Australia and New Zealand’s largest poultry integrator, Ingham Group Limited, has achieved double-digit growth in poultry meat sales volume over the last year, and achieved significant improvements in efficiency within the business.
Retail and quick-service restaurant sectors in Australia, and improved trading conditions in New Zealand have helped drive poultry meat production by Ingham Group Limited (Ingham’s) to expand by 11.5 percent in volume, and 3.3 percent in value over the 2017 fiscal year, which recently ended.
The company's pro forma gross profit rose by 8.1 percent to AUD456.8 million (US$361 million). The main drivers for this improved profitability were increased output and the implementation of a series of initiatives known as “Project Accelerate.” Among the achievements over the year were increases in automation in primary poultry processing plants, labor productivity, and procurement efficiencies, as well as network rationalization with the closure of a plant in Cardiff, New South Wales.
Over the year, Ingham’s has expanded capacity at its hatchery at Murraylands, and its breeder farm in Monarto in South Australia is now operational. In the same state, breeder capacity is set to increase at Yumali, and a new feed mill is under construction.
Looking ahead for the new fiscal year, the firm expects continued growth in its poultry meat output, while it is reviewing its commercial livestock feed business.
Achievements over the past year
Earlier this year, Ingham’s Group announced plans to expand its base in the state of Western Australia with a new feed mill, and the firm extended its contract to supply top Australian food retailer, Woolworths until mid-2021.
The firm’s poultry processing plant at Te Aroha has become the first in New Zealand and only the sixth facility in the world to receive sustainability certification from the Alliance for Water Stewardship for “outstanding water management.”
Founded by Walter Ingham in 1918, Ingham’s was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in November 2016.
Supplying retail, quick-service restaurant, and food service sectors, Ingham’s is the top integrated poultry producer in Australia and New Zealand. The firm processes around four million birds per week, and its operations include 10 feed mills, breeder and broiler farms, 11 hatcheries, seven primary processing plants, seven further processing plants and nine distribution centers.