New Zealand co-op Fonterra has reported a more than 50% increase in operating profits to $1.43bn (€932m) for its 2015/16 financial year, as margins widened to a very healthy 8.3%. Net profit after tax increased 65% to $834m (€545m), while lower global dairy commodity prices saw revenues fall by 9% to $17.2bn (€11.2bn).

Fonterra said the volumes of milk supplied by farmers increased 4% to 23.7bn litres, despite reduced stocking rates and less supplementary feeding. The processor is forecasting a 3% decline in supply for the coming milking season. In recent years, Fonterra has been moving away from a concentrated commodity powder player, to moving more milk into higher-returning consumer and foodservice products. Last year, Fonterra’s consumer and foodservice division processed an extra 380m litres, bringing total volumes in this business up to 4.9bn litres.

The group said there was strong growth in foodservice sales, which helped boost profits (EBIT) in this division by 42% to $580m.