High commodity prices lifts profits

Revenue increased to $284.9m compared to $176.4m for the same period in 2013, due largely to sustained high international commodity prices.

Synlait Milk Chairman Graeme Milne says gross profit increased to $40m compared to $32.8m for the same period in 2013, due to strong earnings from milk powder and cream products business. "However, this was partially offset by lower than expected earnings from our infant formula and nutritional products business due to regulation changes in China and New Zealand's precautionary recall of WPC80, as well as an expectation that our annual average foreign exchange rate will be higher than applied in the determination of the farm gate milk price."

"This has resulted in the forecast FY2014 net profit after tax to be revised from a range of $30 to $35m to a range of $25 to $30m, but still ahead of the prospectus forecast of $19.8m," says Milne.

However, Synlait Milk managing director Dr John Penno says overall the company is pleased with the development of the business.

"Higher than forecast earnings and strategic positioning continues to reinforce the confidence we have in our future," he says.

"With a favourable product mix and an increasing amount of product sold into value-added applications we expect our milk powder and cream products business to outperform our initial public offer projections in FY2014."

"Despite it being clear that we will not meet our infant formula and nutritional volume targets for this financial year, we remain confident of meeting our long term objectives."