Ornua profits up almost 12% in latest accounts
Conor Galvin, Ornua Chief Executive Officer. Picture: Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography
Operating profit is up 11.8% at Ornua, Ireland’s largest exporter of dairy products and owner of the Kerrygold brand, despite a "complex" trading year.
The results, which cover the 12 months ending December 28, 2024, report a group turnover of €3.4bn and Group EBITDA of €165.5m.
Commenting, Ornua chief executive Conor Galvin said: “I am pleased to report a solid business performance for 2024 in which Group Turnover was €3.4bn and operative profit was up 11.8% on the previous year. Our teams around the globe responded well to difficult market conditions to deliver for our member co-operatives, our customer partners, and the consumers that enjoy our products. I am proud to see Ornua continue to achieve its mission of providing Irish dairy farmers with a trusted route to value, resulting in over €2bn in premium Irish dairy product purchases in the year."
Mr Galvin said Kerrygold had strengthened its standing as Ireland’s most successful food brand, with over 12m retail packs of butter and cheese sold globally each week in 2024.
"Following a complex year, we are now entering a period of much uncertainty driven by ongoing global trade tensions," he said. "The exact impact of these challenges remains to be seen, however, we are confident in the strength of Irish dairy which is a unique and sought-after proposition on the world stage. We have premium brands and food ingredients that are enjoyed globally, thanks to the qualities of the Irish grass-based dairy farming system, the hard work of Irish producers and processors, and the unique strengths of our co-operative business model.”
In a challenging year for processors and producers where milk volumes were pressurised and adverse weather conditions took their toll, Ornua remained focused on providing a secure and profitable route to market for Irish dairy. This resulted in strong product prices amounting to over €2bn in purchases across 353,000 million tonnes of premium Irish dairy products.
These strong product prices were further supported by an Ornua Value Payment of €72.8m for the year, made up of cash bonuses and additional premiums paid to Ornua’s Member Co-operatives for product supplied to the business.
