Aurivo, the Sligo-headquartered milk processor behind the Connacht Gold butter brand, expects to weather choppy trading conditions this year amid softer global dairy markets and input cost pressures arising from “geopolitical and trade uncertainty”.
On Thursday, the co-operative reported an almost 10 per cent jump in operating profits to €18.7 million last year, despite plummeting milk prices in the second half of the year, due to a global oversupply.
In a statement, the group said 2025 was a record operating year with milk intake hitting its highest-ever level of 544 million, up 5.3 per cent.
Aurivo paid an average milk price of 55.3 cent per litre to its roughly 1,000 members in 2025, up 4.4 per cent on the previous year, it said.
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Chief executive Donald Tierney said: “As the year progressed, market conditions became more challenging, particularly in the final quarter as global milk supply outpaced demand.
“Notwithstanding those headwinds, Aurivo’s strong business mix, sound balance sheet and clear strategic focus leave us well placed to continue delivering sustainable growth for our member owners in 2026.”
“The resilience and ambition shown by our suppliers throughout 2025 was reflected in milk intake rising to a record 544 million litres, while Aurivo maintained a competitive average milk price over the course of the year,” said Aurivo chairman Raymond Barlow.
The co-op group, which was founded as the North Connacht Farmers’ Co-operative Society in 1972, recently announced “strategic partnership” with Northern Ireland’s Dale Farm.
Last month, Aurivo said it had decided against pursuing a merger with Britain’s largest farmer-owned dairy co-op that would have created a larger entity, with a total milk pool of around 1.5 billion litres.
Instead, the group said it will pursue a strategic partnership with Dale Farm, working on projects around “byproduct utilisation and added value protein”.
Looking ahead, Aurivo said it expects the volatility that emerged in late 2025 “to persist through 2026, alongside rising compliance costs and broader geopolitical and trade uncertainty”.
“Softer dairy markets, input-cost pressures and tighter livestock supply are likely to remain key features of the trading environment,” it said.
