Protein trend drives Arla's results in a turbulent year

Arla Foods achieved excellent results last year, although the market plummeted hard in the second half of the year. Particularly, the ingredients business flourished due to strong global demand. In the 2025 fiscal year, various records were broken, such as those for revenue, milk supply, and the performance price. Revenue grew by nearly 10% to a record of €15.1 billion, while net profit increased by 3.5% to €415 million. The milk supply reached 14.3 billion kilos, due to a rapid increase in production in the second half of the year. The performance price for the member dairy farmers is a record of €56.4 per 100 kilos. In addition, there will be a supplementary payment of €2.20 per 100 kilos. According to Peder Tuborgh, CEO of Arla Foods, 2025 thus had two faces, with rising prices in the first half and a rapidly declining market after the summer. The CEO knows from years of experience that the dairy market operates cyclically, but he has never experienced this to this extent. Despite the rapid market change, Arla's portfolio held up well. This proves that our strategy works, Tuborgh said. Of all the major brands of Arla, only Lurpak showed a slight decline in revenue. Ingredients division flourishes Notable are the strong performances of the ingredients division, where revenue increased by more than 40% to €1.45 billion. This division makes a significant contribution to the profitability of the cooperative. In addition to good global sales opportunities, revenue was strongly driven by the acquisition of the British Volac, which was completed at the end of 2024. Arla also expects growth to continue at approximately 10% in the coming years. The trend towards high-quality proteins is not considered a fad. With the planned merger with DMK, the whey stream at Arla will continue to increase. Regarding the progress of the merger, Arla's management does not want to disclose much. The merger has already been approved by a large majority of the members of both cooperatives, but the European Commission still needs to give the green light. This process has encountered some delays, but Arla expects that further steps can be taken this spring to shape the integration of DMK. Cautious market recovery beginning 2026 The outlook for 2026 is still unclear. Arla expects that milk supply will weaken in the second half of 2026 due to lower milk prices. Tuborgh points out that the dairy market has bottomed out in mid-February after a sharp decline, which he believes offers prospects for market recovery in the coming months. However, it is not expected that the market will return to old levels soon, as revenue for 2026 is estimated to be lower, in a range of €13.3 to €14.1 billion. Finally, during the press conference, the CEO let slip that Arla is completing one of the largest investments in the company's history. He did not want to reveal more. Details about this will be released in the coming weeks.