Tipperary based Arrabawn Co-Op recorded record revenues last year through a 20% increase in turnover.
The annual report was outlined at the annual general meeting in Nenagh – the first ‘in-person’ Arrabawn AGM since 2019.
The co-op is one of Ireland’s best known dairy processers, with approximately 1,000 suppliers.
Last year it processed around 500 million litres of milk, up 11% from 2020.
Turnover reached €340 million while gross profit was up by 23% to €77 million.
CEO Conor Ryan said “Last year was a strong year for Arrabawn and very much validated our €30m investment programme at our Nenagh headquarters. This delivered significant additional capacity for us, with room to handle further growth in volumes in the years ahead. This has been a very prudent and timely investment that has future proofed the business and our suppliers’ activities.
“To have recorded the highest ever turnover in the history of the co-op and the highest ever EBITDA figure underlines the success of our investment strategy over the past three years or so and, critically also, has brought about a significant reduction in our debt levels and further strengthens our balance sheet.”
The CEO said that the investment in processing and effluent treatment facilities completed, the final phase in the programme will be the development a new entrance at the site, which will commence later this year, along with the upgrade of the milk intake and milk reception area. The development of new markets and customers was very encouraging, he said, and continued product development remains a key priority for this area of the business.
Arrabawn Chairman Edward Carr said that while the pandemic continued to be a topic of concern during 2021, the co-op managed the impact very well. Milk processing and Agri trading, he said, were able to continue with reasonable normality. “Dairy markets continued to strengthen as the year progressed and the society ended 2020 paying an average milk price of 40.07 cent per litre. This was very welcome at farm level as production costs were on the increase during the year but, with favourable weather conditions and good grass growth, it was a successful year for dairying.”
Mr Carr said that the biggest challenge facing dairy farmers remains meeting environmental targets. Since the abolition of quotas in 2015, the Irish Agri Food sector has seen phenomenal growth, particularly in dairying, he said. “This has delivered a significant boost across rural Ireland from the spin-off of this expansion. As farmers and members of the dairy industry we all enjoyed being part of this evolution. However, going forward, the sustainability of our industry needs to be protected.”
