The NZX-listed New Zealand Rural Land Company (NZRL) has recorded an after-tax profit of $3.17 million in the first half of the financial year.
Yesterday, NZRL released its half year results to the market, which saw the company record its second profit since listing in late 2020.
The profit meant it could pay an inaugural interim dividend of 2.01 cents per share to its shareholders in March.
In the six month period, NZRL’s total assets had increased to $221 million, up from $165 million.
Its total liabilities had also grown to $89 million, up from $54 million at the end June last year.
Since the start of the financial year, the company had completed two land acquisitions, both in the lower South Island.
The first, which was settled in August, was a 490ha Van Leeuwen Group (VLG) dairy farm in Waimate.
That was leased back to a VLG owned company on a 10-year deal.
The second acquisition, which settled in November, was a portfolio of six large scale dairy assets, totalling 3500ha, in Central Otago.
The portfolio was also leased out on a 10-year deal to WHL Capital Ltd, a Timaru holding company.
Addressing market conditions, NZRL said the company was ‘‘largely insulated’’ from the high inflation levels reported late last year.
All of the company’s leases incorporated CPI adjustments occurring every three years.
It was also insulated from inflation impacts on on-farm operations because it only owned the land, the company said.
NZRL expected its total adjusted funds from operations for FY22 to be around $4.2 million and was forecasting that to increase to $6.3 million in FY23.
The company had continued to investigate further investments to increase sector and tenant diversity.
It had an ‘‘attractive acquisition’’ pipeline, with due diligence on several new opportunities across multiple sub-sectors, NZRL said.
Yesterday morning, NZRL’s share price was trading at $1.20, no change on Monday’s close price.
-- STAFF REPORTER
