Select Harvests: Leverage to a falling AUD, Rob Calnon, Portfolio Manager

Select Harvests: Leverage to a falling AUD, Rob Calnon, Portfolio Manager. One of our investments with the largest leverage to a falling AUD is Select Harvests (SHV). SHV grow, package & sell almonds to both domestic and international buyers, however even the domestic sales (approximately 20%) are based on international reference pricing. The benchmark Californian pricing for almonds has been increasing in USD terms, which compounds with the weakening AUD to result in a greater increase in the AUD pricing. On the other side of the equation, SHV have almost all of their expenses denominated in AUD which will result in increased margins. For example a 1% increase in the AUD almond price could result in as much as a 2% uplift in profit before tax (before accounting for increased costs of fuel/chemicals etc which may escalate in a weaker AUD environment).