Milk-processing business Tirlán, formerly Glanbia Ireland, saw revenue increase by 5 per cent to €2.66 billion last year in a reinvigorated dairy market following a “challenging” start to the year.
The farmer-owned group, which is behind brands such as Avonmore, Kilmeaden, Premier and Truly Grass Fed, rebranded as Tirlán in 2022 after Glanbia Co-op acquired the remaining 40 per cent of Glanbia Ireland from Glanbia plc. It remains the largest shareholder in the Dublin and London-listed plc.
Tirlán said it sold more than 377,000 tonnes of ingredients in 100 countries, with the group generating an operating profit of €67.2 million. This is down slightly from €68.3 million in 2023, with the co-operative paying higher milk and grain prices to farmers in the improved market.
An exceptional charge of €7.4 million related to the group’s €9.5 million cost reduction programme saw pretax profit slip almost 15 per cent to €42 million from €49.3 million last year.
The farmer-owned group paid an increased average milk price of 52 cent per litre up from 44 cent per litre in 2023. Tirlán said it paid more than €1.5 billion to its farmer owners for milk and grain.
Tirlán said it paid the highest grain price at harvest of €210 per tonne for green feed barley, noting that “close to half of grain supplied to Tirlán” achieved a premium payment, as part of its “long-term value-add strategy for grain” with a focus on Avonmore Oat Drink products.
Tirlán chairman John Murphy described 2024 as a “year of two distinct halves for our co-op and our members” as the industry faced “significant weather challenges” in the first half of the year which hindered agricultural production and delayed crop sowing.
“Dairy markets strengthened as the year progressed, with milk supplies finishing strongly and competitive prices [on offer] for both milk and grain,” Mr Murphy said, stressing the “importance of the agriculture sector as an indigenous Irish employer and driver of the rural economy”.
Tirlán said it processed a third of the Irish milk pool, more than three billion litres, and was the largest purchaser and user of Irish grains with its green grain intake reaching almost 179,000 tonnes.
“After completing a significant cost reduction programme to proactively manage the cost base, we remain focused on delivering operational excellence and efficiencies every single day,” chief executive Seán Molloy said.
“We are well-positioned and a trusted partner to deliver on the growing demand for dairy and grains around the world.”
Last week, a German activist investor in Glanbia wrote to the board of Tirlán Co-operative Society, in a bid to enlist support for a campaign pressing the listed business to carry out a strategic review after a share price slump.
Clearway Capital, which is understood to own close to 1 per cent of Glanbia, said in a letter, that a “fundamental strategic review focused on separating Glanbia’s distinct business units is not only overdue but essential”. Tirlán declined to comment on this issues upon request.
The share price of Glanbia Plc has dropped from €13.30 at the end of 2024, to around €10.10 per share in trading on Tuesday. The company did not take an impairment on this asset, noting it accounts for its interest in the company as an “associate and not an investment at market value therefore this value does not fluctuate with the temporary movements in the share price”.
Investment in associates totalled €851.2 million in 2024, up from €828.1 million the previous year. A spokeswoman for the company said the “majority of this balance is in relation to Glanbia Plc”.
