Royal FrieslandCampina NV’s results for 2023 showed revenue dropped by 7.1% to €13.7bn, with the company saying unfavourable currency movements, the sale of a German business and falling volumes in consumer markets all hitting performance.

The operating profit of €75m was turned into a €149m loss by a €136m charge from restructuring costs related to the December announcement, which included a reduction of global employees by 1,800.

The company also said that other one-off costs and higher financing charges hit the bottom line.

The milk price paid to its member farmers dropped 16.2% to 48c/kg.

Drop in numbers

The processor also noted that the number of member farms dropped by more than 5% in the year to 9,417. Despite this, the total volume of milk supplied only fell 1.5%.

Due to the disappointing results, FreislandCampina will make no supplementary payment to its suppliers for the year.

CEO Jan Derck van Karnebeek said that “2023 was a difficult year for FrieslandCampina. Business results, particularly with respect to our global consumer dairy and trading activities, were severely under pressure.”

FrieslandCampina pays a guaranteed price for milk from its farmers and the company said that the difference between this price and the market price for dairy products hit profitability.

The company also found itself selling expensive stocks in a market of low prices.

The drop in turnover to €13.1bn means FrieslandCampina drops below Arla Foods in global dairy rankings, after the Danish co-op reported turnover of €13.7bn.