News Dairy
Lower turnover and profit for owner De Graafstroom
DeltaMilk, the parent company of cheese maker De Graafstroom, achieved a nearly 9% lower turnover last year and also booked a lower result than the year before. The sales were concentrated more in the Netherlands
This is evident from the deposited annual report. Turnover decreased by 8.7%, from almost €299 million to just over €265 million. This is mainly due to lower milk and dairy prices in 2023 than in 2022. Gross profit decreased from €4.5 million to €3.0 million and net profit dropped from €2.4 million to €1.3 million.
Strengthened equity
However, last year a higher payout was made to the members than in the previous year: €2.38 million instead of €0.9 million, possibly to compensate for the lower milk price. The annual report does not provide information on the number of members and the size of the milk supply.
What is noticeable is that the cooperative has taken strong steps to strengthen its equity. The equity ratio increased from 35% to 44% in one year. In particular, the share of equity was significantly increased. The share of subordinated debt (mainly loans from members) remained roughly stable.
Even more Dutch sales
Another remarkable fact is that the percentage of sales outside the Netherlands further decreased from 3.3% to only 2.19%. The share of sales outside the EU decreased relatively the most. The vast majority of the cheese, over 97%, was sold to companies in the Dutch market.
De Graafstroom produces almost exclusively naturally ripened cheese, although the company can also produce foil cheese. A small portion of the cheese is sold under its own brand.
