• Synlait Milk has sold its North Island assets to its customer and global healthcare company, Abbott, for $270 million (NZD$307 million). CEO Richard Wyeth said the deal will allow Synlait to focus on core business at its Dunsandel facility in Canterbury.
    Synlait Milk has sold its North Island assets to its customer and global healthcare company, Abbott, for $270 million (NZD$307 million). CEO Richard Wyeth said the deal will allow Synlait to focus on core business at its Dunsandel facility in Canterbury.
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Synlait Milk’s half year result to 31 January 2025 reported a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $4.8 million, up 105 per cent on the prior corresponding period (pcp). Acting CEO, Tim Carter, said in light of the company’s position 12 months ago, the result was a “considerable commercial achievement”.

Snapshot

  • Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA): $63.1m, up 217% pcp;
  • NPAT: $4.8m, up 105%;
  • Net debt: $391.9m, down 29%;
  • Revenue: $916.8m, up 16%; and
  • Gross profit: $87m, up 99%.

Synlait said the results were due to an uplift in Advanced Nutrition demand, optimisation of North Island operations, higher commodity prices, improved foreign exchange performance, and a focus on keeping working capital and costs under control.

“Today’s result was delivered through a focus on getting the fundamentals of our operational performance right, seizing opportunities to deliver for customers, and continued cost control,” Carter said. 

For chair, George Adams, the result shows “solid headway down its road to recovery”.

The company said while it expects to deliver a “significant” improvement on last year’s EBITDA, 2H25 financial progress will be slower than the first half due to milk stream returns, foreign exchange and other ongoing operational factors.

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