Meadow Foods has announced a drop in profits in 2024, with the sale process to Fairfax Financial Holdings impacting profitability.
The dairy, which processes more than 550 million litres of milk each year, posted a pre-tax profit of 拢20.6m in the year ending March 31 2024, compared to 拢24.6m for 2023, on a turnover of 拢488m, down from 拢588m a year earlier.
READ NOW:听Latest milk prices for dairy farmers: Arla holds January price
The business said it incurred non-recurring transactional costs associated with the successful sale process to Fairfax Financial Holdings during the year which has impacted profitability of around 拢3.2m.
Milk prices
Turnover fell primarily as a result of volatility in like for like milk prices, the company's principal raw material.听 Meadow said the underlying business remained strong and volumes were stable.
Raj Tugnait, chief executive of Meadow Foods, said: "These strong results were achieved despite a continued challenging high-inflation environment. Fairfax Financial Holdings ownership gives Meadow a strong and long term backer to realise Meadows plans.
"I am incredibly proud of the dedication and hard work demonstrated by teams across the business.
"These outcomes position us well to continue investing in new facilities, acquisitions (e.g. Naked Foods) and product development, enabling us to grow sustainably and better serve our customers."
READ NOW:听Calf genetically modified to 'burp less' and reduce dairy's greenhouse gas emissions
