Co-operative dairy business Aurivo saw its operating profits increase by 70% last year, despite a slight fall in its overall turnover.
The company – which includes Connacht Gold and Donegal Creameries amongst its brands – recorded profits of more than €8.9m last year – compared to just over €5.2m in 2013.
This was based on turnover of €447m – down from €454m the year before.
The company was also able to dramatically reduce its net debt during the year – cutting it from €12.9m to €1.4m by the end of 2014.
Chief executive Aaron Forde described the figures as "stellar" and said they had been achieved while paying strong milk prices to dairy farmers through the year.
"The year under review was a volatile one," he said.
"Despite this, we managed to provide a strong milk price to our dairy farmers. I can say with some certainty that supplier confidence in Aurivo is very high as 98% of our suppliers have signed milk supply agreements, which bodes well for the co-operative in the post quota era we are operating in 2015".
Mr Forde said he expected suppliers to increase production by around 25% in the coming years as a result of the end of quotas.
Earlier this year Aurivo also announced its entry into the sports nutrition business with the acquisition of British firm For Goodness Shakes.
This is an area that is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, with Glanbia and GSK already major players in the field.
