Dairy giant Yili continues to move from strength to strength. It posted total operating income of 90.223 billion yuan and net profit of 7 billion yuan in 2019. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Dairy giant Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co – based in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region – enjoyed another strong performance last year, according to numbers posted by the company on April 28.

Yili reported total operating income of 90.223 billion yuan ($12.75 billion) in 2019, a year-on-year growth of 13.41 percent, the group’s annual report indicated.

Net profit for the period hit 7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.73 percent.

The latest figures capped off a consistently strong run by the company, ranking Yili first in the Asian dairy industry for six consecutive years.

From January to March in the current year, the company achieved a total operating income of 20.653 billion yuan and a net profit of 1.153 billion yuan, according to a quarterly report released on the same day.

Latest data shows that Yili's current production and sales have now fully recovered in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak  – revealing a rapid rebound far exceeding its industry and underscoring the company's ability to ride out challenges in the market. 

Yili’s dairy products are proving increasingly attractive to consumers. They experienced strong sales in 2019. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The annual report showed that in 2019, Yili concentrated on pushing the quality of its management new heights.

The Kantar Consumer Index report showed that the Yili brand’s penetration rate is now as high as 90.9 percent, which means that over 90 percent of households in China choose Yili product.

Yili has three main dairy product output facilities -- in Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Northwest China and Northeast China.

In addition, the company is actively cooperating with leagues and cities in Inner Mongolia to build five major industrial cluster projects in Hohhot, Hulunbuir, Bayannuur, Hinggan League and Tongliao -- and expand the development space of the high-quality dairy industry in China.

Last year, Yili also actively deployed overseas to further expand its global supply chain.

In 2019, Yili acquired Westland, New Zealand's second largest dairy cooperative and the latter's raw milk supply accounted for about four percent of New Zealand's total, further consolidating Yili's milk supplies.

To ramp up its corporate development, Yili has placed a great deal of emphasis on innovation.

Data showed that in 2019, Yili's R & D expenses totaled 495 million yuan, up 16 percent on the previous year. As of December 2019, Yili had accumulatively obtained 2,703 patent authorizations, including 515 invention patents and four patents which won the Chinese Patent Excellence Award.

Last year, Yili signed contracts with 13 global strategic partners -- including Tetra Pak, Cargill and Firmenich -- to jointly create the industry's first global sustainable supply network.

Plans are for it to develop Yili Modern Smart Health Valley in Hohhot, which is expected to become a world-class dairy industry complex integrating intelligent manufacturing, technological innovation, industrial tourism and commercial support.