Alliance Group Doubles Annual Earnings as Meat Prices Recover, Targets Fatter Profitability
Nov. 24 (BusinessDesk) - Alliance Group, the world's biggest sheepmeat exporter, doubled annual earnings as its sales
rose 15 percent with a recovery in global meat prices, but wants to lift profitability further.
Operating earnings rose to $20.2 million in the year ended Sept. 30 from $10.1 million a year earlier, the
Invercargill-based company said in a statement. It paid $11.4 million to its 5,000 farmer shareholders, up from $9.8
million, while revenue rose to $1.53 billion from $1.36 billion.
"We are welcoming new shareholders, achieving a stronger balance sheet, improving our profitability and most
importantly, offering better livestock pricing for our farmers," chair Murray Taggart said. "Alliance has a wide range
of short, medium and long-term programmes underway as we seek to gain deeper market penetration and capture more value
from existing markets."
Alliance's improved profitability comes in a year where sheep meat prices have climbed to records on growing appetite
for the product in Chinese markets. At the same time, Alliance has targeted the wider Asian region, with the acquisition
of sales and marketing business GoldKiwi Asia, and sold chilled lamb to China in a six-month trial which is seen as
potentially opening up a major market for New Zealand.
The meat processor spent more than $10 million in the latest financial year introducing new robotic and cutting
equipment and upgrading some of its sites as it seeks to make its operations run more efficiently and extract more value
by tapping new products such as blood-based goods.
Chief executive David Surveyor said there are more gains to be made for the business to improve its margins and value
for its farmer shareholders.
"Profitability is not at the level we want for a company of this size and we need to capture gains more quickly.
Alliance Group needs to run faster," he said. "We are seeking to ensure the changes and progress we have made are
sustainable through further investment, growing value-add, capturing market value and building organisational
capability."
ENDS