Aurivo saw a 12.3% increase in turnover to €814.2m in 2025, with operating profit 9.9% higher at €18.7m.
The increase was driven by the highest-ever milk intake for the processor at 544m litres and a record turnover at Aurivo’s mart business in a year where cattle prices were almost 50% higher than in 2024.
The co-op ended the year with a strong balance sheet showing shareholders’ funds of €120.2m and net debt of €200,000, down from €11.5m at the end of 2024.
The average milk price paid was 55.3c/l, a 4.4% increase on the 52.9c/l paid the previous year. Looking across the co-op’s four main business segments, turnover was up in each by various amounts.
Consumer foods showed a 4% increase to €164.6m, dairy ingredients was 8.3% higher at €313.7m, agri-business was 8.5% higher at €173.5m and marts revenue jumped by 38.4% to €162.4m.
Our marts business does make a profit, all of our marts were profitable in 2025
On the marts business, the growth in revenue was driven entirely by higher prices during the year as the throughput of livestock, despite a strong start to 2025, ended the year lower. Cattle throughput at 76,000 head was 4% down on the previous year and sheep, at 75,000, was down 9% on 2024.
“Our marts business does make a profit, all of our marts were profitable in 2025,” Aurivo CEO Donal Tierney told the Irish Farmers Journal “but numbers are dropping, and it dropped even further in the first few months of this year.”
He suggested that there are probably too many marts in the country for the numbers going through, but he said that Aurivo gets volume through its retail stores which are located near its marts, so it wouldn’t make sense for the co-op to take the marts in isolation.
In agri-business, the co-op recorded strong fertiliser sales and delivered the highest level of feed production and sales in its history. There was also significant investment made in store development during the year including the opening of a new location in Longford.
While the dairy ingredients business had what co-op chair Raymond Barlow described as a “good year”, the tightening in market conditions towards the end of 2025 created significant pressure on returns from the market.
Raymond Barlow, Aurivo chair. \ Donal O’Leary
Aurivo added 14 new entrant milk suppliers in 2025 and is in discussions with approximately 30 new entrants for 2026/27.
“We’ve had more leaving than entering over the last six or seven years,” Tierney said, “but the volume of litres coming in has always exceeded the volume of litres exiting.”
The consumer foods business performance was described as “resilient” despite continued retailer pressure on pricing. Butter volumes showed a small increase while retail milk volumes were slightly lower.
Aurivo’s sports nutrition business, For Goodness Shakes, which mostly sells into the UK market, was the standout performer for the segment. It had a recipe and brand refresh during the year, which saw an increase in protein from 25g per serving to 35g per serving, with bottle size dropping from 435ml to 330ml.
Tierney said the brand refresh “has been perceived really well. Our volumes are up [so far in 2026] significantly on where they were last year.”
Looking at the outlook for dairy markets as a whole, Tierney cited ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, commodity volatility, rising compliance costs and trade policy uncertainty among the challenges which will continue to influence the operating environment for the co-op.
“It’s hard to see any significant jump in milk prices over the next three to six months,” Tierney said. “Ornua’s PPI is forecasting a price of around 35c/l for the rest of the year.”
Strategy
The biggest recent development at the co-op were the discussions with Dale Farm regarding a potential merger between the two processors. Following detailed exploration of the idea, including meetings with members, the decision was taken not to proceed with the merger.
“The reason the Dale Farm merger was so attractive to us, and to them, was that it was a great diversification opportunity. They’re not in powder, we’re not in cheese. At times cheese is delivering better returns than powder and vice versa. So, there was a great opportunity to move milk to the highest returning market,” Tierney said.
“There were significant benefits that were going to emerge, and we will try to get some of them through the strategic partnership, but we won’t get all of them.”
The strategic partnership which came out of the merger talks is still in its early phase, but it aims to maximise synergies, optimise market opportunities and drive operational excellence for both processors.
Barlow, who has been chair of the co-op since 2020, will be stepping down from his role in July this year, having served his full term. Tierney had previously announced that he would retire from his role as CEO at this year’s Aurivo AGM.
A successful merger would have negated the need to appoint a new CEO, but as that is now not going ahead, Aurivo is now looking to fill that role. Tierney will stay on until his successor is appointed and will work with them to ensure an orderly handover.
It seems that all the talk around mergers at Aurivo in 2025 didn’t distract the co-op from its day-to-day business.
The performance, like most of the other processors we have talked to during this earnings season, was resilient during a volatile year for dairy markets.
Aurivo finds itself in an interesting position at the moment. The co-op’s finances are in a sound position and the business appears to be well invested. It is currently building a new biomass facility which will enable it to meet its carbon commitments a couple of years ahead of schedule.
The co-op will have a new chair and a new CEO by the end of year. Those people will inherit a business that has done very well over recent years, but also one which is primed for its next phase of development.
There is room on the balance sheet for further investment, and there are opportunities to increase cooperation with Dale Farm. The role of CEO will certainly be an interesting one for whoever gets the position.
However, in the shorter term, the biggest challenge facing the new leadership team will be navigating the challenges Aurivo – and every co-op in Ireland – face for the rest of 2026.
Successfully trading through the volatility in dairy markets will likely take more of their time than plans over the long-term future of the co-op.
