The company said revenue for the year ended September was $1.6 billion, up from $1.4b the previous year. Net profit after tax was $67.6 million up from $31.4 million previously.
Chief executive Steven Koekemoer and chair Laurie Margrain said in its annual report it was a “satisfactory year for Open Country with after tax earnings up again on the previous year following a similar increase in 2019 on the 2018 result.”
They said 2020 was unlike anything the company had previously experienced due to the obvious impact of covid-19 across the globe.
“Markets do not regard uncertainty as a friend and there have been significant periods of uncertainty in market demand, supply chain efficiency, currency trends and with operational performance under some duress,” they said.
Despite this Open Country remained in robust good financial health.
The recent investment in new electrode boiler technology at the Awarua plant came online at the very tail end of the fiscal year, which meant all other plants were operating at total optimum capacity for the peak supply periods in each region.
Because of this there had been “extremely limited opportunity” to add to milk collection volumes.
Due to capacity issues, tonnage produced was only marginally up 2.6% on the previous year.
The pair also had a flick at dairy critics, saying the “perceived unfairness” the sector felt was “palpable,” with the sector treated differently by regulatory authorities compared to the urban population centres when it comes to infrastructural challenges.
Open Country is the country’s second-largest dairy processor and is almost 77%-owned by New Zealand food company Talley’s Group. Singapore’s Olam International owns 15.2% of the business.
Business Desk
