Update: 2.30pm
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Suppliers will pay back a $183 million support package – more than $10 million more than expected.
Murray Goulburn chairman Phil Tracy said farmers were paid $5.53 per kilo of milk solid across the 2015/16 financial year when they should have received $4.80.
“The value of the milk supply support package is the difference between,” he said.
Mr Tracy said tough seasonal conditions had made for tight times but the processor was “looking forward to a really good spring.”
“No ones excited about a low milk price,” he said. “It’s clearly very tough market conditions for all of us to navigate.”
He said the support package was the “best way to carry farmers through”.
“Debating profit is not the solution,” he said.
Mr Tracy said MG would be reducing costs moving forward.
“We committed to suppliers that we would everything we could to minimise the impact of the milk supply support package (clawback) through cost saving and efficiency in the business,” he said.
“Over the course of the next two to three years that will flow through to the support package.”
Earlier
Milk processor Murray Goulburn has posted a $40 million after tax profit in a year it slashed returns to farmers.
MG released its 2016 financial reports to the Australian Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning.
It revealed a $34.5m increase in profit before tax or 150 per cent up on the 2015 financial year. But after tax the profit was reduced to $40.6 million. That number was 61 per cent up on the $25.2 million in the 2015 financial year.
MG said it had received 2.5 per cent less milk from its farmers during the 2016 financial year with a total of 3.5 billion litres produced.
It said the final price paid to farmers for the financial year would be $4.80 per kilogram of milk solids in line with the guidance provided in April for a price of $4.75 to 4.85. However, this was sharply down on the co-perative's previous forecast for a price of $5.60 per kilogram. The April downgrade triggered a dairy crisis.
More to come.