Landshut, June 28, 2023. Bayerische Milchindustrie eG (BMI) reported a turbulent, yet ultimately successful, 2022 fiscal year to its members. The cooperative is resolutely pushing its strategic focus with all available resources to sustainably future-proof the company. Despite weak global demand for dairy products due to prices, BMI once again significantly increased its sales in 2022. The many uncertainties, including the highest inflation rate in 70 years, the war against Ukraine, and the energy crisis, presented BMI with unexpected challenges. Dr. Thomas Obersojer, CEO of BMI, nevertheless draws a positive conclusion: “In line with our Strategy 2025, we resolutely drove the further development of BMI into a high-performing company.” He largely attributes this to the great commitment of the employees to the ongoing projects.
BMI eG recorded a 12.9 percent increase in sales to €818 million in 2022 compared to the previous year. Due to lower raw material availability, price-induced declining trade volumes, and the sale of the fresh food business on September 1, 2022, BMI’s sales volume decreased by 2.7 percent to 325,000 tons. Of the 838.8 million kilograms of milk processed, 61 percent were supplied by its own members; 63.1 million kilograms of organic milk were processed. While the sales volume of the fresh food division decreased due to the sale of the Würzburg plant, and the sales volume of the cheese business unit declined due to limited milk availability, the Ingredients Business Unit saw increases in both sales volume and revenue. The extreme price developments in the energy markets also significantly impacted BMI’s business performance. Additionally, there were supply bottlenecks in basic chemicals, such as CO2, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, and cleaning agents. Thanks to intensive efforts, repeatedly looming production interruptions were always avoided.
Milk payout prices in Germany reached levels above 60 cents per kilogram of raw milk in the second half of the year, including at BMI. However, this negatively affected the competitiveness of the Ebermannstadt cheese specialty site: in Eastern Europe, sales plummeted by up to half due to prices, while in France, domestic competitors could calculate with milk prices more than 10 cents lower. Consequently, after reviewing all options, the closure of the Ebermannstadt site was decided.
BMI announced that it would continue to focus on its core business of Ingredients and Cheese in the coming years and prioritize investments in these segments. The BMI Ingredients strategy was further developed regarding the creation of a sustainable plant and product structure, and in this context, the expansion of the Zapfendorf site was decided and prepared. The transfer of the Fresh Food division to the German company of the global Lactalis Group was successfully completed.
The finalization of the sustainability strategy and the derivation of goals with the publication of BMI’s first sustainability report were also a focus in 2022. In early 2023, BMI and two of its milk suppliers, as well as the food company Nestlé, also started implementing a joint climate protection project. This project aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated on a dairy farm.
Yesterday, at its General Assembly, BMI bid farewell to its Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Heinz Saalfrank from Marktredwitz, who retired after six years in office. He had been a member of BMI’s committees for over 12 years. Klaus Schönfeldt from Südliches Anhalt/OT Quellendorf was elected as the new chairman.
