FrieslandCampina has warned the dairy giant’s profits are expected to come under pressure in the back half of the year due to external factors.
After notching up a 6.4% increase in revenue to €6.8bn ($7.9bn) in the first six months of 2025 and taking net profit up by 25.7% to €230m, the Netherlands-headquartered dairy cooperative flagged a raft of “headwinds”.
“Consumer confidence is low worldwide, which will impact volumes. Currency developments are expected to have a negative effect, and commodity dairy markets are becoming less favourable. These factors will lead to a lower profitability,” FrieslandCampina said in a statement.
An offsetting factor is the co-op’s internal savings programme, which is “on track to deliver at the upper end” of an annual range of €400-500m, the company, which entered a merger agreement with Belgium peer Milcobel late last year, added.
FrieslandCampina said first-half volumes were “lower” than the corresponding period of 2024 with the revenue increase supported by “higher selling prices” linked to inflation and elevated milk prices.
Meanwhile, operating profit rose 20.6% to €363m due to “strong performances in its Specialised Nutrition and Ingredients divisions.
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By GlobalData“FrieslandCampina delivered strong results in the first half of 2025. The balanced spread of our business across markets, products, and channels demonstrates to prove its value,” CEO Jan Derck van Karnebeek said.
“The ongoing economic uncertainty is expected to put pressure on profit in the second half of 2025, resulting in a lower outcome. We continue to build on a future in which we create value for our members, consumers and customers, while at the same time contributing to a more sustainable world.”
FrieslandCampina has yet to provide an update on the merger proceedings with Milcobel announced in December, when the two parties said a firm proposal would emerge in the first half of this year. Any deal, however, will still require approval from the relevant competition authorities.
Just Food has asked FrieslandCampina for an update on proceedings.
The cooperatives said at the time that a business combination would result in pro-forma revenues of more than €14bn, with operations in 30 countries employing almost 22,000 staff and processing capabilities of around ten billion kilograms of milk.
Meanwhile, FrieslandCampina said in its results statement that milk supply from its farmer members fell 1.6% in the first half from a year earlier to 4.6bn kilograms.
“This was mainly due to farm closures resulting from an ageing population of farmers and ongoing uncertainty in the sector. In the first half of 2025, new members were successfully recruited who will make a significant contribution to the milk supply,” the co-op explained.
The guaranteed price of milk paid to farmers increased 19.6% to €55.63 per 100 kilograms.
