Pāmu Announces Half-year Result

Pāmu Farms of New Zealand (Landcorp Farming Limited) produced a Net Operating Profit (NOP), of $3 million for the half-year to 31 December 2023 compared to $15 million in the comparable half-year.

Chief Executive Mark Leslie said: “Challenges posed by a sharp reversal in global dairy prices, plummeting lamb prices, and adverse weather events have impacted our profitability.”

“Sustained damage from last summer’s cyclones continues to impact our bottom line as we reinstate infrastructure and work to re-grass lost pasture, repair or replace damaged fences, clear slips, and maintain farm tracks.”

Pāmu is currently forecasting an improved full-year NOP of between $9 million and $19 million compared to its original forecast of between $1 million and $10 million.

“The change to forecast is largely a result of the positive uplift in the global dairy trade index and gains from our wider forestry business. It assumes that there will be no further deterioration in the exchange rate and that livestock prices hold through the season,” Mr Leslie said.

“Despite challenges facing the primary sector, Pāmu strives for operational excellence with an emphasis on innovation, sustainability, and being a safe, responsible employer.

“Health, safety, and well-being are at the heart of how we operate. We aim to ensure all our people and contractors get home safely every night and we continually look to enhance best practice programmes and systems to ensure safe behaviour is embedded in everything we do.

“We achieved an important milestone in December with the last of our company quadbikes leaving farms. This was achieved in the same month as media reports of several fatalities involving quads, highlighting the risk of using these vehicles for farm tasks and corroborating our decision to exit them from the business. While not without some costs, removing quads from a peak of 440 nationwide is a major milestone in our health and safety journey.

“Over the past six months, we have continued to progress on our organisational strategy. We continue to adjust our practices to increase profitability and efficiency while seeking to ensure our farming activities contribute positively to ecosystems and communities,” Mr Leslie concluded.

Landcorp Farming Limited's Continuous Disclosure can be found on the Treasury’s website.

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