The maker of Kerrygold has reported an operating profit of €136.6m for last year - up 4.7% on 2024.
That came as turnover at Ornua rose by 1.6% to just under €3.5 billion.
The dairy co-op described the performance as "solid" in the face of what was a "complex" and "turbulent" year.
"From a dairy markets point of view, the first half of the year was very strong - global markets were almost at record levels until the late summer, when the markets essentially crashed," said Conor Galvin, CEO of Ornua.
"So the second-half of the year was a much different prospect, where prices dropped up to 40% on some products, which made it a challenging year to manage," he added.
That led to a decline in the total amount Ornua paid for Irish dairy products year-on-year.
Its 2025 report shows just over €1.8 billion paid for Irish dairy - compared to the more-than €2 billion reported in 2024.
"We're not buying any less Irish products; the prices fluctuate," said Mr Galvin. "Particularly when prices crash as much as they did in 2025, it does have a material effect on the value of the products."
Despite this, he said Ornua's purchases still supported thousands of farmers. He said there are 14,000 families that depend on its ongoing purchasing of Irish dairy.
Another challenge faced by the dairy co-op last year was the imposition of tariffs in the US - where Kerrygold is the second biggest butter brand.
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Mr Galvin said the main impact that policy shift had on its business was the uncertainty it has created.
"We've had five different tariff rates since the start of last year, where tariffs have been on and off and on again and at different rates," he said.
"So what that means when you're dealing with retailers and you're trying to sell to consumers that are loyal to your brand is that there's a certain level of uncertainty around the cost of landing the product in the US and then also how stable that cost is," he explained.
Despite that, sales in the US grew last year - following investment by Ornua to support the brand in the face of trade barriers.
Mr Galvin said he hoped this year would bring some degree of certainty around the EU-US trading relationship - but in the mean time the company would have to rely on its premium position and customer loyalty.
One thing that could challenge that is the increased cost of living pressure facing consumers - both in Ireland and across Europe and the US.
Grocery market data has already shown many consumers switch from branded to own-brand products in order to manage their food bills.
Yesterday the IMF warned of the risk of a global recession of the Iran-US war were to escalate, which would add even more pressure on consumer demand for premium products.
"We'd always be concerned about affordability and I think in Kerrygold what we aim to do is to give a premium product at a reasonable price," said Mr Galvin.
"You would have seen the price of Kerrygold has reduced in 2026 because the price on global markets has reduced," he said.
"I think affordability is a real issue and we also look at, for example, our pack sizes and how we present the product so that we always have a price point that a consumer can afford," he added.
