We take a look at the Top 10 Australian companies – the industry’s largest by annual revenue – in Australia's Top 100 Food & Drink Companies 2020 report, developed in collaboration with IBISWorld.
There was little movement in the Top 10 this year, with the top six remaining unchanged from 2019.
Fonterra had an impressive turnaround for a $570 million loss last year to a $659 million profit this year. CEO Miles Hurrell said, “We’re a very different co-op to this time last year.”
But for others, despite holding place, had a bruising year. JBS Australia at #2 had to sack 600 workers and scale back operations at its Dinmore plant to secure its future viability. CEO Brent Eastwood said the market conditions meant there would not be work for those 600 in the foreseeable future. A shortage of livestock supply and drought, along with COVID-19 had significantly impacted the Dinmore business.
The beverage and bottling giants were also deeply affected by the pandemic. Coca-Cola Amatil (#3) recorded a 9.2 per cent drop in 1H20 and the breweries Lion (#4) and Carlton & United (#9) were hit hard by COVID-19 lockdowns.
Since the report was written, Amatil is likely to be acquired by Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP), Lion has just sold its Dairy & Drinks business to Bega Cheese and CUB’s acquisition by Asahi has been completed. The industry stands still for no one.
Treasury Wine Estates held its spot at #5 with a rocky start to the year in its US business prompting a company-wide review. It looks set to separate its Penfolds business and 2020 has delivered a late blow with China announcing 107-212 per cent tariffs on Australian wine imports.
Saputo Dairy moved from #9 to #7 – a more modest move than its 2019 jump from #34 to #9, but still recorded a 7.83 per cent growth in revenue.
Ingham’s shifted down one spot from #7 to #8 after holding steady at number seven for three years. Company chair Peter Bush said the company was still feeling the effects of three years of drought and subsequent record-high feed prices, with feed input costs rising over the previous six years by tens of millions of dollars.
George Weston Foods knocked Nestlé out of the Top 10 this year to take the #10 spot.
EXCLUSIVE: Australia’s Top 100 Food & Drink Companies 2020
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Top 100: The stellar sectors in 2020
Top 100: Arrivals and departures in 2020
Top 100: The biggest losers of 2020
Top 100: Food & Drink Business Podcast – editor Kim Berry and IBISWorld industry analyst Matthew Reeves dissect this year’s report.
Editorial by Food & Drink Business. All data sourced from IBISWorld.
