increased revenue in the first six months of 2014 on Thursday, but profit declined compared to the same period last year.
Revenue for the first six months rose by 3.5 percent to 5.713 billion euros (7.528 billion U.S. dollars), compared to the 5.524 billion euros in the same period last year.
But the net profit of 104 million euros was a decline of 36.6 percent compared to the 164 million in the first half of 2013.
Higher sales prices contributed to the growth of revenue. Most growth was reported in China and the Philippines. The sales volume of infant nutrition increased.
Sales volumes of dairy-based beverages, cheese and ingredients decreased due to unfavorable market conditions in Europe, Indonesia and Vietnam. To Russia less cheese was exported, due to the Russian dairy boycott.
"The combination of a strong euro, a high milk price, falling sales in a number of Asian markets and general political unrest all affected FrieslandCampina's results during the first six months of 2014," said CEO Cees't Hart in a press release.
"Despite these developments, higher sales prices led to a further growth in revenue. In the consumer market, infant nutrition, which is one of our strategic growth categories, performed especially strongly," he added.