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Lactalis breaks sales record, lower profits
Dairy giant Lactalis achieved a turnover of more than €30 billion last year, which is 2,8% more than the previous year. This made Lactalsis the ninth largest food company in the world. However, earnings lagged behind somewhat, partly due to a tax agreement with the French government.
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This was reported by Lactalis in an announcement following the annual figures. The annual report itself has not yet been published.
According to Lactalis, the total turnover amounted to €30,3 billion, the net profit amounts to €359 million. In 2023, a turnover of €29,5 billion was achieved, while the profit then amounted to €428 million. According to Lactalis, the lower profit in 2024 is mainly the result of an agreement with the French government on tax payments. In the agreement reached last autumn, Lactalis had to pay €475 million. This had already been partly taken into account, because a reserve of €2023 million had already been set aside in 300, according to French sources. Lactalis has a long history of tax disputes with the government.
Meanwhile, the French dairy giant continues to invest and acquire. Last year, it acquired two companies in Portugal and South Africa and strengthened its position in the United States, Canada, India and Brazil. In the US, the approval procedure is still ongoing for the acquisition of the yoghurt activities of General Mills. The turnover of that division amounted to $1,5 billion last year. Lactalis hopes to complete the acquisition this year.
Lactalis has 266 production sites in fifty countries worldwide and employs some 85.500 people. The company does not disclose the size of the milk pool it processed in 2024. In the Netherlands, Lactalis owns two cheese factories and a packaging site, and in Belgium, a dairy factory in Lontzen, near Liège.