Wednesday, 05 October 2016 06:55

PGW has a good year

Written by  Pam Tipa
PGW chief executive Mark Dewdney. PGW chief executive Mark Dewdney.

Strength in beef cattle, horticulture and real estate helped offset PGG Wrightson's (PGW) tough year for the parts of the business exposed to dairy.

PGW says it made after-tax profit of $39.6 million in the year ending June 30, 21% up on the previous year.

The company lifted earnings growth for a third consecutive year, to $70.2 million from $69.6m in the previous year.

Chief executive Mark Dewdney says the company is showing the benefit of having diverse exposure in agriculture.

“While New Zealand dairy and our South American business have traded through a challenging period, other areas such as the horticulture sector in New Zealand are doing very well.

“The parts of our business most exposed to dairy, such as water, have had a tough year. However, a buoyant market for beef cattle helped livestock offset the reduced market for dairy cattle and provided a strong finish to the year.”

Fruitfed Supplies, the company’s supplier to the horticulture and viticulture sectors, and its Agritrade wholesaling business, helped retail increase earnings year-on-year, he says. Real estate had good year with growing sales in the lifestyle and horticultural markets.

“Our seed and grain business benefited from the continued shift towards proprietary seed with better technical performance,” he says.

“This trend, and improved performance by our Australian seed business in 2016, resulted in a strong result for our seed and grain group.

“South America was hit hard by a combination of low commodity prices, high rainfall and flooding in Uruguay in April. Despite these headwinds, our South American activities contributed positively to the group result.”

Improving value for customers helped boost market share, and product mix improvements and internal cost efficiency also led to profit gains, he says.

PGW chairman Alan Lai says the board is pleased the performance of the company “has led to an outstanding financial result given market conditions”.

“The progress PGW has made since 2013 is worthy of praise. In three years PGW has grown operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by around 50%.

“Our balance sheet remains strong and the investments we’ve made over the year will prove crucial.”

More like this

PGW feeling the pinch

Rural retailer PGG Wrightson (PGW) is feeling the impact of the current rural downturn, reporting a 40% drop in net profit to $12.7 million in the six months to December 31, 2023.

PGW's challenging half-year

The second half of 2023 gave rural retailer PGG Wrightson a challenging result, but there’s still room for positivity on the horizon, according to chief executive Stephen Guerin.

Board upheaval at PGW

The board of rural trader PGG Wrightson Limited has agreed to call a special meeting demanded by its largest shareholder.

Featured

Dairy sheep and goat turmoil

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Hurry up and slow down!

OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.

National

Knowing bugs means fewer drugs

A mastitis management company claims to deliver the fastest and most accurate mastitis testing available at scale for New Zealand…

Machinery & Products

100 years of Farmall Tractors

Returning after an enforced break, the Wheat and Wheels Rally will take place on the Lauriston -Barhill Road, North-East of…

JD unveils its latest beast

John Deere has unveiled its most powerful tractor ever, with the launch of the all new 9RX Series Tractor line-up…

Biggest Quadtrac coming to NZ!

In the biggest announcement that Case IH Australia/New Zealand has made around its tractor range, its biggest tractor is about…

A different shade of blue for Norwood

Norwood and ARGO Tractors, the Italian manufacturer of Landini and McCormick tractors, have announced an agreement that gives Norwood exclusive…

Kubota tests diesel engines

Kubota last month used the UK LAMMA Show to test the water with its new 200hp, four-cylinder 09-series diesel engines.

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Why?

OPINION: A mate of yours truly wants to know why the beef schedule differential is now more than 45-50 cents…

Fat to cut

OPINION: Your canine crusader understands that MPI were recently in front of the Parliamentary Primary Sector Select Committee for an…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter