Dairy Crest has reported that sales of its five top brands are up 5% at its Annual General Meeting, however, the company said that due to rising input costs its financial position remains the same.

Speaking at the AGM, Diary Crest Chair Anthony Fry revealed that sales of Cathedral City, Country Life, Clover, St Hubert Omega 3 and Frijj milkshakes rose 5% this quarter compared to last year. Mr Fry added, "We also have a strong innovation pipeline, with several interesting new products due to be launched later this year."

Mr Fry said he expected further progress for the company after the acquisition last month of M H Foods, who manufacture low-calorie cooking oils, and from benefits brought by higher cream prices. However, he admitted that “Strong competition in retail milk markets has resulted in lower residential milk sales.” He concluded, “We are facing some significant increases in input costs. We are on track to recover these through a combination of efficiency savings and selling price increases. We remain committed to making efficiency savings of £20 million this year.”

Chief Executive Martin Allen commented, "We knew at the start of the year that we faced higher input costs in an increasingly tough environment for consumers. By focusing on our brands and by becoming more efficient we are dealing with those challenges and are soundly placed for the rest of the year. We remain committed to innovating and investing in our brands and our facilities for long-term benefit."