28 Mar 2013 09:30
28 March 2013
Asian Citrus Holdings Limited
("Asian Citrus" or "the Group")
Summer Crop Update
Asian Citrus announces that it has now concluded its negotiations on the pricing of its forthcoming summer crop. As of the date of this announcement, the Group has signed supplier contracts to supply 58,600 tonnes of summer oranges in the first half of 2013 and the selling prices to supermarkets and wholesalers have increased by 0.4% and 0.4% respectively year on year.
The 18.4% decrease in the production volume of summer crop in 2013, by comparison to the production volume supplied in the first half of last year, is due largely to the effect on the Hepu plantation of the unstable weather conditions experienced during 2012 which has led to an extensive infection of citrus canker, a latent infection amongst orange and other citrus crops which is for the most part controllable in normal weather conditions but to which such crops are at much higher risk during periods of heavy rainfall and typhoons, such as those experienced in 2012. The infection resulted in a significant volume of premature fruit drop in the summer crop.
Citrus canker is an infection of the fruit itself, and therefore the orange trees themselves are not subject to damage.
In light of the above, and the specific weather conditions experienced during 2012, the Board considers the effect of this citrus canker infection to be limited to the current year's summer crop and anticipates that production volumes from Hepu Plantation will return in the next financial year to volumes akin to previously reported levels, subject to normal weather conditions.
As a result of the decrease in production volume of the summer crop, and in addition to the other key factors affecting the financial performance of the Company as announced on 22 January 2013, the Board estimates there will be a significant reduction in revenue and profit generated from the Group's agricultural produce segment for the financial year ending 30 June 2013.
For further enquiries please contact:
Asian Citrus
Eric Sung (Finance Director) Tel: +852 2559 0323
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker) Tel: +44 20 7107 8000
Rick Thompson / Tom Sheldon (Corporate Finance)
Richard Redmayne (Corporate Broking)
Liberum Capital Limited (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 20 3100 2222
Clayton Bush / Richard Bootle
Weber Shandwick Financial Tel: +44 20 7067 0700
Nick Oborne / John Moriarty / Stephanie Badjonat