Alex Turnbull Appointed CEO of Yili Oceania Division
Former Fonterra executive Alex Turnbull has been appointed CEO to lead all five Yili Oceania Business Division companies in New Zealand.
Operating collaboratively under the Yili Oceania group of companies - including Westland Milk Products, Oceania Dairy, Canary, Pure Nutrition, and EasiYo - the business has generated a consolidated revenue of $1.58 billion in 2025.
It's a year-on-year increase of 14% compared to consolidated revenue of $`1.38 billion in 2024, and the highest in the history of the group.
Combined pre-tax profit reached $58.44 million, a 319% increase from the previous year, marking the New Zealand group of companies’ all-time high.
Combined pre-tax profit of 2023 and 2024 was $31.77 million and $13.95 million, respectively.
Collaboration Between Dairy Businesses Drives Growth
Last year, the group focused on a major business transformation, including increased collaboration between Westland Milk Products and Oceania Dairy, whick helped accelerate earnings growth desipite record high milk prices.
The FGMP for the 24/25 season was $10.16/kgMS, a 30% increase over the 23/24 season of $7.83/kgMS.
Zhiqiang Li, executive director of Yili Oceania, says a focus on structural upgrading and capability enhancement in 2025 delivered solid, high-quality growth.
"Overall, the business has now evolved from a scale-driven model to one focused on quality, efficiency and value creation,'' Li says.
Focus Shifts Toward Value-Added Dairy Products
Li says that by accelerating the shift toward value-added products, the company achieved record-high revenue and profit, while also making tangible process in capacity expansion, operational efficiency and global channel development.
"At the same time, we proactively strengthened our leadership team with key appointments, focusing on the capability of our team to operate at international operational standards, laying the foundation for sustainable long-term growth," he says.
"These results show that the New Zealand businesses are in sound shape and have been managed responsibly to generate strong returns which will support the global competitiveness of the New Zealand dairy industry.''
Investment in Processing Capacity and Premium Products
Li says the professional dedication and strong collaboration of people employed in the business, and strong partnerships with New Zealand dairy farmers and other partners, had contributed to the healthy and efficient development of the business.
"Over the past decade of investment in New Zealand, we have worked hard to build fair, transparent and sustainable relationships, ensuring that value is shared equitably across the entire supply chain,'' he says.
"We will continue to deepen these partnerships, strengthen the foundations of trust, and work with our partners to enhance the competitiveness of the industry in our region.''
New Leadership Team Supports Long-Term Strategy
The latest appointment for the group is Alex Turnbull to the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Yili Oceania group of companies in February this year.
Turnbull says Yili's support in governance, resources and strategic alignment has produced an outstanding set of results.
"At the forefront of our thinking is our role and responsibility as the economic cornerstone of the West Coast,'' Turnbull says.
"Results like this allow us to keep investing in our business as well as our people, while remaining competitive with a strong milk price.”
Turnbull says strong pricing in the market, optimising the product mix strategy of high value products, and agile foreign exchange management contributed to revenue and profits.
"The business is now well-placed to build further on the value-over-volume strategy,” Turnbull says.
"Going forward we will continue to focus on production planning and talent management.”
