Lower sales for Tine – alerts about reduced work force
Tine reduced operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2017 by 10 per cent compared to the same period last year. Now it’s going to be reductions in the work force.
The operating profit for the last quarter of 2017 was NOK 281 million, down by NOK 28 million.
For the year seen as one, the operating profit dropped by NOK 179 million to NOK 1,537 million from 2016 to 2017. In the dairy sector, development was slightly positive, but the volume was decreased. Sales of fatty (sweet) milk continue to go down, which according to the company is due to the fact that some variants of Tine milk are no longer offered by all of the food chains. Sales of cheese have dropped in both in value and volume after experiencing growth for several years. That growth can to a large degree be attributed to the hefty taxes imposed on competing imported cheeses.
The boss is not satisfied
– We are not happy with the development. We continue to improve all parts of the value chain. It is also crucial that Tine strengthens consumer dialogue and becomes better at responding to consumer trends, says CEO Hanne Refsholt in a comment.
At the same time, she is happy about the response to innovative products like “Eastern Wind” (Østavind) has gotten.
Yoghurt sales fell both in value and volume last year, and the CEO announces an extensive job within a market characterized by significant competition, not in the least from the privately owned”Q” diary brand.
Measures such as reduced work force
Tine now announces that the company will strengthen its competitiveness by reducing costs by NOK 450 million before 2019.
– The improvement program includes measures in all of the company’s business areas. The measures, of which many have already been implemented, will consist of structural assessments, ongoing change projects, reduced consultancy costs and downsizing, he says.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
