An organisational and strategic transformation across the group of dairy companies in New Zealand owned by Yili has led to record profits and revenue.

Now operating collaboratively as the Yili Oceania group of companies which trade as Westland Milk Products, Oceania Dairy, Canary, Pure Nutrition and EasiYo, the group has delivered consolidated revenue of $1.58 billion in 2025.

This is a year-on-year increase of 14 per cent compared to consolidated revenue of $1.38 billion in 2024, and the highest in the history of the group.

Combined pre-tax profit reached $58.44 million, a 319% increase from the previous year, marking the New Zealand group of companies’ all-time high. Combined pre-tax profit of 2023 and 2024 was $31.77 million and $13.95 million, respectively.

In 2025 the group focused on a major business transformation, including increased collaboration between Westland Milk Products and Oceania Dairy, which helped accelerate earnings growth despite record high milk prices. The FGMP for the 24/25 season was $10.16/kgms, a 30 per cent increase over the 23/24 season of $7.83/kgms.

Executive Director of Yili Oceania, Zhiqiang Li, said a focus on structural upgrading and capability enhancement in 2025 delivered solid, high-quality growth.

"Overall, the business has now evolved from a scale-driven model to one focused on quality, efficiency and value creation,'' Mr Li said.

"By accelerating the shift towards value-added products, we achieved record-high revenue and profit, while also making tangible progress in capacity expansion, operational efficiency and global channel development.

"At the same time, we proactively strengthened our leadership team with key appointments, focusing on the capability of our team to operate at international operational standards, laying the foundation for sustainable long-term growth.

"These results show that the New Zealand businesses are in sound shape and have been managed responsibly to generate strong returns which will support the global competitiveness of the New Zealand dairy industry.''

Mr Li said the professional dedication and strong collaboration of people employed in the business, and strong partnerships with New Zealand dairy farmers and other partners, had contributed to the healthy and efficient development of the business.

"Over the past decade of investment in New Zealand, we have worked hard to build fair, transparent and sustainable relationships, ensuring that value is shared equitably across the entire supply chain,'' Mr Li said.

"We will continue to deepen these partnerships, strengthen the foundations of trust, and work with our partners to enhance the competitiveness of the industry in our region.''

The latest appointment for the group is Alex Turnbull to the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Yili Oceania group of companies in February this year.

Mr Turnbull said Yili's support in governance, resources and strategic alignment had produced an outstanding set of results.

"At the forefront of our thinking is our role and responsibility as the economic cornerstone of the West Coast,'' Mr Turnbull said. "Results like this allow us to keep investing in our business as well as our people, while remaining competitive with a strong milk price.”

Mr Turnbull said strong pricing in the market, optimising the product mix strategy of high value products, and agile foreign exchange management contributed to revenue and profits.

"The business is now well-placed to build further on the value-over-volume strategy,” Mr Turnbull said. "Going forward we will continue to focus on production planning and talent management.”

Highlights of 2025 for Yili Oceania's companies include:

• A third butter line installed in Hokitika leading to more production capacity of Westland's successful retail product Westgold Butter.
• Commissioning a second lactoferrin plant to make the Hokitika site one of the largest lactoferrin production facilities in the world.
• Strong growth across the value-added portfolio by product and channels.

Yili Oceania's most recent leadership team appointments include:

Tim Winter, General Manager CEO Office, Martijn Jager, General Manager Sales and Marketing, Anthony Bourke, Chief Operating Officer, Hardeep Singh, General Manager Quality, Deb Mello, General Manager People and Culture.