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\nPhoto: RNZ \/ Alexander Robertson\n<\/p>\n
A buoyant rural economy has boosted the Livesock Improvement Corporation’s (LIC) profits, with the co-op also feeling upbeat about the long-term outlook.<\/p>\n
The artificial breeding and herd testing co-operative’s bottom-line profit for the year ended May was $30.6 million, compared to last year’s weakened profit of $7.7m, due to a bad batch of bull semen and weaker economic conditions.<\/p>\n
Its total revenue was up 10 percent to $295.1m as farmer owners invested more in their herds, supporting a near 15 percent rise in underlying earnings.<\/p>\n
LIC chief executive David Chin said the result was a reflection of the strong agricultural sector.<\/p>\n
“When [farmers] have a bit of a tailwind, which we’ve had in the last 12 months, they take the opportunity to invest in their long-term future and get some better genetics into their herd and do a bit more animal health testing,” Chin said.<\/p>\n
He felt positive about what lay ahead.<\/p>\n
“It might not reach the heights that it has been, but it’ll be fairly good,” Chin said.<\/p>\n
“Having just recently come back from Europe and North America, there’s a lot of pressure on the national herds over in those jurisdictions.”<\/p>\n
Chin said it boded well for New Zealand.<\/p>\n
“We see [global] production being predominantly flat, so that should keep prices fairly buoyant in the next wee while,” he said.<\/p>\n
LIC said from the 2025\/26 year, it was planning a multi-year investment into customer-facing systems and process improvements, and said its bottom line would be affected due to the costs.<\/p>\n