The quantity of milk received in 2018 reached a new record high of 626 million kilograms. Growth in raw milk alone was 12%. The delivery volumes rose because the new regional milk producers were accepted as raw milk suppliers. The Uelzena Group sales amounted to €648 million while not quite matching the above-average revenue situation of the previous year.
The raw milk payout to the milk producers in 2018 was 33.68 cent per kilogram. This was just 3.0 cent per kilogram below last year’s price. Major investments were made as part of the modernization and expansion program. This resulted in an increased balance sheet total of approx. €210 million for 2018 compared to approximately €175 million in 2017.
Despite a strong increase in balance sheet total, the equity ratio reached a very good level of 37%.
“An appropriate equity ratio is important for financing and the implementation of our extensive, multi-year investment program,” says chairman Jörn Dwehus.
The annual surplus amounted to almost €9 million.
Sales and number of employees virtually constant
Sales in milk powder, cheese and speciality products saw a positive development, often reaching capacity. Delicatessen and butterfat declined slightly, with sales dropping due to the poor price situation. Consequently, sales for the main product groups remained almost constant at 231,080 tons.
Staff increased by 4% to a total of 745; in total 16 new apprentices and 57 specialists and managers were hired.
Modernization through investment
In 2018, several investment projects were completed. All investments pursue the development goal of efficient, low-emission production that saves on resources. In Uelzen, construction of the €17 million high-bay warehouse with approx. 13,000 pallet places was completed. Modernization projects in the milk drying area resulted in increased capacity and improved production and saw a significant reduction in air pollution and noise emissions.
Sustainability while creating values
It is particularly in the rural regions around the production plants that sustainability plays a decisive role in value creation. In order to keep the environmental impact of the transportation of raw materials to a minimum, 94% of the raw milk and other milk raw materials came from within a 150km radius around the plants. With the voluntary participation of many milk producers in the pilot project Sustainability Module Milk, which is accompanied by the Thünen Institute, the Uelzena Group was able to demonstrate the services provided by milk suppliers for customers and society in the areas of ecology, economy, social affairs and animal welfare.