The world's biggest dairy exporter also benefited from higher product pricing and strong demand for its dairy ingredients and foodservice channel.
"We acknowledge that across the year, farmers will continue to feel the pressure from high input costs and a reduced farmgate milk price," CEO Miles Hurrell said.
The dairy giant also expects inflationary pressures and farmgate milk price outlook to impact its production levels.
That compares with normalized earnings of 80 NZ cents per share in fiscal 2023.
The Auckland-based company declared a final dividend of 40 NZ cents per share, compared with 15 NZ cents declared last year.
Persons:
Nigel Marple, Fonterra, Miles Hurrell, Hurrell, Himanshi Akhand, John Biju, Shounak Dasgupta, Shweta Agarwal
Organizations:
REUTERS, Fund, NZ, Zealand, Thomson
Locations:
Rapa, Hamilton, China, Zealand, Auckland, Bengaluru