Satara has revealed that a combination of one-off restructuring costs and fewer trays packed have combined to hit its results for 2010, with the group reporting a net loss of NZ$4.9m (€2.6m, US$3.6m) for the full year – a drop of 616 per cent.
The New Zealand-based kiwifruit and avocado cooperative announced in its results for the period ended 31 December 2010 that group revenue from ordinary activities had dropped 23 per cent year-on-year, coming in at NZ$43.7m (€23m, US$32.3m).
The number of Class 1 trays handled by the group's post harvest division dropped 23 per cent to 8.5m trays, the result of lower yields and a net loss in the number of supplying hectares, resulting in all of Satara's facilities operating below full capacity.
'While a NZ$4.9m loss is not what any company wants to report, the underlying fundamentals of the business are strong; without the non-recurring items we would have made a small profit in a difficult year,' said managing director Tom Wilson. 'But it is best to move these items out, take the hit now and position well for the coming year which looks to have a heavy crop.
'The forecasts for the coming season are for an increase of 1.1m trays which will lead to full utilisation of the company's facilities,' Mr Wilson added.
Mr Wilson explained that the company was keeping a 'close eye' on the Psa situation in the country, which he said remained a risk to the industry in the medium-to-long term.
'But we have protocols in place and we are managing that risk across harvesting, transport, packhouse operations and coolstore handling,' he said.
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