French dairy giant Danone saw a strong increase in profits in its UK subsidiaries for 2016, according to accounts filed this week. Danone UK, which sells consumer dairy products to UK retailers, reported a threefold increase in pre-tax profits to £34.5m (€39m) in 2016. Despite the strong increase in profits, Danone described 2016 as a “challenging year” for its consumer dairy business in the UK, as a result of significant promotional activity from its competitors in the chilled yoghurt and dessert category.