Australia’s largest dairy exporter, the Murray Goulburn Co-operative, has become the third major dairy supplier to participate in the New Zealand-based GlobalDairyTrade auction platform, joining Fonterra and Dairy America. Murray Goulburn will begin offering lactose through the auction platform from 3 April 2012. GlobalDairyTrade began in 2008 as a single-seller auction for whole milk powder. It appears to be transforming into a platform for companies to trade commodity dairy products internationally.... ...Read more »

One million litres of milk will be going to people in need under an historic new partnership between Foodbank Australia and the Australian dairy industry, which is being supported by the Australian Government. The Australian Government has pledged A$4 million over the next four years to Foodbank Australia in this year’s budget to ensure the organisation builds new partnerships with food growers, producers and manufacturers. The Collaborative Supply Program for Milk is the first time an entire industry... ...Read more »

Australian dairy co-op Murray Goulburn has taken a majority stake in a new milk powder venture in Tasmania. Murray Goulburn announced it is investing in Tasmanian Dairy Products, a business set up in July 2011 to make milk powder for international markets. The company did not disclose how much it had invested in the venture. Murray Goulburn Chairman Grant Davies said, “Tasmanian Dairy Products will process milk at a new facility in Smithton in Tasmania, with production scheduled to start in the... ...Read more »

French dairy giant Danone, through its joint venture with dairy co-op Murray Goulburn, has announced the Australian launch of its popular yoghurt Activia. A leading global brand, Activia is sold in 68 countries, with more than 32 million 125g units of Activia consumed every day around the world. The yoghurt will be marketed largely to women, with a new advertising campaign citing commissioned research by Galaxy that “two out of three Australian women feel fat, lethargic and lack confidence... ...Read more »

Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Company Holdings has posted a 300% leap in first half net profits and insisted that its prospects for the remainder of this year are significantly better than they were for 2010.In a regulatory filing yesterday, WCB revealed that first half net profits rose to $36.4 million, up 307.8% from $8.9 million for the first half of last year. The company said that EBITDA gained 191% year-on-year, rising to $61.1 million. The Australian dairy group said that its numbers... ...Read more »

Restaurants, supermarkets and manufacturers across Australia are picking up after flood damage this week, assessing damage and beginning the cleanup. Dairy giant Murray Goulburn’s Rochester milk processing plant, which manufactures mainly cheese and milk powders, was flooded on Friday, with the site remaining closed and milk now being transported to Murray Goulburn Cobram and other locations for processing. A number of Coles and Woolworths supermarkets were flooded, with 8 Coles stores in the... ...Read more »

Murray Goulburn has announced that it will purchase enough of the newly diluted Warnambool Cheese and Butter shares to bring it back to its original percentage stake in the company, following WCB’s equity raising. “Murray Goulburn’s investment in WCB was made with a longer-term perspective and we remain committed to an investment which allows us to be part of a process that has yet to conclude,” said Murray Goulburn Managing Director, Mr Stephen O’Rourke. “The WCB capital raising... ...Read more »

The managing director of dairy co-operative Murray Goulburn has announced his intention to quit, after over a decade in the role. Stephen O’Rourke will leave the business next July after 12 years as MD and 23 years as an employee. O’Rourke leaves at a troubling time for Murray Goulburn. Last week, it emerged that O’Rourke’s wife received over $300,000 for working with him while he was MD. It was also announced that local police would investigate allegations of improper payments... ...Read more »

Warrnambool Cheese and Butter has reported a recovery from last year’s losses of nearly $20 million, with the company now back in the black to the tune of $8.8 million. The company reported steady milk intake and a record production level, with a 7.4% increase in sales volumes, but revenues down 5.6%. EBIT were up from a $24.6 million loss last year to a $16.9 million profit in 2010 – a gain of $41.4 million. “The Company was able to record a solid profit outcome of $8.8 million,... ...Read more »

Woolworths has shaken up its milk supply, with a decision to award its own-label contracts to more than one supplier. The retailer today (8 June) confirmed that it had chosen to source milk from Parmalat and Murray Goulburn and not just National Foods, which had been its sole supplier of own-label milk since 2002. A spokesman for Woolworths said the retailer had awarded its contract for Queensland to Italian dairy giant Parmalat. Murray Goulburn will now serve a clutch of stores in the ACT and in... ...Read more »