Synlait looking to expand with plant in North Island

Synlait Milk plans to purchase new land in the North Island for a plant. Photo / File

Dairy products manufacturer Synlait Milk plans to purchase new land in the North Island to create a second powder manufacturing site and access a second pool of farm suppliers, it said in a presentation for its annual general meeting.

Synlait, which held its AGM in Christchurch, currently has approximately 200 contracted milk suppliers and a plant in Dunsandel in the South Island that includes wet mix kitchens and spray dryers.

It also has a blending and canning facility in Dunsandel and in November opened its second blending and consumer packaging facility in Auckland, which doubled Synlait's overall canning capacity to 64,000 MT after a $55 million investment.

It did not provide a timeline or any investment details for the new site in the presentation.

Traditionally a business-to-business dairy products manufacturer, Synlait in September said it was looking to enter the market for branded consumer products but did not offer details.

On Wednesday, outgoing chief executive John Penno told shareholder "we see considerable opportunities to solidify our current ingredient and infant formula positions and to enter new categories."

The CEO, who will step down in the next 12 months, said the company expects demand to increase significantly for Synlait consumer packaged products.

Penno underscored that investing in a second site will support future growth and mitigate risks associated with having a single site.

The company also said it now expects canned infant formula volume to be at the top of the previously advised range of 30,000 - 35,000 MT in the current financial year.

Its key customers include A2 Milk and New Hope Nutritionals.

The shares fell 3.0 per cent at $7.49 and have risen 148 per cent so far this year.