Dutch animal feed giant Nutreco has performed much better in 2024 than the previous financial year. The net profit of the company, part of family business SHV, was €75 million.
This led to a significant improvement in results. Nutreco struggled in previous years with high costs for the purchase of various raw materials, but the market relaxed in 2024. This resulted in an increase in gross profit of no less than €130 million. Part of this margin was however offset by a sharp increase in wage costs and other costs.
Market for animal protein is growing
In an explanation of the annual figures, Nutreco management indicates that the animal feed market is facing significant shifts caused by, among other things, economic influences, sustainability trends and related shifting consumer demand. There were also global challenges in the field of animal health in the form of numerous outbreaks of African swine fever and bird flu.
Despite the above-mentioned challenges, the market grew by 1,3% compared to the previous year, according to Nutreco. The market for poultry feed in particular grew, while the markets for pig and cattle feed shrank slightly. The market for poultry meat was larger than that for pork for the first time in 2024. The outlook for the coming years is also positive. The animal feed market is growing, according to Nutreco, driven by an increasing global demand for animal protein.
The market for fish products also continues to grow. Although growth in the shrimp market did fall back somewhat from 5% to 2%. The fish feed market continued to grow steadily by 2%. Expectations are also positive for 2025, although the sector is affected by volatility in the prices of important raw materials and disruptions in the logistics chain that can put pressure on the availability of these raw materials.
Growing focus on animal nutrition
It was recently announced that Nutreco will acquire its Spanish pig subsidiary Inga Food has sold to a partnership of three competing Spanish pork processors. A few years ago, the company also sold its Spanish poultry division. As a result, Nutreco is increasingly focusing on its core activities of livestock and fish feed.