Dale Farm reported a profit before tax of £31.9m (€38m) for the 12 months to March 2025, an increase from £29.8m (€34.5m) the previous year.

Revenue was substantially higher at £722.4m (€859.7m) and was close to the record high seen for the co-op in the 2022/23 financial year.

Group CEO Nick Whelan said: “We are pleased with the results, but we take nothing for granted. Food businesses require constant financial reinvestment guided by focused research and development.”

Last year, Dale Farm announced a €70m (€81.7m) investment in the co-op’s cheddar cheese processing facility at Dunmanbridge, Co Tyrone.

Whelan said that the commissioning stage of that investment is now complete, adding that: “We will continue to invest in the business to provide our customers with products and services they need at the right cost, to ensure we build on our consistent performance while paying a strongly competitive milk price to our 1,300 milk suppliers.”

Dale Farm chair Fred Allen said: “Last year, farm level input inflation was countered by higher market returns and, consequently, higher producer milk prices. We are pleased that we were able to pay a competitive, sustainable milk price with an average of 43.67 pence per litre in 2024/25.”

See this week’s Irish Farmers Journal for more.