Lower sales and profits for Ausnutria

This is evident from the annual report of the Hong Kong-listed company.
Turnover decreased compared to 2022 from €997 million to €944 million. Gross profit fell faster and went from €434 million to €365 million (-16%). Net profit amounted to €22,3 million, which was 19,4% or €5,3 million less than in 2022.

Malaise China
According to Ausnutria, this was caused by the slump in the Chinese dairy and infant food market as a whole. This is where the majority of turnover is booked. The decline was noticeable in both the infant formula segment based on cow's milk and in the goat's milk segment. The first segment suffered the hardest blows. The disappointing results were somewhat offset by higher sales of goat's milk-based infant formula outside China. Sales of probiotics also increased.

Probiotics for dogs and cats
It is striking that Ausnutria not only markets probiotics for humans, but also for dogs and cats. There is a growing market for this in China. The probiotics are made by subsidiary Bioflag.

Lose entries
In the annual report, Ausnutria also reports a number of losses in participations in the Netherlands. For example, it recorded a loss of the equivalent of €2,4 million on its participation in Farmel Holding and a loss of more than €300.000 on its interest in Amalthea bv, which it acquired in 2022.

Ausnutria, meanwhile, is working on a major reorganization in the Netherlands, with a large number of jobs disappearing. On the other hand, the company is also investing in a new electric milk powder tower in Heerenveen. It was initially expected to be completed at the end of last year, but is now expected to be completed during the course of this year.