Welsh cheesemaker and farmer co-op South Caernarfon Creameries has posted profits of £4.1 million and a 17% increase in sales, reaching a record-breaking £71.5 million.
South Caernarfon Creameries, which is owned by its 145 farmers across North, Mid and West Wales, has recorded boosted turnover and profits in the year to March.
Managing director Alan Wyn Jones said good progress had been achieved in what continued to be a very challenging period for farmers.
Mr Jones said: “The business has performed strongly, increasing turnover in volume and value and with profits again up on the previous year at 5.8% of sales, above our five-year average of 4.9%.
“The pandemic led to increased sales in our largest market, UK retail, with strong consumption in the home and business to business sales performing better than expected."
It comes as the co-op pumped £3.8 million back into its investment programme Project Dragon, a five-year plan to boost production at the Chwilog dairy, near Pwllheli.
This will see cheese production increase from its current 16,000 tons a year to 23,000 tons by 2024.
Mr Jones added that demand had continued to recover in the smaller wholesale markets and in foodservices, though not yet to pre-pandemic levels.
"But we have made better than expected profits while providing our members with one of the most competitive milk prices in Wales," he said.
“This was achieved at the same time as a major investment in Project Dragon which has seen the new effluent treatment plant completed with work starting on the whey processing facility that will be operational by autumn 2023.”
South Caernarfon Creameries has been able to pay the second highest milk price in Wales to its producers, an annual average of 31.53p a litre.
They were also able to allocate nearly £1m in dividends to the members, many of whom have been with the co-op since it was founded in 1938, and that record pay-out amounted to just over 25% of SCC’s profits.
