PGG Wrightson declares dividend as profits surge 248%
Agricultural support giant PGG Wrightson will pay a dividend this year on the back of an improved performance buoyed by increased optimism in the sector.
Rural trader PGG Wrightson has revised its operating earnings guidance, saying trading conditions have deteriorated since the last market update in February.
The listed company now expects operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for year ending June 30, 2024, to be $43 million, $7m below the previous forecast.
PGW chair, Garry Moore says market conditions are impacting the whole of the agricultural sector.
He says farmers are spending less because of several factors - drought conditions across much of the East Coast, Tasman and Northland over the first quarter of 2024, weak sheep meat demand from China and increased supply culminating in lower farmgate returns and higher interest rates and elevated input costs impacting on-farm and on-orchard profitability.
Moore notes that although the harvest season has been broadly positive there is a time lag in the conversion cycle before farmers and growers see the financial benefits from their harvest production.
“Whilst we have seen a slight uptick in farmer and grower confidence in recent months, this is off a low base and sentiment in the sector remains subdued.
“This manifests in reduced investment and spend decisions on farm and orchard. Consequently, we are seeing some clients defer spend where they can and hold off on discretionary items. In this context PGW’s outlook for the remainder of the financial year remains cautious,” says Moore.
However, despite the present difficult market conditions, Moore remains positive about the prospects for the sector over the medium to longer term.
“We have confidence that PGW is well placed to support our clients through these challenging times and beyond. As a business, PGW does well when our clients prosper and consequently the converse is true that when times are tough for our clients this also impacts our performance. Notwithstanding the difficult trading conditions, PGW continues to maintain and grow share in the markets in which we operate.”
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.