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There's never a dull moment in the dynamic Australasian packaging industry, with M&A activity, leadership changes, and product innovation keeping our news desk busy all year long.

From Orora's booming growth over the financial year, to the Australian Government's pledge to make all packaging in the country reusable, compostable or recyclable by 2025, to needles in strawberries and plastic bags out of supermarkets, to the first ever Print21 + PKN LIVE joint event, 2018 was a rollercoaster of a year for the packaging industry... and PKN was there to cover all the news highlights.

See our review of the year that was in the latest issue of PKN magazine.

Food & Drink Business

Sixteen months after receivers were appointed over its holding company, the structural obstacle to selling Western Australia’s largest milk processor has been removed. McGrathNicol has launched the formal sale process for Brownes Dairy, with China Mengniu Dairy Company consolidating its holding position so the entire enterprise can be put to market rather than a shareholding above it.

Coles Group has reported FY26 group sales revenue of $45.58 billion, up 2.8 per cent, with EBIT excluding significant items up 9.9 per cent to $2.32 billion and NPAT excluding significant items up 13.7per cent to $1.26 billion.

Inghams has returned to volume growth with reduced dependence on Woolworths but net profit fell 61.5 per cent to $34.6 million as input cost inflation, first half production inefficiencies and a tax provision weighed on FY26 earnings.