The orcharding and post-harvest company has also recorded a 5% increase in total revenue to $178 million, and has anticipated a share dividend of 10c a share payment.
In a statement, the company noted the impact of covid-19 and a “severe” labour shortage placing significant pressure upon the business.
This was accompanied by the impact on operations as a result of the loss of the fruit taste profile sampling service at the start of the season, previously offered by Eurofin.
Chief executive Michael Franks said the summer drought also impacted kiwifruit volumes in areas where irrigation was not available.
The company also announced the conditional sale and leaseback of three mature Australian orchards, sold for A$26.5m.
The sale of these orchards is expected to help reduce company debt, now at $129.3m, compared to $148m last year. A capital gain on sale is also expected to deliver an additional $12m in profit.
The company is expecting to experience lower operational earnings in the second half of its financial year, the result of lower fruit volumes in store and an earlier selling season.
Early full year-end to December predictions have Seeka generating a net profit in the range of $9-$12m.
The 2019 full year profit was $9.9m.
