Dairy Crest rolling in clover

Strong growth of its branded spreads and cheeses saw Dairy Crest reiterate its guidance for 2010-11 profits, with City analysts pencilling in pre-tax profits of £85.2m and EPS of 46.2p. Sales of branded products, including Cathedral City and Clover, grew 11 per cent in its third quarter, while increased volumes of liquid milk to large supermarkets offset tougher trading in the highly competitive middle market. Dairy Crest is on track to make a further £20m of cost savings this year, too.