News
09.09.2010
UKRAINE: Ukrproduct sees consumer purchasing power fall
Ukrainian dairy producer Ukrproduct saw its net profit fall 34% in the first half of th year on the back of weak consumer spending.
The company said that it had witnessed a further decrease in purchasing power, "which resulted in a continued switch in consumer preferences from the middle to the mass market segment."
The company posted GBP415,000 (US$640,795) net profit for the half, down on the GBP629,000 it posted for the same period last year.
Revenue fell 5.3% to GBP20.7m, while EBITDA dropped 31.2% to GBP1.1m
Overall, it said that the group experienced a significant reduction in its trading volumes and gross margins came under pressure from competitive pricing and input cost increases, particularly in raw milk prices, which were up 60% year-on-year.
The company said that it is shifting its offer towards the mass market, seeing sasles improvement on the back of this through May and June, which continued into the second half of the year.
Ukrproduct said it aims to improve its profit further through the relaunch of its hard cheese and through distribution of the soft drink Kvass.
It has also appointed a new CFO, Olena Yakovenko, as well of heads of its sales and marketing departments.
lexisnexis
