LIC Chief Says BVD Eradication in NZ Is Within Reach
A dairy industry leader believes eradicating the common and costly disease, Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is within reach.
For the six months ending November 30, 2025, LIC's revenue topped $195 million, compared to $185m for the same period in 2024.
Underlying earnings reached $36.8m, up 9.3%. However, net profit after tax (NPAT) was down 13.5% to $33.8m.
Chief executive David Chin says increasing demand for sexed semen, animal health services and GeneMark Genomics reflects the increasing focus of farmers on genetic gain and their continued confidence in LIC's products and services.
"We're seeing encouraging growth in areas that matter most to our farmers," he says.
"As a generational co-operative we remain focused on delivering long-term productivity gains for farmers and supporting sustainable genetic progress for the New Zealand dairy herd."
He pointed out that NPAT was lower than the prior year, primarily due to the absence of last year's bull team revaluation gain and the costs incurred within the period for the multi-year investment to replace older technology and customer-facing systems.
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LIC chair Corrigan Sowman says while system investment has impacted short-term profitability, it positions LIC well for the future by improving resilience, capability and farmer experience.
"The co-operative's balance sheet remains strong, allowing us to invest into technology and infrastructure to support delivery of our future business strategy, to help farmer breed better cows faster."
LIC NZ operates four key business segments"
- Market genetics: provides bovine genetic breeding material and related services, predominantly to dairy farmers
- Testing: herd testing, on-farm support and DNA and animal health testing services
- Farm software: data recording, tags and farm management information services
- International: provides bovine genetic breeding material and related services to offshore markets
NZ market genetics business generated $116m in revenue, herd testing $36m, farm software $28m and international business $7m.
