The pre-tax profit for the year ended June 30 was now expected to be between $1.4 million and $1.6m, chairman Garry Bluett said. Earnings a year earlier were $1.11m.
ALF’s NZ Farmers Livestock subsidiary exceeded expectations, Bluett said.
Second half earnings alone were expected to be in the $600,000 to $700,000 range, up from $120,000 previously.
A large portion of Farmers Livestock’s income was budgeted for May each year because of the timing of dairy herd sales.
Bluett said the new subsidiary NZ Farmers Livestock Finance (FLF) was finalising a funding facility and would start operating soon.
It would target focused livestock financing and bring in-house some operations the group had outsourced.
FLF was expected to contribute to earnings in the current year.
NZ Farmers Livestock had also increased its stake in Hawke’s Bay livestock company Redshaw Livestock to 34% from 17%, with a further rise to 52% scheduled for July next year.
That investment added to the growth prospects for Farmers Livestock, following recent expansion in Northland and the South Island, Bluett said.
The June 30 full year result was due to be released by August 29.
