Beef producer Australian Agricultural Company will release new beef brands over the next three months as it aims to become a global brand business.
AACo managing director Jason Strong, told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting in Brisbane on Thursday that AACo's focus on building sales of premium processed beef was paying off.
Since 2014, AACo has been seeking to maximise the value of its cattle by reducing live sales and focusing on processing its own beef.
AACo recently opened an abattoir at Darwin and has invested in genetics, data analytics, pasture mapping and grazing management to deliver a high-quality product.
"We have an opportunity to use this foundation as a launching pad," Mr Strong said.
"We have an opportunity - in 2017 and beyond - to turn Australia's oldest company into a global brand business.
"In the next three months, AACo will begin to roll out our new brands to our customers."
Mr Strong said AACo was positioning itself as a premium producer, supplying international markets with high-quality beef that generated higher prices for AACo.
AACo's aim was not to feed Asia's mega-sized middle class but to supply premium beef to Asia, Europe, America and the rest of the world.
Mr Strong said AACo had to keep investing and planning for growth, and 2017 would be more important than 2016.
AACo chairman Donald McGauchie said the changes implemented at AACo were transforming the business.
In 2014, beef sales generated 59 per cent of AACo's revenue; in 2016 it was 88 per cent.
The total amount of beef and by-products sold by kilogram in 2016 was up by 96 per cent.
Net profit in 2016 was $67.8 million - up $58.2 million.
Mr McGauchie said AACo had to continue to invest in its business to reach its full potential, and that was why the board had not declared a dividend in 2016.
Shares in AACo were steady at $1.945 at 1103 AEST.
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