The Melbourne-based company’s local revenue rose to A$38.8 million in the six months ended January 31 from A$37.4m a year earlier. The NZ business is part of a broader Australasian segment, which posted a 2.8% fall in revenue to A$231.6m, focusing on higher quality sales and generating a 30% lift in earnings before interest and tax of A$14.6m.
“NZ experienced below-average rainfall over spring, which affected plantings, and in addition, declining milk prices resulted in reduced demand from dairy farmers,” Nufarm said. “However, good summer rainfall helped growers prepare for their autumn plant and the horticultural segment saw increased sales demand.”
Nufarm’s Australian sales went through a similar pattern with late and dry winter and spring sapping demand, before summer rain turned that around.
The glyphosate maker completed the closure of three Australasian plants, including an Auckland facility, to centralise regional production in Victoria and will put the sites up for sale once they’ve been remediated.
Nufarm’s Australasian crop protection business accounts for about 20% of revenue, and the company is optimistic Australia will deliver above-average rainfall in autumn, while recent restructuring will widen margins.
“With some improvement in demand, the business is expected to generate a better second half result than in 2015,” it said.
Nufarm booked A$102.9m of one-off costs as it wrote down the value of assets it shuttered during its restructure, and faced a charge on the devaluation of Argentina’s peso. That pushed the group’s earnings to a net loss of A$91m, compared to a profit of A$23.2m a year earlier.
Group revenue edged up 0.3% to A$1.19 billion, while underlying earnings before interest and tax was up 12% to A$71.2m.
