Companies: RWD   

Robert Wiseman's board is not unduly concerned by a near-£2m drop in full-year profits to £16.5m. It points to more than £2m of exceptional costs relate to 'exceptional milk losses', an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigation into the company and a recent acquisition. The opening of a £35m 'super dairy' in Droitwich Spa last spring also had an impact on profitability. Finance director Billy Keane explains: 'As expected, the new dairy took time to reach satisfactory performance levels.' Other positives for the year included a 24% rise in revenue to £371.1m, news that the company now processes more than £1bn litres of milk a year and the receipt of new supply contracts from Sainsbury, Safeway and Somerfield. On the downside, net debt increased from £26.8m to £33.3m, while the shadow of the OFT investigation continues to loom large. Nevertheless, the shares still appear good value and are worth keeping hold of for the time being.