Wiseman reports sales volumes up 11%

Alan Wiseman, delivering his final AGM address before stepping down as chairman of the East Kilbride-based group, told investors that financial performance had been "satisfactory" in the first quarter of the new financial year.

"Our financial position remains robust, with cash flows benefiting from the continued positive trading," he said.

Sales volumes in the first quarter were up 11.6 per cent on last year on the back of new contract wins and increased volumes supplied to existing customers.

The company has also increased prices by 0.4p a litre this month to the highest level among the major liquid dairies.

Over the past year, the company has been benefitting from a sharp increase in bulk cream prices and, although Wiseman said they have remained stable in recent months, the cost of plastic and fuel have also risen.

"The recovery of these additional costs, and the objective to rebuild our underlying operating margins, remains of primary importance," said Wiseman.

"Competition in the middle ground sector is intense, however, the company has been successful in retaining volumes and will continue to look to preserve its market share in this area."

Plans to increase capacity to 500 million litres a year at the group's flagship Bridgwater dairy from November - at an anticipated cost of 10 million - are on track. In addition, the company is investing 8m to double its fresh filtered milk capacity which is expected to come on stream by next summer.

Wiseman said it had been a privilege to serve as chairman of the group.

He added: "As I step down as chairman, I am pleased to report that the group has started the year positively and is well placed in terms of its facilities and customer base to develop further.

"It has been a privilege to serve as chairman of Robert Wiseman Dairies and to oversee the progress that has been made, particularly since our listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1994. The group is well placed and in good hands for the future."

Robert Wiseman is now the source of more than 30 per cent of the milk consumed every day in Britain and is well on the path to achieving its goal of annual sales of more than two billion litres.

When the firm floated 16 years ago, it was distributing just 150 million litres a year.

Last year the company saw record annual sales of 1.77 billion litres of milk, up 9.1 per cent on the previous year. Operating profits also jumped 43.1 per cent to 50.3m in 2009.

Shares in the Scottish company closed up 8.5p at 513.5p, valuing the firm at more than 350m.

Family dairy business that stayed ahead of the game

ALAN Wiseman joined the dairy company that his father, Robert, founded in 1947 straight from school.

His career began in 1967 but just nine years later he took control after his father's retirement.

However, it was his experiences early on that shaped Wiseman's strategy post-1976. While they were still working for their father, he and his brother - also called Robert - explored how, in the US, milk was increasingly distributed in plastic containers as opposed to the traditional glass bottles that were once a common sight on the doorsteps of Scottish homes.

The two brothers witnessed the first effects of changes to regulations that allowed supermarkets to sell milk at a competitive price. Those moves sounded the death knell for milkmen in many areas of Britain as households increasingly purchased milk alongside their weekly shop at the supermarket.

Although the changes were unwelcome for many traditional milk producers, Wiseman stayed ahead of the game. In 1989, he opened a state-of-the-art dairy at Bellshill. Two years later, Wiseman decided to expand the family firm south of the Border, opening a depot in Manchester.

Perhaps the most significant landmark in Wiseman's career came in 1994 when he decided to float the firm on the stock exchange.

The floatation has allowed the firm to raise capital for further expansion and a string of acquisitions, including Kennerty Farm Dairies, the Co-operative Wholesale Society's Scottish milk business and Hamilton's Dairies.z