GrainCorp’s site at Condobolin, New South Wales has recently had rail upgrades expected to boost freight efficiency. Photo: GrainCorp

GRAINCORP has reported a 20-percent rise in half-year earnings to $202 million, driven by strong crop volumes across Queensland and northern New South Wales.

Eastern Australia’s leading bulk handler also posted an $8M lift to $58M from the previous corresponding period in net profit after tax for 1H25.

The strong east-coast crop supported the agribusiness segment earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation which jumped $40M to $141M.

GrainCorp handled 29.5 million tonnes (Mt) of east coast grain in the first half, up 4Mt on the previous corresponding period, with export volumes rising to 3.2Mt from 2.6Mt in HY24 and carry-out stocks increasing to 9Mt from 7.4Mt.

GrainCorp chief executive officer and managing director Robert Spurway said these volumes were a driving factor in the company’s overall financial results for the half.

“GrainCorp delivered a solid half-year result, capitalising on a large east coast harvest against the backdrop of a competitive global margin environment,” Mr Spurway said.

“Strong volumes in Queensland and northern NSW underpinned this result, offsetting the impact of below-average conditions in Victoria and southern NSW.”

He said the company took advantage of the recent market opportunities to improve its volumes, such as the tariff-free window for imports of chickpeas into India.

Canola crush volumes remained stable, up 1000t to 283,000t for HY25, while edible oil sales also grew by 13,000t due to improving domestic demand.

EBITDA for GrainCorp’s nutrition and energy division rose by $1M for HY25, with gains moderated by a smaller Victorian canola crop and rising seed costs, partially offset by stronger-than-expected returns from its recently acquired XFA feed business.

Announced in April last year, the integration of XFA into the GrainCorp business increased animal nutrition volumes by 118,000t to 370,000t, as well as outperforming expectations by delivering EBITDA of $14M.

Mr Spurway said the XFA acquisition reflected the kind of strategic additions GrainCorp would continue to pursue to strengthen its portfolio.

Performance Feeds at Dalby, part of the XFA business which has been fully integrated into GrainCorp.

“[The result] demonstrates the value that our ownership can bring to businesses like that and the investment and ongoing organic opportunities that we see in that sector of our business.

“We continue to look for similar-type acquisitions, not just in the feed space, but across our portfolios to provide programmatic opportunities and growth in our business.

“We have a healthy pipeline in that respect.”

Uncertain global conditions

GrainCorp’s international footprint challenged the company’s financial results, with the GrainsConnect Canada joint venture with Zen-Noh Grain Corporation reporting a loss of $10M, up from the loss of $7M in HY24.

GrainCorp chief financial officer Ian Morrison said, despite the “challenging results”, the company remained “pleased with the operational performance of the assets and their efficiencies”.

“However, noting the continued challenging financial results, we are undertaking a review of that business in conjunction with our JV partner,” Mr Morrison said.

Outside of Canada, GrainCorp has minimal exposure to the United States, which currently has a 10pc tariff on all goods imported from Australia.

Mr Spurway said the company’s diverse portfolio and market reach made it resilient “in navigating both tariff and non-tariff trade barriers”.

“While these measures typically have a limited effect on global food demand, they can disrupt efficient trade flows, ultimately driving up the cost of food for consumers.

“GrainCorp remains well positioned to manage evolving global trade flows by servicing a broad and geographically diverse range of end markets, with minimal exposure to the United States.”

FY25 outlook strengthened

GrainCorp has upgraded its current earnings guidance for FY25 to an underlying EBITDA of $285-$325M and an underlying NPAT of $65-$95M.

Mr Spurway said summer rainfall across parts of the east coast had laid strong foundations for the 2025-26 winter crop, with hopes that winter and autumn showers will bring relief to drier areas of Vic and southern NSW.

“We’ve seen excellent rainfall and soil moisture conditions across Qld and northern NSW and we’ll go as far as saying that sets the potential for a large harvest in that area.

“It is fair to say that autumn and winter rainfall will be required to release the benefits of dry-sown crops in Victoria.

“So, alongside farmers, we’ll be looking at the rain outlook over the next few months in Victoria in particular.”