Fonterra FY26 Results: $9.69 Milk Price, $3.4bn Profit
Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.
Fonterra's business in China has blossomed in recent years.
Fonterra Greater China president Christina Zhu says for a long time the co-op was just an exporter with a small team based over there.
“It was just an agency model for NZ exports,” she says.
Today, Fonterra has about 1700 employees in China; 1100 people work in the 13 dairy farms.
About 500 staff form a core group looking after the co-op’s ingredients, food service and consumer businesses, working primarily in sales, marketing and distribution and supply.
Zhu joined Fonterra China seven years ago as vice-president of the ingredients business; she recalls working with around 20 staff.
“We didn’t have a marketing function, there was no supply chain or technical function either; we had a handful of junior sales staff.”
Today, Anchor UHT milk is sold in 13,000 stores nationwide. The Anchor brand fetches a higher price than most other brands and its growth is in double digits.
Synlait has swung to second-half profit as operations stabilise, but the dairy processor still posted a $75.4m annual loss.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
For Canterbury dairy farmers Sian Meijer and Rick Wobben, wearable technology has become one of their most valuable on-farm tools - helping manage 1850 cows across an expansive, high-performing dairy operation while improving efficiency, mating outcomes and day-to-day decision making.
Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.
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