Elders capitalising on industry's strength

During the Elders online annual general meeting this morning, Mr Allison reported the company had an underlying earnings before tax and interest of $166.5 million, and underlying earning per share was 96.7 cents - an increase of 38pc from the 2020 financial year.

At the close-out of its third Eight Point Plan, the company reported an underlying after-tax profit of $151.1m - an increase of 40pc on 2020, while the return on capital of 22.5pc was up 3.6pc on 2020 and "significantly exceeded" the company's minimum 15pc target.

Shareholders also received a final total dividend for the year of 42c/share, partially franked - a major increase on the 22c received last year.

Elders chair Ian Wilton kicked off the AGM saying the outlook for the industry remained "overwhelmingly positive", which the company aimed to capitalise on and grow the business.

This past year, he highlighted that the company launched its first Modern Slavery Statement and Ethical Contracting Framework and Responsible Sourcing Code.

"Our One Elders Values of integrity, accountability, teamwork, innovation and customer focus are put into action everyday by our people," he said.

"They are ingrained in our culture and are key reasons Elders continues to be ranked as the most trusted agribusiness brand in Australia.

"Elders is proactively applying those expectation and values to third parties who we deal with."

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Mr Wilton said the company was also committed to being an industry leader in sustainability practices, with climate change "the most significant challenges we face".

"As an industry leader, we acknowledge the role we play in leading by example to accelerate the adoption of sustainable farming practices throughout Australia," he said.

"We have committed to aggressively and transparently reduce the greenhouse gas emission associated with our own activities to net zero through a stage reduction plan."

Mr Allison also spoke of Elders' dedicated sustainability team, who were examining opportunities to mitigate the company's impact across the agricultural supply chain.

He highlighted three of the company's sustainability targets, including 100pc renewable electricity in all Australian sites by 2025; a 50pc reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity by 2030 (subject to viable technology being available to address feedlot emissions and consideration of investment in carbon offsets); but then Net Zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050.

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A systems modernisation was also well under way at Elders, to "enable better customer experiences and achieve significant operational efficiencies".

Mr Allison said he was confident Elders had the right people, infrastructure and resource prioritisation in place to deliver what they set out to achieve in the final two years of the company's Eight Point Plan.

"We will continue to work hard to improve and expand the business and deliver on our growth ambitions of 5-10pc per annum through the agricultural cycles," he said.

"It is an exciting time to be in agriculture... and I am pleased to be leading Elders through a period a such growth and prosperity."

In question time, Mr Wilton said company's growth would comes organically, through a strong workforce, and through acquisiton.

"Our pipeline of future potential acquisitions is very strong," he said.