Financial results for Kilkenny Cheese – the 50:50 joint venture between Tirlán and Dutch firm Royal A-Ware – show a profit of €4.6m for the company’s first year of production.

Revenue during the year amounted to €196m, which included €25m of product produced during the commissioning phase which was sold to Tirlán and Royal A-Ware on a cost basis.

The directors of the company said 2024 was a “milestone” year, but one that was not without its challenges, which they said are not uncommon when starting up a new plant.

Production volumes increased steadily as the year progressed and Kilkenny Cheese products are now available in a “wide number of European countries”, the report said.

Future

Looking to the future, the company said that it will focus on expanding into new markets, widening its product portfolio, enhancing operational efficiencies and controlling production costs.

The company had purchases of €156m from Tirlán during the year and sales of €38m through Tirlán and €158m through Royal A-Ware.

The average number of employees at the company during the year rose to 83 from 27 in 2023.

Kilkenny Cheese had outstanding bank loans of €183m and paid interest of €5.5m during the year. The loans, due for repayment by 2034, are from a syndicate of lenders including ING bank and Rabobank in the Netherlands and the National Treasury Management Agency in Ireland.

Tirlán announced an investment of €126m in whey processing at its Ballyragget site in November which would be supplied with product from the Kilkenny Cheese factory.