Premium pays for Parmalat

摘要

Parmalat is the UHT milk leader in Italy, with over a third of the market share by value. The company, which operates in 30 countries worldwide, defines itself as a food business specialised in milk, from powdered milk to UHT and fresh milk in all varieties. It also produces cream, butter, cheese, yogurt, fruit juice, vegetables and bakery goods. Since 1990 the company has grown massively from a turnover of EUD500,000 in 1990 to EUD7.8 billion in 2001, the result of an aggressive global acquisition policy. The company is expected to report a small drop in turnover for 2002, and a slight growth in volume of sales. This is partly as a result of currency fluctuations. 2002 in Italy saw a contraction in the market for the first six months then an increase in take-up.