Red meat processor and exporter Alliance Group is celebrating a record profit, but supply-chain challenges remain, bosses say.
The co-operative held 20 meetings across New Zealand to update farmers on its operation and the tour finished in Mossburn on Tuesday night.
Group chief executive David Surveyor, speaking at Ranfurly Bowling Club recently, said the co-operative had a record profit performance for the year ending September 30.
"It’s the most profitable year in Alliance Group’s history."
Shareholders would get a profit distribution and bonus share issue this year.
"When the company does well, it gets to reward the farmers."
Alliance had spent up to $50 million on capital expenditure at its plants in the past year.
The Alliance board recently approved spending of $8.5 million to increase beef capacity at the Mataura plant to allow for the processing of up to 23,000 more cattle.
Money would be spent on decarbonising the company by 77% by 2029, including by replacing a coal-fired boiler with two heat pumps at the Mataura plant this financial year.
A heat pump was being installed at the Pukeuri plant now, he said.
If a boiler could be made to run on biofuel in Levin, Alliance would float converting or replacing a coal-fired boiler at the Pukeuri plant with a biofuel boiler.
Last year, Alliance set new records for revenue and the number of new shareholders — "about 365 farmers joining the family".
A record was set for safety performance, the injury rate dropping to 14.8 per million hours worked.
"We are the safest red-meat company in New Zealand."
A record number of store animals — 1.3 million — had been moved on and off farms around New Zealand in the year, due to the impact of floods and droughts.
Shareholders were prioritised space in plants.
So far, about 70% of Alliance staff had been infected with Covid-19. He praised the staff for being able to keep the plants running at reduced capacity during the pandemic so farmers could continue to move stock off farm.
"Alliance was the only company which did not have to shut a plant during the peak of the pandemic."
To keep the plants running, some staff travelled for hours to work on other sites and some staff moved out of their family home to live in a hotel when their sick family had to isolate so they could continue to process livestock.
"I think that is absolutely amazing."
International governments tightening monetary policy, such as increasing interest rates, was resulting in positive gains in foreign exchange rates for New Zealand exporters.
"That’s quite helpful."
A global labour shortage was an issue and Alliance needed more foreign workers to maximise the efficiency of its plants. Alliance was trying to recruit staff to run a seventh chain at Lorneville.
