In May, the fertiliser co-operative announced it would pay an early initial rebate payment in June, giving $21 per tonne in cash to farmers, with the remainder paid after completion of its financial accounts.
A fully paid-up shareholder, who bought 100 tonnes of fertiliser, would receive $4100.
For those who were not fully paid-up, up to $10 per tonne out of the $20 would be distributed in shares and the remainder in cash.
Last year, Ravensdown achieved an operating profit of $51.9 million and paid a $50 a tonne rebate to shareholders.
This year's "great result'' stemmed from year-on-year progress on a variety of fronts, chairman John Henderson said in a statement.
Operating cashflow was $106 million, equity ratios were now at 84% and the co-operative was net debt-free in 2015-16.
That compared with 2012 when the equity ratio stood at 41% and the company owed $355 million.
Sales activity was much higher for agrichemicals and seeds, and purchased fertiliser tonnages were similar to 2014-15.
Turnover had been expected to fall, due to the company reducing prices of its products, and it was $660 million, chief executive Greg Campbell said.
The 2016-17 year was "clearly hard to forecast'', both for customers and for the company, Mr Campbell said.
"From a global fertiliser supply perspective, we are seeing significant production capacity coming on stream around the world and we can use this trend to benefit New Zealand's agrisector.
"The technology side of our solutions strategy will also increase value in the years ahead. This includes developments like soil sensing from the sky, predictive feed wedge tools, whole-farm soil testing, custom-blended formulations and improved mapping capabilities.''
Ravensdown also expected to see further growth in its environmental consultancy as more farmers sought help on environmental mitigations, consenting and compliance issues, he said.
