Australia: GrainCorp declares positive outlook for the coming harvest despite drop in annual profit

GrainCorp grains marketer announced that the outlook for the coming harvest is positive in spite of posting a big drop in yearly profit according to Asia Pulse announcement of November 23.

GrainCorp on November 23 booked an annual net profit for 2004/05 of A$12.11 million (US $8.92 million), down 53 per cent on the previous year. The result was in line with the company's previous guidance.

The company announced the result was due to below average seasonal conditions for the year ended September 30, 2005, which led to a decreased harvest and reduced export activity.

"The outlook for the coming harvest is positive and remains steady at 11.0 million tonnes of winter crop receivals (ex-farm only)," GrainCorp stated. "The company has so far received over 2.5 million tonnes into storage, with receivals accelerating as harvest progresses."

GrainCorp will issue a forecast on summer crop receivals early next calendar year.Revenue fell 27 per cent in the year to A$699.6 million.The company declared a final fully-franked dividend of five cents, down from 14 cents previously. This brings total dividends for the year to seven cents, down from 41 cents in 2003/04.

25 November, 2005