Express Dairies is to take action to reduce costs and increase productivity after a drop in profits this year from £52.7m to £43m. A new generation milk float, customised with modular storage compartments and capable of double the range and twice the speed of a conventional milk float, will be at the vanguard of plans to modernise home delivery. The float will service ongoing expansion of home delivery in areas such as dry cleaning, catologue shopping and mail order. Trials with Parcelforce and M-box will be extended this year to develop the company's role as a parcel distribution network. Express Dairies said its business performed well on the supermarket side as it announced its annual results for the year to March. It supplies 1,200 supermarket outlets, but industry overcapacity was putting pressure on margins. Chairman Christopher Haskins said: "We are taking further action to reduce costs and improve productivity." {{NEWS }}

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