PCA has a positive outlook for 2013 despite another challenging year

July 10, 2012

The Kingaroy-based Peanut Company of Australia has recorded a loss of $6.4 million for the year to the end of March, up slightly on last year’s figure of $6.3 million.

Writing in the company’s 2012 Annual Report, Chairman Ian Langdon said PCA was now emerging from a “combination of challenges” that had adversely impacted on earnings over the past three years.

These included successive years of drought and flood but it was “equally clear that a combination of internal factors” had also contributed substantially to the “unacceptable poor performance”.

“Progressively these internal factors are being addressed and this provides the basis of the turn-around actions that will now impact positively on earnings going forward,” he said.

During the 2011-12 financial year, PCA recorded the second lowest domestic intake of peanuts on record, 14,139 tonnes (total payment weight), due to excessive rain during the planting period in December 2010 and January 2011.

Revenue was $53.29 million, down from $54.9m in 2011, $64.5m in 2010, and $71.8m in 2009.

Total assets were listed at $58.9 million, down from $73.3m in 2011, $78.9m in 2010, and $100.9 million in 2009.

“During the past year, PCA made the difficult but strategically important decision to increase imports of peanuts to supply key customers in the full knowledge that gross margins would be severely impacted and trading losses … would be further compounded,” Mr Langdon said.

“However the strategy has ensured continuity of key customer relationships so essential for future success.”

Mr Langdon said the “restoration” of domestic peanut supply volumes was critical to returning to positive earnings.

“Thus during 2011-12 a key objective was to ensure that the improving relationship between PCA and farmer suppliers would result in increased plantings and increased supply for 2012-13 and subsequent years,” he said.

He said the 2012-13 earnings outlook was positive “based on security of supply, ongoing customer loyalty and improved processing and internal systems”.