Aurivo has held its base milk price for March supplies, but has slightly reduced its bonus payment.

Suppliers for the north-west co-operative will be paid 31.9c/L for last month’s milk, including VAT and an unconditional early calving bonus of 1.4c/L.

This bonus is down 0.1c/L from the 1.5c/L unconditional early calving bonus paid and introduced last month, while the 30.5c/L base has been held.

Market conditions are stable and Aurivo will closely monitor supply and demand in the coming months and pay a competitive milk price in relation to market conditions, according to a spokesperson for the co-op.

Earlier today, Aurivo released its financial results for last year; the co-op recorded an increased turnover – up 4% on the previous year – for 2018, but took a hit to profits to the tune of €900,000.

The north-west dairy co-operative described its financial performance as “robust” and in line with expectations in a year marked with ongoing volatility in global dairy markets.

2018 saw the largest investment in the history of the co-operative with new capital investment of €22 million, just the start of a €48 million five-year investment programme.

The move is aimed to ensure Aurivo is well-positioned to take advantage of future market opportunities.

Turnover for the year was €443.8 million, an increase of 4% on 2017, which recorded €426.4 million.

Aurivo reported a group operating profit before exceptional items of €3.0 million, a drop of 23% on 2017’s profit of €3.9 million.

With increased investment, net debt for 2018 was posted at €14.6 million.