Dairygold delivers €27m profit

Dairygold’s €27.2m operating profit for 2014 is a virtual carbon copy of the co-op’s 2013 results, achieved in a year of marked global milk price volatility and despite investing €50m in expanding its processing facilities.

While global milk prices fell by around 50% from February to December 2014, Cork-based Dairygold paid its suppliers an average of 38.9c per litre of milk. The country’s largest farmer-owned dairy processor shielded its members from the twin impacts of falling demand in China and Russia’s dairy import ban.

Turnover reached €848m, marginally up on 2013, while earnings on core activities rose by €1.8m to €47.2m. The co-op’s debt now stands at €71.6m, up from €60.9m.