In a year once again marked by challenges and uncertainties in the supply chains, the DMK Group continued to perform in 2022 and more than achieved its goals: at € 5.5 billion, the turnover of Germany's largest dairy cooperative was at the previous year's level, the equity ratio remained stable at 31.3% (previous year 33.8%) and the result was on target at € 22.7 million (previous year € 27 million). In terms of payout performance as the most important goal of the cooperatively organised company, DMK achieved a record result for 2022: DMK closed with an average payout price for cooperative farmers of 53.6 cents/kg (previous year 35.88 cents/kg), which is 1.3 cents above the official federal comparison (BLE). At times farmers received up to 61 cents/kg raw milk.
Fokus on the important topics
The world is changing at a rapid pace. In addition to the advancing food transformation and urgent climate issues, topics such as digitalisation and the shortage of skilled workers are also moving further into focus. It is therefore essential for DMK Group to continue to address these future issues and develop solutions as part of its Strategy 2030. ‘We have to feed more and more people healthily and sustainably with fewer and fewer resources. There is an apt term for this in English: "More with less". If we are to succeed in doing this in the future with a wide range of high-quality foods, in which our dairy products continue to play a central role, we must act and shape clear guidelines,’ says CEO Ingo Müller. Even if it is clear that there is still a lot to do: as one of the largest food manufacturers in Germany, the company sees a great opportunity to be part of an enormous transformation and to help form it in all areas. From the development of new dairy-based or even plant-based products, the implementation of New Work models to the further development of farms and reduction of the carbon footprint with projects such as "Net Zero Farming", saving energy and water at the sites or reducing packaging waste. ‘Our sustainability strategy and the goals derived from it provide a clear direction. We need clever and innovative ideas to successfully follow this path. In doing so, we want to lead by example and set important signals and impulses for the entire dairy industry with our work. Trust is our strongest currency in a time that often only knows black and white’ Müller, summarized the tasks.
Strategy, team spirit and ambition also count in 2023
While DMK's significantly improved performance in 2022, combined with a market that was favorable to the DMK portfolio, led to a record year, the market has already turned sharply again due to an inflation-related decline in demand. Accordingly, an environment characterized by volatility will continue to bring challenges in the current financial year. In addition, higher production requirements and consequently rising costs in 2023 remain just as much an issue as the completely changing political framework conditions and the associated transformation of agriculture and nutrition. Nevertheless, DMK Group considers itself well positioned with its 2030 course and will continue to pursue it in the current year. Müller comments: ‘We have proven that DMK is now well able to deal with complex tasks thanks to the further optimized product portfolio and increased flexibility. And this even though not all external circumstances can always be foreseen or planned. However, strategy alone will not bring us forward: it takes team spirit and ambition. We have both of them.’
