Team focus delivers for Dale Farm with increased profits

Turnover increased, year on year, from £631.4m to £722.4m, while net profit before tax has increased to £31.9m (previous year £29.8m). EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) also rose to £45.6m (previous year £44.9m). Operating profit grew from £37.5m in the previous tax year to £37.7m in 2024/25.

Commenting on the fourth successive year of record results for the farmer-owned dairy cooperative, Group CEO, Nick Whelan, said it came down to exceptional teamwork across the business.

Nick Whelan said: “Our focus, our drive and our decisions are about ensuring the profitability and sustainability of our farmers’ businesses. We are in the investment phase of our strategy cycle with a focus on production, automation and digitalisation.

"Last year we announced an investment of £70m in our cheddar cheese processing facility at Dunmanbridge, Co Tyrone. The commissioning stage is now complete, and the new plant is performing extremely well. 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.

We are pleased with the results, but we take nothing for granted. Food businesses require constant financial reinvestment guided by focused research and development. We are determined to remain innovative, constantly reinforcing our reputation for quality, consistency and sustainability, while investing in our people.”

Dale Farm Chairman, Fred Allen, added: “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.

"Our focus will continue to be on achieving consistency of performance throughout our business, combining the expertise of our 1,300 farmers with the skills of the 1,200 people employed by Dale Farm to deliver sustainable profitability – as a team.”