Mengniu Dairy records 36b yuan in sales in 2012

China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd said Wednesday its sales last year reached 36 billion yuan ($5.8 billion), a year-on-year decline of 3.5 percent.

Its net profit was 1.26 billion yuan, down 20.9 percent year-on-year.

The Hong Kong-listed company attributed the losses to shrinking sales in 2012, and vowed to boost cooperation with Denmark's Arla Food to tighten food safety standards in the coming year.

Mengniu's sales have been greatly affected by a 2008 milk safety scandal, after toxic chemicals were found in its dairy products.

In 2009, China's largest food processing company, China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation, became Mengniu's biggest shareholder.