Arla and First Milk report solid revenue growth in 2025

Group revenue at European dairy co-operative Arla Foods increased to €7.45bn (£6.43bn) during the first half of 2025, an increase of 12.8% on the same period last year.
Farmers supplying Arla will receive a half-year supplementary payment of one euro cent/kg of milk, or about 0.86p/litre, as a result of the firms solid financial position.
Increased global demand for dairy, high commodity prices, and favourable exchange rates helped Arla to increase sales this year.
See also: Farmgate milk prices likely to strengthen this autumn
The acquisition of Volac Whey Nutrition in April last year has also helped the firm expand its range within the ingredients market.
Torben Dahl Nyholm, chief financial officer at Arla Foods, confirmed that the co-operative was on track to reach its target of €15bn (£12.9bn) in revenue for the full year.
Arla foods made a net profit of €158m (£136m) in the first half of 2025, this was back marginally on the year and represented 2.1% of overall revenue.
Peder Tuborgh, chief executive of Arla Foods said: “Demand for proteins and dairy is growing pretty constantly on a global scale at around 2%.
“However, over the last several years we have seen that the supply from farmers around the globe, including Europe, is not keeping up with demand.”
He also acknowledged a wider trend of milk being consumed in different ways with liquid milk sales generally down and yoghurt sales flat, but an increase in demand for other dairy commodities and ingredients.
Mr Tuborgh added that Arla had started to see milk supplies pick up in Europe in the last month and a softening of commodity prices, with some European processors recently making downwards price adjustments to farmgate milk prices.
UK market
Arla Foods revenue in the UK increased by 9% to €130m (£112m) during the first six months of the year.
Bas Padberg, managing director of Arla Foods UK, said: “We knew going into the first half of this year that market conditions would be more difficult to navigate and therefore have an impact on our business.
“We’ve seen some of the highest commodity prices so far this year, which has increased the value of dairy.
“As a co-operative, we have to ensure our farmers get the best possible price for their milk while keeping nutritious dairy accessible to shoppers.”
First Milk
Dairy processor First Milk had an exceptional year with turnover increasing by 20% to £570m for the full financial year to 31 March 2025.
The acquisition of BV Dairy in February 2024 helped to drive this growth along with increased sales of milk and whey protein products.
Operating profit increased to £20.5m at the farmer-owned co-operative, up from £16.8m during the previous financial year.
First Milk chief executive Shelagh Hancock said: “In a year of subdued economic growth in the UK and across export markets, our solid business performance enabled us to achieve our objective of delivering above market total returns to our members.
“Importantly, we achieved this while integrating BV Dairy into the First Milk family and paying down the outstanding loan notes related to the acquisition.”