No more acquisitions for Friesland

Friesland Romania, a group comprising eight dairy plants in Transilvania and Banat, has said it is no longer interested in any acquisitions on the Romanian market.

“Our company is quite big now, and we’d rather consolidate our presence on the market, without seeking new acquisitions”, Gerbrand De Boer, general manager of Friesland Romania, told Ziarul Financiar.

At present, the group includes three of the largest companies in the milk industry: Napolact, SCIL Mures and Friesland SA, annually processing 160 million litres of milk. Last year, Friesland Romania Group created turnover worth 71 million euros, 17% higher year-on-year.

“This year, we are expecting a 16% higher turnover in ROL”, said De Boer, who specified that amid the current economic climate, prognoses in the domestic currency are the most realistic ones.

“There will be an increase in terms of volume, mainly based on the higher sales of fresh products, cheese, as well as ice cream”, stated the Friesland Romania official.

One of this year’s most important objectives is linked to the consolidation of the company’s position nationwide.

After last year Friesland Romania managed to double its sales on the market of Bucharest, where it currently delivers about 20% of its production, this year’s target is growth outside the “mother market”.

“Traditionally, our products are best sold in Transilvania and Banat. We have developed, though, a national distribution network to the very end of boosting sales outside these areas. Expansion in the domain of retail, especially through the presence of multinationals in Transilvania and Banat, is easing up our rivals’ access to these areas. Romania is thus turning from a conglomerate of regional markets into a single market we shall have to enter, also becoming interested in the markets where we had a weak presence before”, explains De Boer.
transilvania@zf.ro