Strong growth in sales of Kerrygold butter and cheese in the US and Britain helped the Irish Dairy Board increase turnover to €1.98 billion last year.
US sales of Kerrygold products climbed 20 per cent in volume terms in 2005, with the brand now listed in 28 of the country's top 30 retailers.
The dairy board expects similar growth this year. However, it warned that further gains by the euro against the dollar could make the brand more expensive in the US.
Kerrygold butter is already almost twice as dear as US butter and the dairy board is spending €3.5 million on US advertising this year.
In the UK, sales of Kerrygold Softer Butter grew 16 per cent, while the board's Pilgrim's Choice cheese range finished 2005 as the number two cheddar brand in the British cheese market.
The board, one of Ireland's largest exporters, described 2005 as a "relatively successful year" for the national dairy sector, despite lower intervention prices and supports.
The board's profit after tax jumped 19 per cent to €36.8 million last year on a 4.5 per cent rise in turnover. Revenue reserves increased 11 per cent to €293.8 million.
Chairman Michael Cronin said the board would use reserves to plough "significant investment" into its operations and was looking for a company "closer to home" in which to invest.
The board, founded in 1961, buys as much as 80 per cent of the cheddar made in Ireland and sells dairy products and food ingredients to about 60 countries worldwide.
Pressure on producers in the sector continued during the year, with milk prices falling by an average 2.5 cent a gallon, while the EU support price amounted to 10.75 cent, according to Mr Cronin.
"It's clear to us the reduction in milk prices will continue," Mr Cronin said at a press conference in Dublin.
The dairy board plans to build a new butter packing facility in Germany, where Kerrygold is the market leader in premium butter.
The board already finished constructing a warehouse in the US last year.
Managing director Noel Cawley retires at the end of this month, having served in the position for 17 years.
He will be replaced by Noel Coakley, the former managing director of the Adams Foods Group in the UK.
