UPDATE 2 – New Zealand's A2 Milk Indicates That Business Number Rises By Nearly 70%, But Reports Higher Costs

* A2 Announces Untested Income of NZ $ 922 Million (US $ 623 Million)

* But According to Marketing, Staff Costs are expected to be Higher in 1965

* Actions Make Up most losses comment)

Charlotte Greenfield

July 12 (Reuters) – The New Zealand a2 dairy company announced Thursday that its annual business turnover had surged nearly 70%, but has increased its costs during the year. markets hungry for dairy products in China.

The company, one of New Zealand's largest stock market capitalizations, said in a statement to the stock market that its unaudited fiscal year 2018 business figure had grown by 68% to about $ 922 million.

However, his shares fell by 2.38% to $ 11.49 NZ, before reducing most of these losses to 0.3% on the day at $ 11.73 NZ.

The company stated that it should spend more on marketing as a percentage of sales during the 2019 fiscal year and that it would incur higher overhead costs due to the increase headcount in China.

"The outlook for the 2019 fiscal year and the additional spending likely put one or two investors off," said Grant Williamson, investment advisor at Hamilton Hindin Greene, broker of Christchurch.

Chinese buyers buying into New Zealand through personal informal channels called Daigou have fueled the stratospheric success of A2 in recent years, but the competition is heating up and society faces the challenge of expanding its presence China.

A number of companies, including Nestlé, launch infant formulas and dairy products for children without A1 protein, an adjustment a2 Milk promotes digestion compared to traditional milk.

The company previously announced that it was also investing in increased marketing in Australia and the United States.