Despite falling milk prices, owner of Kerrygold, Ornua Co-Operative, formerly known as the Irish Dairy Board, has reported pre-tax profits of €28.1 million, a 23% increase on the year before.
The company is Ireland's biggest exporter of dairy products announced that turnover was 10% higher than the previous year at €2.34 billion.
Ornua says, however, that it is not resting on its laurels as it is fully aware that that market conditions are challenging, even though dairy quotes were recently removed. It invested a substantial amount in merger and acquisition and capital expenditure in preparation for the removal of the quota and, as a result, ends the year with €99.3m of debt.
During 2014, Ornua opened a new plant in Wisconsin to complete an $80 million expansion of its US ingredients business. Uk powder nutrition firm FoodTec and Spanish cheese business Luxtor were also acquired leaving the company with net assets of €436 million.
“In addition to an excellent financial performance, 2014 was a year in which we significantly increased the capacity of our business through brand growth, innovation and in-market investment,” commented Ornua CEO, Kevin Lane.
“We enter into this new era for Irish dairying in an excellent position, with a strongly performing organisation, geared for growth,” he added.
The company has announced that, on the back of the results, members will be given a €12 million bonus, including a cash bonus of €7.5 million.
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan
