Orwell, 21 September, 2022

Dairy nutrition company Volac has today, Wednesday September 21st 2022, announced its financial results for the year ending 31 December 2021. Turnover for the calendar year was up £42.7m (18%) to £278.9m, with pre-tax profit of £8.3m, down from £8.9m in the previous year due to increased gross margin being offset by higher administration costs as well as depreciation relating to the new Felinfach drier in Wales.

James Neville, Volac Co Chief Executive summarises:

 

“2021 represented another strong year of growth for Volac with sales in both our Animal Nutrition (+27%) and Performance & Dairy Ingredients (+3%) businesses. We successfully navigated the Brexit transition and have continued to export our products across the EU, despite significantly higher costs and increased administration. 2021 saw significant increases in raw material costs from the outset as well as a dramatic rise in energy costs from September. These cost pressures have continued into 2022. 

 

In August 2021 we successfully completed the acquisition of Micron Bio-systems. This created a fourth product family for our Animal Nutrition business: Feed Additives. Having completed the integration we are now focused on driving growth.

 

We are confident of a strong 2022 on the back of our recent capital investments in our factory at Felinfach, Wales as well as the Micron Bio-systems acquisition.”

Key metrics for 2021 include:

Sales Development

  • Sales increased by 18% to £278.9m (2020: £236.2m), reflecting higher sales volumes in both our Animal Nutrition and Performance & Dairy Ingredients

Profit and Cash Flow

  • Pre-tax profit of £8.3m, down from £8.9m in the previous year due to increased gross margin being offset by higher administration costs as well as depreciation relating to the new Felinfach drier

  • Cash flow from operating activities was £8.0m, down from £35.0m in the previous year. Prior year included the proceeds from the disposal of our shares in DV Nutrition

Increased Investment in Sustainable Growth

  • The Group invested £3.5m in fixed assets during the year. The main area of spend was at Felinfach finalising the installation of a new powder drier

  • Investment in 2022 is expected to be higher as we continue to invest across all sites

  • Micron Bio-systems was acquired in August 2021. This expands our Animal Nutrition portfolio and provides us with exciting growth opportunities with both our new and existing products

     

Employees

  • Employee numbers were 418 versus 368 in the previous year

  • The increase in employee numbers is due to the increasing workforce in Felinfach as well as the acquisition of Micron Bio-system

     

Outlook

Volac remains confident in the future of its business and the dairy industry, as demonstrated by its recent significant long-term investment programme.  We plan to continue developing new geographic markets, innovative product development as well as further strategic business development opportunities, as demonstrated by our recent acquisition of Micron Biosystems, adding a fourth product family to our Animal Nutrition business.

 

Press Enquiries

Andy Richardson, Director of Corporate Affairs

andy.richardson@volac.com
07720 561201

 

See also