Fruit marketer Turners & Growers has turned to an annual profit after two years of losses with writedowns to the value of its orchards.
Net profit rose to $NZ16.2 million ($A15.28 million) in calendar 2013, from a loss of $NZ15.3m in 2012 and a loss of $NZ19.9m in 2011, the Auckland-based company said on Friday.
It wrote down the value of its assets by $NZ29m in 2012 and by $NZ20.9m in 2011.
Turners & Growers, which is controlled by Germany's BayWa, said higher volumes, price increases, greater access to new markets and customers in Asia, and cost cuts had helped boost its export earnings to $NZ15.6m in 2013 from $NZ2.9m in 2012.
In New Zealand, the business experienced tough market conditions in the second quarter with low margins on imported produce and weak prices for tomatoes although a strong performance in the fourth quarter helped boost earnings to $NZ3.6m from $NZ1.5m a year earlier.
Trading so far in 2014 is "within expectations", chairman Klaus Josef Lutz said in a statement, without providing details.
Turners & Growers isn't paying a dividend for 2013, and also paid no dividend in 2012.
The company said depressed world market prices for apple juice concentrate, combined with a sharp rise in the New Zealand dollar against the Australian and US currencies alongside storage constraints resulted in substantial erosion in margins for its processing business.
The unit turned to a loss of $NZ3.1m in 2013 from positive earnings of $NZ3.3m in 2012, it said.
Its growing operations turned to a profit of $NZ6.7m from a loss of $NZ22.8m in 2012 as gains in the performance of its apple orchards and the kiwifruit crop offset lower tomato prices and weaker citrus margins.
The shares, of which BayWa owns about 73 per cent, last traded at $NZ2, and have gained 14 per cent this year.
