WELLINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - New Zealand dairy company Synlait Milk's (SML) sales of nutritional milk soared 155 percent in the first half of the 2016 financial year, the company said on Thursday.
Net profit after tax rose to NZ$12.3 million ($8.52 million), up from NZ$0.4 million in the same period in 2015, Synlait said in a written statement.
The rise came as falling global dairy prices put pressure on farmers and economic volatility in China risks weakening consumer demand.
Synlait, which is part-owned by China's Bright Dairy & Food <600597.SS>, sells roughly a quarter of its production in China.
The company's chairman Graeme Milne said Synlait expected to increase its canned infant formula sales fourfold in 2016.
Synlait signed a deal last year with privately held Californian baby company Munchkin to sell infant formula from cows that do not feed on grain, in part to reduce the company's reliance on China.
The company said it would launch the "Grass Fed" formula in Australia and New Zealand in May and was working to get the product approved by U.S. regulators. ($1 = 1.4443 New Zealand dollars)
