After a 30% surge in sales in the first half, one of the most dynamic performances in the food industry, dairy producer Albalact believes that the 40% target set in the 2009 budget will not be attained because of delays in the investment schedule at the Raraul factory in Campulung Moldovenesc.
"Although we had planned the launch of the new Raraul product range for this spring, it was pushed back for autumn, and this delay prevents us from reaching the goals we set for this year," stated Traian Simion, Albalact's general manager.
Albalact took over Raraul factory in Campulung Moldovenesc in a 3.5 million-euro deal last year. Simion explained that the management of Albalact was currently working on repositioning and rebranding Raraul, with a campaign to promote this brand scheduled for later this year. Simion did not reveal what products would be part of the Raraul range, or the value of the investment in this campaign.
The officials of Albalact, a company that ended last year with 190.5 million RON (51.7 million euros) in turnover, initially expected 40% turnover growth to approximately 260 million RON this year, a target that will not be attained, though.
Even so, the Alba-based dairy producer is one of the few companies that ended the first half of 2009 with a 30% rise in business compared with the corresponding period of last year, while net profit more than tripled.
In addition, the sales volume during the same period of time was even higher. "Albalact saw an over 40% increase in the volume sold in the first six months of this year. Value-wise, however, sales did not keep up, because many producers are after market share at this time and lowered their prices," Traian Simion says.
The company's general manager says that one of Albalact's advantages was the fact that the management of the company bet on basic products, such as milk, butter and cream early on, with these products achieving the projected growth in the first half.
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