The silver lining of the weak commodity prices between 2011 and 2016 was that many companies within the natural resources sector were forced to become much more disciplined in their operations and expenditure. This shift ultimately left companies in far better shape to capitalise on opportunities, while ensuring more stability... Show More
Australia’s drought may be the worst in 800 years and is also likely to affect many agriculture companies. Reviewing the FY2018 result by agricultural chemical company, Nufarm (ASX:NUF), makes interesting reading. While Nufarm’s results were in line with the guidance provided by the company in July, the result includes two... Show More
Recent dry weather conditions in the United States have weighed on global agricultural stocks, providing us with an opportunity to add a small position in agricultural specialist Nufarm Ltd (ASX:NUF) as the share price weakened. Show More
Shares in horticultural company, Costa Group (ASX:CGC), rallied after the company announced both an increase in profit guidance for the current year and a $65m expansion of its mushroom farm at Minarto in South Australia. Show More
Horticultural company, Costa Group (ASX:CGC), was a stand-out performer during the quarter with the fruit and vegetable grower producing a stellar interim result, which was applauded by the market. Show More
Over the last few weeks, it appears that Gina Rinehart’s Australian Outback Beef (67% Hancock Prospecting/ 33% China's Shanghai CRED) has won the bidding war for the Adelaide-based pastoral company S.Kidman & Co Ltd. If this $365 million deal is approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), the combined... Show More
In this 64-page sector report, Bell Potter Analyst Jonathan Snape identifies four major themes emerging within the agricultural sector, and provides an overview on 17 agricultural and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) stocks under coverage. The major themes emerging include a maturing cattle price cycle; the likelihood of a more... Show More
A few months ago we introduced you to Wingara Ag (ASX:WNR) - the emerging exporter of Australian oaten hay to China, Japan and South Korea. Yesterday Wingara announced the acquisition of an additional nearby processing facility - Pyrenees Hay Processing Co-Operative Ltd (PHPC). Show More
At the start of last week clients picked up Australian Agricultural Company Limited (ASX:AAC), with the share price adding around 10% since - last at $1.88. The company released results showing net profit after tax at $67.8 million, increasing nearly seven times on the previous financial year, kilograms of beef... Show More
After experiencing the resources rout of recent years, Australian investors have been forced to look elsewhere for returns. One sector that has garnered a great deal of interest in recent years is agriculture. In Australia, talk of the agriculture sector brings to mind images of cattle stations and Jackaroos. But... Show More
Jeremy Grantham, co-founder and chief strategist of the USD120 billion asset allocation specialist GMO, has released and fascinating and candid letter to investors this quarter. He is well known for having accurately called the Tech Bubble and the US Real Estate Bubble. “Giant bubbles are easy to spot statistically but... Show More
Wingara Ag (ASX:WNR) – an emerging agricultural exporter to Asian markets – is an attractive way to play the long term thematic of Asian demand for Australian agricultural produce. An exporter of Australian oaten hay (a high quality feed type for dairy cows) to customers in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan,... Show More
Since late 2014 we have had a bias in our risk allocation towards a defensive stance. This has led to large underweights to energy, bulks, and metals (except Lithium producers which we have been overweight). We have held a neutral position for gold in the large cap portfolios and overweight... Show More
The Potash West NL (PWN:AU) GLOSS quality score within the PortfolioDirect rating process has been raised. The critical change warranting the upgrade for the company developing the Dandaragan phosphate and potash deposits in Western Australia has been the doubling of the anticipated mine life to 40 years for an asset... Show More
I wrote a note on the Dairy sector, which included Australian Dairy Farms (AHF.ASX) and Camperdown Dairy (CDC), back in June (see note - http://us9.campaign-archive1.com/?u=aceefad676b0543fbfb98357e&id=06faf44abd&e= ). Since then AHF has under-performed, until today. Mention China and Dairy, and the stock has turned over 75m shares (only 156m on issue), and... Show More
According to the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) –a key climate indicator– the risks of a strong “El Nino” global weather event are now at their most elevated since 1997-98. While such an event poses downside risks to the Australian economy –at what is now a particularly inopportune time– it also... Show More
Morgans believe the current interest in the agri-food sector is due to 4 key themes. 1) Positive industry fundamentals i.e. the rising global population (6bn to 9bn by 2050) and decreasing arable land. 2) Investor switch from the mining boom to the dining boom. 3) Beneficiary of a lower AUD,... Show More
The major theme from announcements this week exposed the weakness of the agricultural and mining sectors and set a negative tone for the upcoming earnings season. Lending mortgage insurance (LMI) provider Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia, which controls around 41% of Australia's LMI market, posted a rise in its loss ratio,... Show More
We recently participated in the Australian Dairy Farms (AHF.ASX) placement. There is certainly a concerted push, by various different groups, to access parts and/or all of the dairy supply chain in Australia. The bid for A2 Milk by the US Giant Dean Foods, and the investments made by Gerry Harvey... Show More
Opportunities within a storm: El Niño and the outlook for agriculture - ETFSecurities exclusive. Drought and irregular weather patterns have sent the price of grains and soft commodities higher this year. While in some instances we believe that prices have over-reacted to the weather-related supply shock, in others there is... Show More