Kerrygold owner Ornua hails ‘record’ profits for 2020
Irish dairy co-op Ornua saw record profits last year on the back of a strong global performance for the Kerrygold brand.
The Dublin-based dairy company, the parent of Pilgrims Choice owner Ornua Foods UK, saw operating profit before exceptional items grow by 69% to €83.1m for the 12 months to 26 December, with group EBITDA before exceptionals rising by 49.6% to €107.4m.
Those exceptional items amounted to a €12.2m charge for impairments of various global assets.
Group turnover, meanwhile, rose by 0.9% to €2.34bn. Ornua put the relatively low increase in sales compared with its big profit hike down to a reduction in lower-margin sales on the ingredient and commodity side of the business.
At the same time, however, it experienced an increase in sales of higher-margin branded and retail-focused goods. The performance of Kerrygold – which saw a 13% increase in global volumes – was a particular highlight, as it sold more than 10 million packets of butter and cheese a week.
Pilgrims Choice was also singled out by the supplier as it “outperformed the UK’s cheddar category with 29% growth year on year”, according to its annual report.
The dairy co-op also reported a 25% decrease in absolute emissions since 2016 and a 38% reduction in carbon intensity per tonne over the same time period. The total amount of food waste as a proportion of total food handled by the business also decreased, by 29% compared with 2019.
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