By Jasmeen Ara Islam Shaikh and Nichiket Sunil
Feb 16 (Reuters) – New Zealand’s a2 Milk raised its full-year revenue growth forecast on Monday after half-year profit beat expectations on strong sales momentum in its top market, China, sending its shares to a near five-year high.
The dairy producer said it now expects fiscal 2026 revenue to rise by a mid-double-digit percentage from last year’s continuing operations, up from its prior forecast of low double-digit growth.
It also expects fiscal 2026 net profit after tax to increase from last year’s reported level, compared with its earlier guidance that profit would be only “slightly up” year on year.
Shares jumped as much as 11.7% to NZ$11.17, their highest level since February 24, 2021, before closing up 5%.
For the half-year ended December 31, the company’s net profit after tax attributable from continuing operations increased 9.4% to NZ$112.1 million ($67.66 million), topping a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of NZ$104 million.
Revenue from the firm’s key China-and-other-Asia segment jumped 20.3% during the period, helped by growth in its English-label infant milk formula and other nutritionals.
Segment sales rose to NZ$739 million, above the Visible Alpha estimate of NZ$714 million, driven by 6.5% growth in China-label infant milk formula revenue and a 23.9% increase in English-label sales.
The company has stepped up marketing investment, particularly in China, while strengthening support for domestic growth and supply chain initiatives.
“Market share gains are driving this growth along with new product launches – any slowdown to share gains or new product traction presents a risk,” said Matt Montgomerie, senior equities analyst at Forsyth Barr.
A2 Milk declared an interim dividend of 11.5 New Zealand cents per share, up from 8.5 cents declared a year ago.
(Reporting by Jasmeen Ara Shaikh, Nichiket Sunil and Keshav Singh Chundawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexander Smith, Edmund Klamann, Chris Reese and Eileen Soreng)
Comments