LOCHEM, NETHERLANDS — In a year of transition, ForFarmers saw a drop in gross profit and volumes in 2023, but results started to improve in the second half of the year.

Gross profit declined 3.5% to €477.3 million ($517.3 million) due to a decline in volume and volatile raw material and fertilizer prices. In the second half of the year, gross profit increased 2.1% compared to a year earlier for the European compound feed manufacturer based in the Netherlands.

Total volume decreased by 6.7% to 8.4 million tonnes, with 1.6 percentage points of the decline due to the sale of the Belgian compound feed activities in October 2023. Organically volume fell by 5.1% compared to the previous year, the company said.

Compound feed volume dropped by 6.6% to 5.9 million tonnes. Adjusted for Belgian volumes, compound feed volume in the second half was in line with the first half.

“The implementation of our strategy, of being even closer to our farmers with a local market approach, is bearing fruit,” said Pieter Wolleswinkel, chief executive officer. “We are in a strong position to keep on delivering on our promise to our customers: to provide high-quality feed at a competitive price. The acquisition of Piast in growth market Poland is also an important step in the implementation of our strategy. Not only will this enable us to produce more efficiently but the geographical spread also provides good commercial opportunities.”

Wolleswinkel said the company will continue to invest in sustainable solutions such as increasing the proportion of co-products in its feed solutions.

“These are challenging times for many farmers,” he said. “We look forward to continuing to work on solutions that contribute toward a profitable futureproof farming business, thus putting our mission For the Future of Farming into practice.”