It was arguably the Canterbury-based company's toughest year, having to deal with major disruption caused by the Christchurch earthquakes as well as Cavalier Wool Holdings' attempts to create a wool-scouring monopoly, chairman Derek Kirke, of Wanaka, said.
WSI recorded an after-tax profit of $6.6 million for the year ended June 30, up 479% from $1.1 million the previous year.
Over the same approximate period, the coarse wool indicator moved from $3.37/kg to $6.48/kg, which was an increase of 92%, managing director Michael Dwyer said.
"We're very pleased because this has been a major and much-needed boost for wool growers and it has restored confidence in the production of wool," Mr Dwyer said.
Operating revenue was up 33% from $151 million to $200 million, while the operating surplus after tax was up from $2.2 million to $6.6 million.
The company's performance meant earnings of 9.6c per share and a final dividend of 3c on top of the 2c special dividend already paid, returning an annual fully imputed total of 5c per share to WSI shareholders.
It was an "exceptional result" achieved under challenging circumstances including operating with a rising New Zealand dollar, which was generally unfavourable for exporters, Mr Kirke said.
In June, the Commerce Commission granted authorisation to Cavalier Wool Holdings to make an offer for WSI's wool-scouring assets.
The commission's decision was appealed by carpet manufacturer Godfrey Hirst, and the High Court granted a stay of the determination pending the hearing of the appeal.
In July, Wool Equities Ltd announced it had secured significant funding to make a rival bid for WSI.
This year had started slowly, with the main concern being the state of the world economies, particularly those of Europe and the United States. That uncertainty would make it difficult to replicate last year's result, Mr Dwyer said.
