Record sales for Northern Irish dairy Co-op

Dale Farm, Northern Ireland's biggest dairy business, achieved record annual sales of £228 million last year. The growth was partly due to sales of cheese and butter in the UK and Ireland.

Major investment at its manufacturing plants in Ballymena, county Antrim and Cookstown, county Tyrone - which created 120 jobs - was said to have improved its performance in a difficult year for the industry.

Growth was mainly generated by sales of its Dromona branded cheese and butter in the British Isles and Russia and milk powder into China, the Middle East and North Africa.

Dale Farm is part of United Dairy Farmers Coop (UDF) which has 1,000 employees and it's the region's biggest farmers' cooperative.

United posted a group operating profit of just over £5 million, up five per cent on the previous year.

The company said the results were "solid" for a year in which the dairy sector had been hit adverse weather and high feed costs.

Another subsidiary, United Feeds, saw sales jump by 27 per cent to £48 million.

UDF Chief executive Dr David Dobbin, said: "Looking forward, international markets have remained firm and the group is in a strong position to deliver further growth."