The group announced that its income increased by 1,6% to R2,943 billion on 31 October 2024 compared to R2,897 billion at the same time in 2023. However, its profit has decreased to R69 million in 2024 measured against R133 million in 2023.
Johan Bezuidenhout, NWK group manager of corporate marketing and communication, said in a statement that the company, with its headquarters in Lichtenburg, North West, was the oldest business of its kind in South Africa.
Grains and oilseeds formed a major part of agriculture in the province and the company had been operating in the area for more than 100 years.
He said the largest part of NWK’s operating area experienced below-normal rainfall coupled with extremely high temperatures during critical phases of crop development during the 2023/24 production season. This meant that only 40% of the area’s crop intake materialised.
“This resulted in a significant decrease in the profit of NWK’s grain segment. Seventy-one million rand was realised by the end of October this year while R168 million was realised at the same time last year. The group’s trade segment also didn’t perform as anticipated, going down from a profit of R17 million in 2023 to R5 million in 2024. Poor crop yields required farmers to cut expenses, and significant net realisable value adjustments again had to be made to second-hand agricultural equipment,” he said.
The company nonetheless announced that its sunflower oil crushing plant, Epko, showed a profit of R27 million.
“This follows after NWK was able to reach an agreement with Ditsobotla Local Municipality whereby an alternative power supply line has been constructed, enabling Eskom to supply power directly to Epko, Lottie Halte Silo, and NWK’s liquid fertiliser manufacturing plant. The fact that South Africa has not had load-shedding since 26 March this year has enabled Epko to crush at full capacity,” said Bezuidenhout.
A dividend of 14c per share – R15 million in total – has been declared for distribution to shareholders.
