Global dairy company Arla Foods has reported “strong growth” in the second half of 2023, with the company reaffirming a positive outlook for the first half of 2024.

Arla said that its UK revenue rose 2.4% in 2023 to £2.6 billion versus a 17.5% growth in 2022, which the company said reflected the challenges faced by high inflation and elevated dairy prices. However, Arla also said that consumers started returning to branded products in the second half of the year.

The company said that in total, within the UK branded volumes grew by 2.2%, with strong growth in Arla Protein and Arla Pro, growing by 66.4% and 8.5% respectively.

Bas Padberg, managing director of Arla Foods UK, said: “As we saw in the first half of 2023, inflationary pressure continued to dominate, however, thanks to the strong execution by our farmer owners, employees and management, Arla has demonstrated its ability to adapt to challenging market conditions.

“…It’s important that we ease pressures on cash strapped shoppers when we can, as well as returning a fair price to our farmers so we can keep supermarket shelves full.

“Arla’s brand portfolio demonstrated its robustness in volatile conditions, and we made strong recovery in the second half of 2023 with a strategic branded volume growth.”

Padberg continued, saying: “We are also pleased to report that we remain on track towards our CO2e reduction target for 2030, which is testament to the innovation and action taking place, across the entire business.”

In 2024, the company said it expects its group revenue outlook to be €13.2 – 13.7 billion, with the reduction being primarily driven by “reduced sales prices compared to the record highs in the beginning of 2023 and adverse currency effects”.