ZESPRI Announces Half Year Profit

MEDIA RELEASE October 21, 2005

ZESPRI Announces Half Year Profit

Kiwifruit marketing company ZESPRI International directors have announced an unaudited net profit after tax of $27.8 million for the six months to September 30, 2005.

This is 5.6 percent down on the $29.4 million profit for the same period last year.

Net global kiwifruit sales have reached $742.6 million for the half year, compared to $794.7 million last year, a decline of 6.6 percent, driven mainly by the effect of the continued strength of the New Zealand dollar, combined with difficult selling conditions in many markets.

ZESPRI Chief Executive Tim Goodacre said given the seasonal nature of the global marketing of kiwifruit, with the greater sales occurring in the first half of the year, a full year profit after tax of $23.2 ($26.5 million last year) was predicted.

“In terms of net global kiwifruit sales, the full year result is expected to fall only slightly short of the $1 billion posted last year,” he said.

The profit does not include accounting for any realized one-off profit from the sale of ZESPRI’s 15 percent investment in the David Oppenheimer company in the United States. ZESPRI has had a sales and marketing agreement with Oppenheimer for several years and this is likely to continue, Mr Goodacre said.

“The share has been sold as it is no longer considered a strategic investment for ZESPRI. We still have the relationship through the sales and marketing agreement and Oppenheimer market our fruit in North America.”

ENDS

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