By Vida Booysen
Bananas were one of the driving forces behind the listed agricultural company Crookes Brothers’ good annual results in the past financial year.
The group’s income from continuing operations increased by 15% to R833.8 million in the financial year to 31 March this year, while headline earnings increased by 27.01% from R51.1 million to R64.9 million.
“The banana and property segments performed exceptionally well despite the challenges and contributed significantly to earnings,” the group said in a statement on Sens, the JSE’s news service.
Crookes Brothers is a Southern African company with agricultural operations in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, as well as in Eswatini, Zambia and Mozambique. The company specialises in the production of agricultural products such as sugarcane, bananas and macadamias. It also has a property portfolio in KwaZulu-Natal.
Despite the difficult weather conditions in the Lowveld region, income from the banana segment increased by 31% to R198.4 million. A record operating profit of R51.6 million was recorded.
The Mawecro farm lost approximately 16 000 bunches due to frost early in the season. It was just on the road to recovery when a severe windstorm blew through the Nicoskamp and Amanxala farms on 27 October last year, destroying an estimated 189 330 banana trees. Of these, 81 397 were flowering bunches that were due to be harvested in the current reporting period, the group says.
“The storm also affected neighbouring banana farmers, narrowing the regional supply and driving up prices. We were able to take advantage of these higher prices by still producing a record harvest with improved quality during this critical window period.”
After a disappointing 2024, macadamia revenue more than doubled to R29.1 million, compared to R13.5 million in the previous financial year.
“In the current reporting period, we harvested 1 040 tonnes of macadamias. Unfortunately, heat damage to several containers during transport to our customers in South Africa reduced the saleable tonnage to 909 tonnes. This is approximately 131 tonnes less than what was harvested.”
This, together with a tropical storm at the end of 2024, contributed to an operating loss of R25.8 million being recorded.
Sugarcane volumes slightly lower
Income from sugarcane increased by 1% to R519.8 million. The group reports that volumes were slightly lower than last year’s levels.
“Adverse weather conditions, coupled with the lingering El Niño and the coldest pinch in 20 years that occurred in early July 2024, have significantly impacted yields, particularly in the unirrigated KZN region.”
According to the statement, the group expects weaker sugarcane prices this year, particularly in South Africa and Eswatini, due to weaker world sugar prices, a stronger rand and increased sugar imports into South Africa due to delayed tariff adjustments.
“However, our focus remains on maximising yields and quality to protect value.”
Income from the property segment increased to R63.5 million (2024: R22.6 million) following the successful completion of the sale of the shopping centre and petrol station sites at Renishaw Coastal Precinct, which contributed R28.5 million to the segment’s income. Crookes Brothers has declared an eventual gross cash dividend of R1.50 per share declare.
