Page 30 - Food&Drink Nov-Dec 2020

AUSTRALIA’S TOP 100 FOOD & DRINK COMPANIES 2020
SPONSORED BY
ABBREVIATIONS
O Overseas NL Non-listed P Publicly listed Pty Proprietary/private C Co-operative
FONTERRA
Fonterra’s turnaround
▼ Revenue down ▲ Revenue up
1
REV UP/DOWN
TYPE
REV $M
PERIOD
PREVIOUS REV $M
AT THE HELM
▲
OPC
19599
07/20
18698
Miles Hurrell
2
HOLDING top place for the fourth consecutive year, Fonterra Co-op had a markedly better year than 2019. From a $570 million net loss in FY19, the dairy giant reported a $1.3 billion jump to $659 million profit after tax in FY20. CEO Miles Hurrell says 2019/20 was “a good year” for the co-op but even after a strong first half, no-one could have predicted COVID-19 and its flow-on effects.
“We are a very different co-op to this time last year – we’re prioritising New Zealand milk and staying focused on what
we know we’re good at and
what makes a difference to our farmer owners, unit holders, employees and communities. While there’s no doubt the world is experiencing an almost unprecedented situation and response to COVID-19, I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made so far,” Hurrell said.
In September, Fonterra announced its proposed acquisition of Australian company Dairy Country for $19.23 million. Fonterra holds a 23 per cent market share in the Australian retail cheese category. While subject to regulatory
approval, the acquisition will include two Victorian packing and processing facilities, related services, intellectual property and the Dairy Country trademark.
Director Peter McBride replaced retiring chair John Monaghan in November.
Fonterra is a New Zealand- based multinational dairy company, owned by the dairy farmers that supply the company. Fonterra exports a wide range of dairy products to 140 countries, employs around 20,000 people, and is administered from its head office in Auckland.
JBS
REV UP/DOWN
TYPE
REV $M
PERIOD
PREVIOUS REV $M
AT THE HELM
▲
O Pty
6876
12/19
6148
Brent Eastwood
JBS cuts jobs to secure long-term future
AUSTRALIA’S largest meat processing company JBS Australia, a subsidiary of foreign- owned private company Industry Park, is runner-up for the fourth year in a row. The company makes its revenue from meatworks
and marketing of beef and small stock, by-products and cattle feed lotting. It is also involved in commodity trading and the production of smallgoods.
JBS employs approximately 11,940 people, operates in Australia and New Zealand, and is administered from its head
office in Wacol, Queensland. The ultimate parent company is Brazil-based meat processing company JBS SA.
In September, the company announced 600 redundancies at its Dinmore plant as it scaled back operations “for the foreseeable future”. CEO Brent Eastwood said the difficult decision meant the preservation of 1150 full time jobs and the long-term future of the facility. Severe livestock supply shortages due to drought, and COVID-19 significantly impacted the business, but Eastwood said
these factors were exacerbated by “the market inequity created by the federal government’s JobKeeper program”.
COVID-19 significantly impacted meat processing plants, including JBS’ Brooklyn site, which was linked to 29 cases.
Following the 2019/20 catastrophic fires, JBS donated $1 million to the Australian Volunteer Trust, a permanent ongoing fund to support children of volunteers who have died fighting the recent fires as well as any future disasters.
30 | Food&Drink business | November-December 2020 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au