Hochwald reports higher turnover and volumes for 2024

At the representatives’ meeting of Hochwald Milch eG recently, the Hochwald Group presented its members with an overall positive business performance for 2024. Both turnover and milk processing volumes saw a slight increase. Turnover was slightly above the previous year’s level, at over €2 billion. Milk processing volumes rose to approximately 2.3 billion kilograms. The milk payout price matched Germany’s national average.

In the 2024 reporting year, Hochwald generated sales revenues of €2,010.9 million (2023: €1,965.6 million), representing growth of 2.3%. Domestic sales accounted for 59% of turnover, while 41% was achieved through export business. The consumer products international division performed particularly well, driven primarily by increased export volumes to Arab markets. The payout to milk suppliers of the parent cooperative, including supplementary payment, averaged 48.1 cents per kilogram (2023: 47.5 ct/kg), matching the German national average according to the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) (2024: 48.1 ct/kg, 2023: 45.3 ct/kg). The target of paying a milk price above the national average was therefore not met.

Going forward, the market for dairy products continues to develop positively. According to NielsenIQ research, sales of cream, yogurt and quark in German food retail increased by several percentage points in 2024 compared to the previous year. “This trend validates our strategic focus on white line products”, underlined Detlef Latka, managing director of Hochwald Foods. “Moving forward, we’ll be focussing on the fat content of milk and are therefore increasing fat premiums to five cents per unit, while protein premiums remain stable at five cents per unit.” This measure reflects the company’s entry into the butter market. The corporate strategy ‘Prepared for tomorrow’ will continue to be pursued consistently in 2025. The aim is to offer cooperative members a milk price in the upper range of German comparisons, while creating additional added value. To this end, Hochwald continues to invest in sites, processes and sustainability projects. A significant milestone in this area was the commitment to validate the company’s climate targets through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Since February 2025, the near-term targets have been officially validated by the SBTi.

Following normal rotation and due to retirement, Matthias Bug, who also serves as chair of the supervisory board of Hochwald Foods, and Helmut Daun, are both stepping down from the executive board. They will be succeeded by Justus Beier and Inse-Marie Stalter, who were elected to the board by the representatives’ meeting. Jutta Simons-Molitor stepped down from the supervisory board following normal rotation and was subsequently re-elected to the body. Steffen Link and Felix Beckmann were newly elected to the supervisory board.