Elders today released its half year results for the six months to 31 March 2025, announcing a $64.3 million underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), up 67pc from last year’s first half.
Elders’ HY25 performance saw a recovery from a challenging prior period, with most products and services achieving an uplift year on year. Improved livestock prices were a key driver, improving sentiment and production margins in the livestock industry.
Key acquisitions in Real Estate Services and strict cost management supported improved earnings from last year. This is despite gross margin decline from Retail Products due to ongoing dry conditions across parts of the country, which may push demand to the second half.
Notwithstanding some challenges, Elders CEO Mark Allison said he is overwhelmingly positive about the state of the agriculture industry and the outlook for Elders.
“It seems to me that we are on the cusp of a new era of stability and prosperity for agriculture, and for Elders,” said Mr Allison.
“While we are still awaiting an autumn break in some parts of the country, the outlook generally and nationally is positive. In my mind, producers are more prepared and equipped to handle the fluctuations of farming than they have ever been,” Mr Allison said.
“Elders is certainly in a position to prosper and profit.
“We are very aligned to the needs of industry. We are working more closely with growers and industry partners than ever before, and we have a stable leadership team and board in place with the skills and experience to take Elders into an era of stability and growth.”
He stated that international demand for protein remains historically high and global indicators for trade were positive.
“Globally, Australian agricultural products remain in high demand, with little negative fallout expected from recent trade and tariff announcements.”
Internally, Elders has made significant progress on the implementation of its systems modernisation project.
“We are already seeing early efficiency gains from the implementation of Wave 2 of our systems modernisation project affecting retail . This is driving momentum for the completion of the project which will ultimately see a full transition from legacy technology,” said Mr Allison.
“It’s incredibly exciting to be leading Elders in this time of transformation, to ultimately equip our business to best serve clients into the future.”