Got Milk: Just 4 dairy stocks thrived in June through COVID-19

June saw the majority of infant formula stocks in the red once again, with just four stocks finishing the month higher.

While stocks enjoyed a stellar month in April, May was more modest and June has seen a similar picture.

Some of this can be attributed to the broader picture of the equity markets. June saw markets fluctuate and an increase in market volatility not seen since March.

But the stocks that gained are thriving through COVID-19 or are fresh from cash injections.

Code	Name	Price (I)	1 Year % Return	1 Month % Return	Market Cap
HRL	HRL HOLDINGS LTD	0.11	-4	33	$54.3M
A2M	A2 MILK CO LTD	18.785	33	4	$13.6B
HVM	HAPPY VALLEY NUTRITION LTD	0.2	0	-5	$42.5M
LON	LONGTABLE GROUP LTD	0.155	-29	15	$31.1M
SM1	SYNLAIT MILK LTD	6.56	-27	0	$1.2B
NUC	NUCHEV LTD	2.34	-10	-18	$106.7M
AHF	AUSTRALIAN DAIRY NUTRITIONAL	0.07	-57	-10	$25.6M
BUB	BUBS AUSTRALIA LTD	0.945	-18	-14	$518.3M
CLV	CLOVER CORP LTD	2.13	12	-10	$355.9M
BXN	BIOXYNE LTD	0.01	-47	-29	$6.4M
KTD	KEYTONE DAIRY CORP LTD	0.2375	-52	-19	$60.3M
JAT	JATENERGY LTD	0.035	-25	-19	$32.7M
AU8	AUMAKE INTERNATIONAL LTD	0.05	-64	-14	$16.6M
BFC	BESTON GLOBAL FOOD CO LTD	0.083	-31	54	$48.9M

The most notable gain came from Beston (ASX:BFC), which finished June 54 per cent higher.

Much of this came in the second week of June when the company announced the $40m sale of its dairy farm in South Australia to Aurora Dairies. It hopes to use the proceeds to extinguish its debt and increase production of lactoferrin — a critical by-product in making mozzarella cheese.

But Beston is not completely exiting Mt Gambier. The deal will give the company the rights to 100 per cent of the dairy supply from those farms for a 10-year period.

Later in the month, Beston reported it received a confidential, unsolicited expression of interest to enter into talks regarding a takeover. The company told shareholders it would consider and respond to this “in the normal course of business”.

Lab testing services provider HRL Holdings (ASX:HRL) was another winner, after being able to return to business as usual due to New Zealand eliminating COVID-19.

Maggie Beer-owned Longtable Group (ASX:LON) climbed higher as well.

While the company did not provide a sales update in June, it told shareholders it had not seen significant disruption to its operations or supply chains due to COVID-19.

Longtable also said at the time it intended to launch new product lines in June.

Finally, industry giant A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) recorded another month of growth.

While it was a modest 4 per cent, long-term shareholders would be happy given it was 54c five years ago but is now trading at nearly $19 — making it one of the ASX’s best success stories during that time.

A2 Milk is also the best performer in the last 12 months having gained 33 per cent.