Asian Citrus (ACHL) , China's largest orange plantation owner, has been forced to cut its full-year dividend as lower yields hit revenues and profits. Group gross profit slipped 37.2 per cent to ¥498m (£51m), with the reported figures having been hit by a ¥260m fair value charge on the group's biological assets - compared with a ¥167m gain in the previous year.
Annual orange production fell 10.2 per cent to 218,600 tonnes, reflecting a combination of replanting and the outbreak of citrus canker in the Hepu Plantation - which contains 1.2m orange trees. Asian Citrus did marginally increase production at its Xinfeng plantation (1.6m trees), but revenues generated from the two plantations fell 13 per cent overall to ¥920m. That was exacerbated by a 2.9 per cent decline in average selling prices. Meanwhile, revenues from processed fruits fell 20.8 per cent to ¥564m, due to lower average selling prices for pineapple juice concentrate - the division's main product.
Although disappointing, the revenue slippage wasn't as bad as management had forecast last month and a positive beat was provided by news that the third plantation in Hunan province remains on track to begin production in 2014. The group also intends to diversify its output by planting banana tress in Hepu.
Broker Liberum Capital expects adjusted pre-tax profit of ¥452.3m in 2014, giving adjusted EPS of ¥0.45 (from ¥4409.8m and ¥0.09 in 2013).
| ASIAN CITRUS (ACHL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 21.4p | MARKET VALUE: | £263m | |
| TOUCH: | 21p-21.8p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 37p | LOW: 13.6p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.8%† | PE RATIO: | 22 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | ¥6.58* | NET CASH: | ¥2.14bn | |
| Year to 30 Jun | Turnover (¥bn) | Pre-tax profit (¥m) | Earnings per share (sen) | Dividend per share (sen) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0.67 | 442.0 | 58.10 | 8.00 |
| 2010 | 0.81 | 587.0 | 74.10 | 10.0† |
| 2011 | 1.41 | 1,050 | 98.8 | 12.0† |
| 2012 | 1.78 | 765 | 61.5 | 16.0† |
| 2013 | 1.49 | 125 | 9.40 | 8.00† |
| % change | -16 | -84 | -85 | -50 |
Ex-div:13 Nov Payment: 31 Dec (on or before) *Includes intangible assets of ¥1.22bn, or 99 sen a share †Excludes special dividends: 2 sen in 2010, 2011 and 2013; 3 sen in 2012 £1=¥9.84 (¥1=100 sen) | ||||
