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Chinese dairy giant Yili sees sales decline for the first time
Chinese dairy giant Yili has seen its revenues fall for the first time in history in 2024. Profit figures also took a step back.
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Turnover fell by more than 8% last year to 115,7 billion Chinese Renminbi, which is about €14,4 billion at current exchange rates. Since the founding of the Chinese dairy giant Yili Group in 1996, the company has presented impressive growth figures year after year with a higher turnover each time. That did not continue in 2024.
Net profit also fell, dropping just under 20% to the equivalent of around €1 billion. Although lower than the previous financial year, this still represents an impressive profit margin of 7,3%, which European dairy companies cannot match.
Less liquid milk
The lower turnover this year is probably related to the crisis in the Chinese dairy industry, which is plagued by milk surpluses. This probably depressed sales prices. Whether volumes have also shrunk is not clear from the figures. In the first half of this year, Yili sold considerably less liquid milk in terms of value. This branch represents around three quarters of turnover, but shrank by 12,3%. The ice cream division sold almost 18% less in terms of value. The powder division did see turnover increase somewhat, possibly because more milk surpluses were powdered.
The figures for the first quarter of 2025 show that the upward trend has started with a turnover increase of 1,35%. The profit was still under pressure with a decrease of 17%.