Aurivo saw a 12.3% increase in turnover to €814.2m in 2025, with operating profit 9.9% higher at €18.7m.
The increase was driven by the highest-ever milk intake for the processor at 544m litres and a record turnover at Aurivo’s mart business in a year where cattle prices were almost 50% higher than in 2024.
The co-op ended the year with a strong balance sheet showing shareholders’ funds of €120.2m and net debt of €200,000, down from €11.5m at the end of 2024.
The average milk price paid was 55.3c/l, a 4.4% increase on the 52.9c/l paid the previous year. Looking across the co-op’s four main business segments, turnover was up in each by various amounts.
Consumer foods showed a 4% increase to €164.6m, dairy ingredients was 8.3% higher at €313.7m, agri-business was 8.5% higher at €173.5m and marts revenue jumped by 38.4% to €162.4m.
Our marts business does make a profit, all of our marts were profitable in 2025
On the marts business, the growth in revenue was driven entirely by higher prices during the year as the throughput of livestock, despite a strong start to 2025, ended the year lower. Cattle throughput at 76,000 head was 4% down on the previous year and sheep, at 75,000, was down 9% on 2024.
“Our marts business does make a profit, all of our marts were profitable in 2025,” Aurivo CEO Donal Tierney told the Irish Farmers Journal “but numbers are dropping, and it dropped even further in the first few months of this year.”
He suggested that there are probably too many marts in the country for the numbers going through, but he said that Aurivo gets volume through its retail stores which are located near its marts, so it wouldn’t make sense for the co-op to take the marts in isolation.
In agri-business, the co-op recorded strong fertiliser sales and delivered the highest level of feed production and sales in its history. There was also significant investment made in store development during the year including the opening of a new location in Longford.
While the dairy ingredients business had what co-op chair Raymond Barlow described as a “good year”, the tightening in market conditions towards the end of 2025 created significant pressure on returns from the market.
Raymond Barlow, Aurivo chair. \ Donal O’Leary
Aurivo added 14 new entrant milk suppliers in 2025 and is in discussions with approximately 30 new entrants for 2026/27.
“We’ve had more leaving than entering over the last six or seven years,” Tierney said, “but the volume of litres coming in has always exceeded the volume of litres exiting.”
The consumer foods business performance was described as “resilient” despite continued retailer pressure on pricing. Butter volumes showed a small increase while retail milk volumes were slightly lower.
Aurivo’s sports nutrition business, For Goodness Shakes, which mostly sells into the UK market, was the standout performer for the segment. It had a recipe and brand refresh during the year, which saw an increase in protein from 25g per serving to 35g per serving, with bottle size dropping from 435ml to 330ml.
Tierney said the brand refresh “has been perceived really well. Our volumes are up [so far in 2026] significantly on where they were last year.”
Looking at the outlook for dairy markets as a whole, Tierney cited ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, commodity volatility, rising compliance costs and trade policy uncertainty among the challenges which will continue to influence the operating environment for the co-op.
“It’s hard to see any significant jump in milk prices over the next three to six months,” Tierney said. “Ornua’s PPI is forecasting a price of around 35c/l for the rest of the year.”
Strategy
The biggest recent development at the co-op were the discussions with Dale Farm regarding a potential merger between the two processors. Following detailed exploration of the idea, including meetings with members, the decision was taken not to proceed with the merger.
“The reason the Dale Farm merger was so attractive to us, and to them, was that it was a great diversification opportunity. They’re not in powder, we’re not in cheese. At times cheese is delivering better returns than powder and vice versa. So, there was a great opportunity to move milk to the highest returning market,” Tierney said.
“There were significant benefits that were going to emerge, and we will try to get some of them through the strategic partnership, but we won’t get all of them.”
The strategic partnership which came out of the merger talks is still in its early phase, but it aims to maximise synergies, optimise market opportunities and drive operational excellence for both processors.
Barlow, who has been chair of the co-op since 2020, will be stepping down from his role in July this year, having served his full term. Tierney had previously announced that he would retire from his role as CEO at this year’s Aurivo AGM.
A successful merger would have negated the need to appoint a new CEO, but as that is now not going ahead, Aurivo is now looking to fill that role. Tierney will stay on until his successor is appointed and will work with them to ensure an orderly handover.
It seems that all the talk around mergers at Aurivo in 2025 didn’t distract the co-op from its day-to-day business.
The performance, like most of the other processors we have talked to during this earnings season, was resilient during a volatile year for dairy markets.
Aurivo finds itself in an interesting position at the moment. The co-op’s finances are in a sound position and the business appears to be well invested. It is currently building a new biomass facility which will enable it to meet its carbon commitments a couple of years ahead of schedule.
The co-op will have a new chair and a new CEO by the end of year. Those people will inherit a business that has done very well over recent years, but also one which is primed for its next phase of development.
There is room on the balance sheet for further investment, and there are opportunities to increase cooperation with Dale Farm. The role of CEO will certainly be an interesting one for whoever gets the position.
However, in the shorter term, the biggest challenge facing the new leadership team will be navigating the challenges Aurivo – and every co-op in Ireland – face for the rest of 2026.
Successfully trading through the volatility in dairy markets will likely take more of their time than plans over the long-term future of the co-op.
SHARING OPTIONS