Glanbia Co-op Unveils 2016 Member Support Package of at Least €35 Million
The Board of Glanbia Co-operative Society has announced the creation of a ‘2016 Member Support Package’ worth at least €35.6 million. This latest support package is in addition to an estimated €30 million support paid to members of the Society for 2015.
The Chairman of Glanbia Co-operative Society, Henry Corbally, says: “The current weak state of global dairy and grain markets makes this a very challenging time for members of our Society. The Board of the Society recognises that 2016 looks likely to be a difficult year for our members and has resolved to provide support at this challenging time.”
This package will utilize a portion of the €67 million support fund created by the Society’s sale of four million Glanbia plc shares in May 2015. As part of the same process a spin-out of 10 million Glanbia plc shares to Society members in September 2015 unlocked €170 million of value created in the plc for distribution to members. When combined with the 2016 Member Support Package, this brings the total value distribution by the Society in 2015/2016 to €235.6 million.
Henry Corbally.
Henry Corbally acknowledges the foresight of members in creating the €67 million fund which allows the Society to support members at this time. “This 2016 Support Package demonstrates the power of the Glanbia model. Farmer members are paid a competitive market price for their produce, and also benefit from the value created in Glanbia plc.”
Separately, the Board of Glanbia Ingredients Ireland (GII) recently confirmed that in 2016 it will pay out the entire proceeds of the “additional cash bonus” from Ornua (Irish Dairy Board) on manufacturing milk supply. This followed the announcement by Ornua that it will pay an “additional cash bonus” of €15 million to its member suppliers, of which the GII portion is expected to be in excess of €3 million.
Glanbia Co-operative Society is Ireland’s largest and most valuable Co-operative, with over 15,000 members and a current value of €1.9 billion. Glanbia Co-operative Society owns 36.5% of Glanbia plc, the global nutrition company. Glanbia Ingredients Ireland is a 60:40 joint venture between Glanbia Co-operative Society and Glanbia plc. It is the number one dairy processor in Ireland, processing 2.0 billion litres of milk and exporting dairy products to over 60 countries.
