Danish Crown slaughterhouse expects a lot from the European Championship

The Danish cooperative meat group Danish Crown saw a further decline in turnover and profit in the 2023/24 financial year, compared to the same period last year, when income had already fallen sharply. The company is more positive for the second half of this year, partly due to the sporting events planned this summer.

Turnover in the first half of the financial year (which runs from July to December) fell to 33,5 billion Danish crowns, which is €4,8 billion. The decline in turnover is mainly due to a further decline in slaughter numbers, resulting in less volume being produced. Bottom line, profit fell by 15% to €104 million. Although considerably less, a net profit margin of more than 2% is something that slaughterhouses in the Netherlands cannot match.

Danish Crown appears reasonably satisfied in its own comments on the figures. Sales to retail and food service increased and, according to the company, market shares in those channels also increased. The production apparatus has also become more efficient. This is related to a reorganization that resulted in the closure of several factories.

Cheaper sausage
It is striking that subsidiary DAT-Schaub, which sells animal products to the pharmaceutical industry, is no longer the profit generator it used to be. The company is suffering from higher interest rates, which is causing growth in results to stagnate. Inflation is also making itself felt. The company supplies casings for the often more expensive sausages, but due to high inflation, consumers are increasingly opting for products made from cheaper artificial casings. CEO of Danish Crown Jais Valeur speaks of an unfortunate combination of circumstances that overshadows the group result.

Sports summer
The CEO is optimistic for the second half of this year. It is positive for the meat markets that the inflation peak is behind us. The meat company says it is looking forward to the summer period with sporting events such as the Olympic Games in Paris and the European football championship in Germany. This will probably have a positive impact on meat sales.

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is editor-in-chief of Boerenbusiness. He also focuses on dairy, pig and meat markets. He also follows (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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