Danish dairy giant Arla to invest 335 mln euros

The Danish dairy giant Arla confirmed on Wednesday that it plans to invest 335 million euros (361 million U.S. dollars) in its production sites around the world in 2017 to expand production of high-quality products and boost profitability.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the company said the investment is nearly a 50-percent increase from last year's plan of 227 million euro and one of the highest ever single-year supply chain investment forecasts in company history.

By doing so, the company will move more milk from bulk into branded retail sales and foodservice, aiming to expand production of branded high-quality products for Europe and emerging markets, according to the statement.

The plan has been approved by the board of directors, the company said.

"With these investments we continue ... to move more milk from bulk into brands and improve the profitability for our farmer-owners," said Arla CEO Peder Tuborgh.

Most of the investments will focus on production upgrades that will increase profitability of products sold on core markets like Germany, Britain, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Finland as well as on production sites that supply dairy products to emerging markets.

Arla is the world's sixth largest dairy company and largest supplier of organic dairy products. Its products are sold in more than 100 countries and it employs more than 18,000 employees worldwide. Endit