Revenue of China’s largest orange plantation owner and operator Asian Citrus fell 14.5 per cent to RMB 892m (US$143.1m) in the second half of 2012.
The company reported that total production was down 6 per cent to 161,233 tonnes and core net profits were also down 22.7 per cent to RMB 249.5m (US$40.1m).
The downturn is partially the result of a planned replanting programme to increase yields. Approximately 129,000 summer orange trees have been planted so far this year and another 600,000 are scheduled for planting before the end of 2013.
Asian Citrus’ chairman Tony Tong, while conceding that the results were disappointing, also pointed to higher costs incurred because of erratic weather during 2012 and general wage inflation in China as the cause.
Tong forecast more positive results for 2013.
“The group's second half performance will reflect the price achieved for the group's summer orange crop, the selling price of pineapple juice concentrates and the impact of weather on the volume of fertilisers and pesticides used by the group,” he said.
“In this respect we expect that orange prices will rise, albeit slightly, responding to the inflationary environment and the forecasts for China's economy, which the World Bank has predicted will expand by 8.4 per cent in 2013 and we are also optimistic that juice prices will continue to increase throughout the balance of the year.”
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