Vreugdenhil sees turnover and profit rise sharply

CEO Albert de Groot attributes the special performance to the 'extremely volatile' market in 2022. "The unstable situation in the world; the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the strong price fluctuations of raw materials, large fluctuations in energy prices and the tensions in China , ensured that prices rose sharply in the first half of the year, which enabled us to... historically high milk price to pay out. After the summer, prices started to drop."

Director Jan Vreugdenhil is satisfied with how the company has managed to get through all the developments. "In what can once again be called a special year, in which the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were still palpable, we managed to achieve a good year in addition to the high milk price," he says.

Restore profits
This is also evident from the key figures for 2022. Profit also increased with turnover. It went from €15,3 million to €37,5 million. The result thus recovered from the decline in 2021. Related to sales, the stated €37,5 million represents 3% of turnover, which is relatively modest. The profit is also offset by investments of €24,1 million, including in the new factory in Putten. In addition to the high dairy prices, the addition of this production location also contributed to turnover, although this was still relatively limited. The reason is that several adjustments were made after the purchase.

Plant based
Because the drying towers in Putten are relatively small, smaller and often more special batches can be produced than in the two other factories with drying towers. Goat's milk powder and organic milk powder are now produced in Putten. In addition, the possibilities for processing plant-based products are being investigated.

Vreugdenhil sees in the turnover figures for the first months of 2023 that demand is lagging behind. The market is making a clear downward correction. The company makes no further statements about the expectation for the result in 2023.