The Top 10 was stable this year, in that all the companies in the 2022 Top 10 came back for an encore performance. But while the list was the same, there was some shuffling in the positions, particularly in the back half.
Fonterra Co-op Group and JBS Australia sit at the top of the list for the seventh consecutive year. Fonterra is basically untouchable at the top, recording $23 billion in revenue in FY23 compared to JBS at #2, which reported $8.2 billion.
If you take the revenue range from JBS at #2 to Treasury Wine Estates at #10 (it fell two spots this year, but the wine industry really was hurting this year), it spans roughly $6 billion.
Fonterra’s performance was helped by increased profit and improved performance in food-service channels thanks to growth in pricing and greater demand as China’s lockdown restrictions began to ease in early 2023. Favourable margins on ingredient prices, particularly for proteins and cheeses, supported further revenue growth for Fonterra, keeping it on top of the list.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) rose one place to #3 thanks to a significant 75 per cent growth over the year. That was enough to see it swap places with Asahi, which is #4 this year, even though Asahi also recorded growth, but its 6.7 per cent couldn’t compete with CCEP.
Bega help its own, retaining the #5 spot, having reported $3.4 billion in revenue in FY23 and recording 12.69 per cent growth. Its strategy to shift to a branded business and away from a commodity focused one was truly realised this year, with its brands now accounting for 85 per cent of revenue. Even Vegemite had a bump in sales, only its second in 20 years as it marked its 100th anniversary.
It was in the back half of the Top 10 where there was a bit of movement.
Saputo Dairy Australia fell three places to #9 on the back of lower export sales volumes.
Thomas Foods International and Teys Australia both jumped three places, to #6 and #7 respectively, which pushed Inghams down one place to #8 and Treasury Wine Estates down two places to #10.
While Saputo reported the lowest growth rate – 1.28 per cent – all the companies in the Top 10 reported solid growth.
Top 100: The 2023 Top 10
Top 100: The climbers in 2023
Top 100: The falls of 2023
Top 100: 2023's new arrivals
Top 100: Key sectors
Food & Drink Business, in collaboration with IBISWorld, presents this year’s Top 100 companies, a ranking by revenue of Australia’s largest players in the food and beverage sector. The report is sponsored by Foodmach.
The Top 100 reflects financial reporting from calendar year 2022 and financial year 22/23. The list is only inclusive of manufacturers and looks at total revenue of the highest reporting ANZ entity of the company.
