Baltic agrifood leader Akola Group is channeling €13 million ($15.2 million) to enhance its poultry operations in Lithuania and Latvia. This strategic investment reflects the company’s commitment to the burgeoning food and beverage industry trends.
Akola’s poultry segment encompasses Vilniaus Paukštynas and Kaišiadorių Paukštynas in Lithuania, as well as Kekava Foods in Latvia. The group plans to allocate €43 million ($50.4 million) overall across its operations in the 2025-2026 financial year, indicating a robust strategy aimed at repositioning within the food and drink business sector.
The group stated, “The investment will focus on production modernisation, expansion of incubation capacity, strengthening biosecurity, and environmental and energy efficiency solutions.”
In the financial year of 2024-2025, Akola’s poultry operations achieved sales of €325 million, resulting in a gross profit of €69 million. Notably, the volumes in poultry production remained “stable” during the first quarter of the 2025-26 financial year, which concluded on September 30.
Mažvydas Šileika, deputy CEO for finance and investments at Akola Group, remarked, “The results of the poultry segment and growing demand continue to support the growth of our business.” This sentiment is particularly relevant as expanding consumer trends in the food and drink sector drive innovation.
Moreover, with the uptick in avian disease outbreaks in Europe, enhancing biosecurity measures has become essential to safeguard production processes and maintain supply chain integrity.
Akola plans to execute its most significant upgrades at Vilniaus Paukštynas, where modernization efforts have commenced. The facility will incorporate “AI-based” carcass preparation technology to enhance production quality. The investment will also fund renovations to an incubation facility, enabling the production of up to 45 million day-old chicks.
According to Šileika, €9 million is earmarked for Lithuanian projects, focusing on modernization, capacity expansion, and environmental protection initiatives. The poultry division is a part of Akola’s broader food production sector that includes flour and bread mixes, along with ready-to-eat products.
In terms of financial performance, Akola recorded a consolidated revenue of €393.9 million for the first quarter of 2025/26, marking a year-on-year increase of 2.6%. Additionally, total sales volumes rose by 7.4% to 791,415 tons. Though the operating profit surged by 43% to €26.8 million, net profit decreased by 53.4% to €19.5 million.
The food production segment generated €123 million in revenue during the quarter, a 15% growth compared to the same period last year. Akola’s portfolio diversifies into pet food and dairy segments through its farming and associated products divisions.
The farming segment reported €12 million in revenue, yielding a gross profit of €1.5 million but facing an operating loss of €26,000. Meanwhile, Akola’s dairy operations remained stable, as production in pet food increased by 4%, counterbalancing a 24% decline in resold extruded products.
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