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Highlights

  • Nufarm is an Australian company engaged in delivering seed technology and crop protection solutions
  • The company expects to achieve or exceed its FY26 revenue target of AUD 4.6 billion
  • Allan Gray Australia Pty Ltd has the maximum stake in the company with 14.05% shares

Nufarm Limited (ASX: NUF) develops and manufactures beyond YieldTM seed technologies and crop protection solutions. The seed technologies business is spread across 30 countries, and the crop protection business is present in Asia Pacific, North America, Middle East & Africa and Europe.

During the first half of 2023 (1HFY23), Nufarm achieved significant strategic milestones such as product launches, new agreements and growth in geographical footprint. In 1HFY23, the revenue fell by 9.7% over the previous corresponding period (pcp) to AUD 1,954.5 million, driven by a fall in demand as prices increased due to supply uncertainty. While the underlying net profit after tax increased by nearly 7% during the reported period due to favourable agricultural commodity prices.

uEBITDA from the seed technologies business grew by 34.4% to AUD 61.8 million in 1HFY23, backed by the increase in demand amid high grain prices and favourable seasonal conditions.

While releasing the half yearly results, Nufarm announced an interim dividend of 5 cents per share, up by 25% over the previous year. The dividend ex-date was 25 May 2023, and the pay date was 9 June 2023.

Top 10 shareholders of NUF

The top 10 shareholders of Nufarm together have ~53.98% shareholding in the company, and the top 4 shareholders have ~36.87% shareholding. The top four shareholders are Allan Gray Australia Pty Ltd, L1 Capital Pty Ltd., Phoenix Holdings Ltd and Host-Plus Pty Limited.

Recent business update

Nufarm shared via an ASX filing dated 29 June 2023 that it has received approval from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA) for its Aquaterra Omega-3 oil for use in fish feed. Aquaterra is procured from Nuseed Omega-3 Canola. Nuseed is a division of NUF that commercialises and develops plant-based Omega-3.

Outlook

NUF said that by FY26, it expects to report revenue of over AUD 4.6 billion. The company intends to achieve the targeted revenue by evolving its portfolio by incorporating a higher percentage of innovative, higher margin and higher growth products.

In FY23, the company anticipates reporting modest growth in underlying EBITDA on a constant currency basis.

Share performance of NUF

Shares of Nufarm closed 0.37% down at AUD 5.37 apiece on 31 July 2023 with a market capitalisation of AUD 2.05 billion. Including this, the share price has dropped by 8.52% in the past six months and increased by 4.07% in the last 12 months.

The 52-week high of NUF is AUD 6.41 per share, 19.36% higher than today’s closing price. The 52-week low is AUD 4.85 per share, 9.68% lower than the existing stock price.

Note 1: Past performance is neither an Indicator nor a guarantee of future performance.

Note 2: The reference date for all price data, currency, is 31 July 2023. The reference data in this report has been partly sourced from REFINITIV.