Agricultural business Dairy Brands New Zealand posted an operating profit of $86,000 for the year to May.
The move into the black ends a long string of losses.
"The turnaround in the company's fortunes is the result of a increase in production - up 8 per cent - a 10 per cent
improvement in dairy payout proceeds and tighter control over administrative overheads," said Dairy Brands chairman Peter Jensen.
The company's 14 dairy farm properties in Canterbury and North Otago this year produced a total of 2.8 million kilograms of milk solids.
This is the equivalent of 1134kg a hectare and 379kg a cow.
An improvement in the dairy price payout to $3.75 a kilogram of milk solids was a 10 per cent increase on the 1998-99 season, further contributing to the annual result.
During the past year, the company had been restructured, culminating in the appointment of an experienced farm management company.
This and the closure of a Christchurch office and the sale of various plant and vehicles would achieve more savings.
Further increases in farm profitability were forecast as new farm management systems were implemented across a full 12-month period.
The company said it had introduced new systems for production reporting, feed planning, management of supplementary feed, and farm supervision.
These new systems, a programme of capital investment on farms and the adoption of new technology would help sustain future earnings and profitability.
"The focus on productivity and efficiency has achieved a marked turnaround for the company," Mr Jensen said.
Dairy Brands shares closed up 2c at 31c.
- NZPA
