Arla Foods reports net profit of US$184.57M in H1 2025

DENMARK – Arla Foods, a dairy cooperative, has reported a net profit of US$184.57 million (EUR 158 million) and a competitive performance price of 57.5 EUR-cent/kg in H1 2025 results.

Based on this performance, the Board of Directors has decided to make a half-year supplementary payment of 1 EUR per cent per kilogram of milk, based on the half-year milk volumes.

Geopolitical uncertainty and higher dairy commodity prices created a more challenging market environment in the first half of 2025, resulting in a 1.5% decline in Arla Foods’ branded product sales volumes compared to the first half of the previous year, as consumers became more cautious in response to higher prices and economic uncertainty.

“Although we saw a slight decline in branded sales volumes in the first half of the year, we expect the situation to improve as we move into the second half. With continued focus and the strength of our brands, we are well positioned to respond to changing market conditions, and we anticipate that branded growth will be close to neutral for the full year,” says Torben Dahl Nyholm, CFO of Arla Foods.

Arla’s European segment reported a 10.9% revenue increase to US$4.97 billion (EUR 4.26 billion), primarily driven by higher retail and foodservice prices resulting from rising commodity costs. However, the elevated dairy price level led to a 2.4% decline in branded volume-driven revenue growth compared to last year. 

The international segment delivered revenue growth of 0.9% to US$1.40 billion (EUR 1.20 billion), supported by higher price levels despite negative currency developments, mainly from the USD.

Branded volume-driven revenue growth grew slightly by 0.4%. Growth was strongest in Southeast Asia, where branded volumes rose by 3.1%, while the Middle East and North Africa and Rest of World regions each achieved 1.9% growth, showing resilience amid ongoing geopolitical turbulence.

In China, revenue declined due to the discontinuation of two Early Life Nutrition brands and market-driven volume pressures.

Arla Foods Ingredients delivered significant growth, with revenue up 53.7% to US$847.7 million (EUR 726 million). This was driven by strong market demand for dairy proteins, high prices for both commodity and value-added products, and the successful integration of the Volac Whey Nutrition business, which contributed US$159.93 million (EUR 137 million) to revenue.

Value-added protein product growth reached 37.3%, raising the total value-add share to 82.9%. A key focus during the period was the shift of production capacity at the Arinco site from Early Life Nutrition to ingredients, with full implementation expected in early 2026 and future sourcing of ELN products through a third-party agreement.

Global Industry Sales increased by 14.8% to US$1.45 billion (EUR 1.25 billion), driven by higher trading volumes and elevated commodity prices, particularly for fat-rich products such as butter and yellow cheese.

Outlook

The company expects an improvement for the branded volume-driven revenue growth in the second half of 2025, Arla Foods has increased its outlook for branded growth to -0.5–0.5% for the full year.

The revenue forecast has been adjusted to a range of EUR 14.7–15.2 billion, with profit share still anticipated within the target range of 2.8–3.2%.

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