Gordon,
If I have understood correctly:
1. Each line in your sample occupies a single cell.
2. All lines are of the format: SKU xxxxxx date counted dd mmmm
Therefore, the number of characters until the date starts is fixed. So
is the length of every SKU code. With these assumptions, and assuming
data are in column A:A, you will use some auxiliary columns

B1: =left(A1, 10) -- this extracts the SKU
C1: =value(mid(A1, 24, 20)) -- this extracts the date in number format.
You can format column C:C to a date format if you want.

Now, given an SKU in a cell, say K1 contains "SKU 271562":
=max(C1:C100*if(B1:B100=K1, 1, 0))

Supply the necessary ranges in the formula and enter it as an array
formula, Shift+Ctrl+Enter.

HTH
Kostis Vezerides