Last checked at 31 Aug 2012 11:45
Agriterra Ltd / Ticker: AGTA / Index: AIM / Sector: Agriculture
31 August 2012
Agriterra Ltd ('Agriterra' or 'the Company')
Holdings in Company
Agriterra Ltd, the AIM listed pan African agricultural company, received notification on 30 August 2012 that following the disposal of 10,680,879 ordinary shares in the Company ('Ordinary Shares') on 29 August 2012, Libra Advisors LLC, as investment advisors for Libra Fund LP, now holds a total of 63,182,149 Ordinary Shares, representing 5.96% of the issued ordinary share capital and voting rights of Agriterra.
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For further information please visit www.agriterra-ltd.com or contact:
Andrew Groves | Agriterra Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 9200 |
Jonathan Wright | Seymour Pierce Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7107 8000 |
David Foreman | Seymour Pierce Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7107 8000 |
Andy Cuthill | MC Peat & Co LLP | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7104 2332 |
Susie Geliher | St Brides Media & Finance Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
Notes
Agriterra Ltd is an AIM listed agricultural company with four divisions: beef, maize, cocoa and palm oil. Its cattle ranching business, Mozbife, currently has a 4,000 strong herd, a land holding of over 16,250 hectares, a feedlot and a 4,000 head per month abattoir which is under construction. In addition to selling meat from its own herds, throughput for the feedlot and abattoir will be supplemented using cattle bought in from local communities.
The Company's maize buying and milling operations, DECA and Compagri, are located in Chimoio and Tete in central and north-western Mozambique respectively. These collect maize from circa 350,000 farmers using the Company's own vehicle fleet, process it into mealie meal, the African staple, and then sell it back to the local market, into supermarkets and to the World Food Programme. Combined sales for the year ended 31 May 2011 totalled 28,822 tonnes maize meal generating revenue of US$13.6 million.
Agriterra's cocoa business is based in Sierra Leone, through its 100% subsidiary Tropical Farms Limited, which is currently a buying and trading operation, but provides an ideal conduit to branch out into cocoa production in West Africa. Its strategy is to establish itself as a secure, sustainable and traceable source of supply to meet the requirements of the major cocoa consumers who are placing increased emphasis in this area.
The Company has expanded its portfolio of agricultural products through the addition of palm oil, and holds a lease over approximately 45,000 hectares of brownfield agricultural land in an area suitable for palm oil production in the Pujehun District in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. This area of Sierra Leone, which is close to the Liberian border, receives one the highest levels of rainfall in Sierra Leone, which in itself, receives some of the highest rainfall globally. In addition, the lease area is located on the equatorial belt, which is the most favourable geographical location for palm oil production.