Fonterra is defending the skyrocketing of its chief executive's $8.3 million pay packet for the year, up nearly 80 percent from last year.

Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski

Theo Spierings was paid $4.6m last year, slightly less than in 2015.

The Fonterra chair, John Wilson, said Theo Spierings' base salary did not increase from last year, but his bonuses did.

He said short-term and senior executive incentives were met, which brought in about $2 billion of cash and working capital.

"Clearly these numbers are high from a New Zealand perspective and we absolutely respect and understand that, from an Australasian and a global perspective which is the nature of our business, they're actually well within the bands of what those global executives earn."

Meanwhile, Fonterra has reported a weaker full-year profit, as the rebound in milk prices hits its profit margins.

The dairy co-operative's net profit for the year ended July fell 11 percent to $745 million, compared with last year's $834 million.

Revenue climbed about 12 percent to $19.2 billion, but milk volumes fell about 3 percent.