Dairy Crest has plans to invest £75 million in its milk business over the next three years after it saw better-than-expected pre-tax profit during the nine months ended December 31.

Speaking on the topic, Dairy Crest’s CEO Mark Allen said, “We think that once the three years are up, people will see that we are ahead of our competitors, not just playing catch-up.”

Dairy Crest’s rivals viz. Arla Foods and Robert Wiseman Dairies have also invested huge amounts in their diary businesses.

Wiseman has invested £80 million in its Bridgwater, Somerset dairy, while Arla has plans to invest £70 million in a dairy near London that is expected to start business in
2012.

Dairy Crest, which is well known for Clover spreads and Cathedral City cheese, said its biggest brands performed strongly in the three months before Christmas.

However, company’s sales during the nine months of the fiscal year declined 1 per cent.

Shares in Dairy Crest gained 2.3 pence to close at 340 pence-a-share.