Australia's largest almond grower sees 73% drop in profit

Australia's biggest almond grower, Select Harvests, has suffered a 73 per cent drop in full-year profit after wet weather and lower nut prices crunched its bottom line.

Select Harvests posted a $9.25 million profit for 2016/17, while the company's revenue for the year to June 30 was down 15.4 per cent to $242.1 million.

Earnings fell in both its almond and food divisions, the latter of which includes the brands Lucky, Sunsol and Soland.

Managing director Paul Thompson said a wetter and cooler summer had a negative impact on Select's 2017 almond crop and the combination of lower quality, along with lower market prices and adverse currency movements, led to a lower-than-forecast estimated crop price of $7.43 per kilogram, down from $8.08 in 2016/17.

Mr Thompson says higher operating costs, including lease revaluations, have also affected Select Harvests results this year.

Select announced a management restructure, with CFO Paul Chambers to leave in November after resigning and a search for a new CFO is underway.

Looking ahead, Select said the fundamentals of the business and broader industry remained strong, with rising almond demand a cornerstone of the "megatrend" of increasing global demand for plant protein.

Source: sbs.com.au