Danish Crown said its half-year performance was “as expected” even as African swine fever in Spain disrupted supplies and weighed on net earnings.
The Denmark-headquartered firm’s operating profit (EBIT) more than halved to DKr631m ($97.9m) from DKr1.33bn in the corresponding six months.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Adjusted for what Danish Crown said was a revised quotation policy that channels more funds to farmers, EBIT stood at DKr736m.
The meat cooperative issued a statement today (22 May) attributing the downturn to a “challenging” pork market, driven by African swine fever outbreaks in Spain and broader “supply pressure” across Europe.
An EFSA report released on 21 May showed African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks surging across the EU in 2025, rising 76% in domestic pigs and 44% in wild boar compared to the previous year. The disease returned to Spain after 31 years, bringing the number of affected member states to 14, as per the report.
Danish Crown’s revenue declined 2.6% to DKr31.6bn, reflecting lower slaughter volumes and weaker average sales prices amid heavy pressure in the European fresh meat market, partly due to increased supply linked to Chinese tariffs.
Despite the headwinds, Danish Crown outlined it “narrowed” the competitiveness gap with Germany on the pig side by DKr468m.
On the cattle side, the company said it “increased” its lead over Germany and the Netherlands, improving by DKr1.97 per kg, equivalent to DKr64m overall.
Danish Crown said it has reversed its decision to close the Essen site in Germany, with the withdrawal of a DKr183m impairment charge.
As a result, net profit for the half year ended 31 March reached DKr552m, up from DKr811m a year earlier.
Anders Aakær Jensen, the group CFO of Danish Crown, said: “Improved competitiveness and better cost control confirm that we are moving in the right direction. We are meeting our expectations for the result, while the difficult market situation, characterised by supply pressure, has put pressure on our gross margin, which has fallen from 14.2% to 11.8%.”
The company also cut distribution and administrative costs by DKr88m and DKr61m, respectively.
“Both decreases are driven by the full effect of the restructuring of the organisation in November 2024,” added the company.
However, rising oil and logistics expenses, along with emerging material inflation linked to Middle East instability, created fresh pressure toward the end of the period, the company said.
“We are seeing unstable markets due to the geopolitical situation, and – like other large companies – we must navigate in higher transport costs, inflationary pressure and rising interest expenses in 2026. This challenges the effective cost management that is part of Danish Crown’s transformation,” Jensen said.
Danish Crown’s beef operations posted revenue of DKr3.74bn with EBIT at DKr63m.
Jensen added: “There is a shortage of cattle across Europe, and this has resulted in spare slaughter capacity at several abattoirs. In Germany in particular, overcapacity remains a significant challenge.
“At the same time, we are seeing a market that has adapted to the high consumer prices. Even though there is still demand for beef, we must acknowledge that beef is under pressure from both pork and chicken at the beginning of 2026.”
Meanwhile, in April, Danish Crown announced plans to shift meatball production away from its Copenhagen factory with a view to eventually close the site.
A final decision on the Aalborg plant is still pending, but the company intends to relocate manufacturing to other Danish facilities, with Vejle in southern Jutland as the preferred option.
