Feb 4 (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Synlait Milk said on Wednesday it expects to post a loss for the first half of fiscal 2026 as higher costs, operational impacts and lower relative returns from its commodities portfolio hit earnings.
The dairy producer forecast a reported net loss after tax of between NZ$77 million and NZ$82 million for the half-year ended January 31, compared with a profit of NZ$4.8 million ($2.90 million) a year earlier.
Synlait said it has fixed most of the production problems at its Dunsandel plant, but the fallout from those issues continues to hurt the business.
The earlier delays have left its stockrooms low, so the company had to spend this dairy season rebuilding inventory across several product lines.
The Canterbury-headquartered company said profits were squeezed because it had to sell more low‑margin raw milk instead of processing it into higher‑value products. Synlait said the shift also left its plant running less efficiently and pushed up operating costs.
“We are very disappointed with the six-month result and the impact it has had on the pace of our financial turnaround,” said CEO Richard Wyeth.
($1 = 1.6548 New Zealand dollars)
(Reporting by Jasmeen Ara Shaikh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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