Seeka post-harvest shed fire unlikely to dent earnings

Seeka post-harvest shed destroyed in fire, earnings likely to be unaffected

By Paul McBeth

March 5 (BusinessDesk) - Seeka Kiwifruit Industries, the country's biggest kiwifruit grower, doesn't expect earnings to be materially affected by a fire that destroyed a shed at its Oakside post-harvest site in Tauranga, with insurance likely to cover the bill.

The fire destroyed the shed and significantly affected a coolstore containing about 250,000 trays, though more detailed investigations are underway, the Te Puke-based company said in a statement. Other central coolstores were partially affected by the blaze, which didn't injure anyone. The Oakside site is expected to process more than nine million kiwifruit trays in 2015 of the company's 24 million trays.

"The company will undertake the repairs and operational changes to enable the upcoming kiwifruit season to run without any adverse effect to our growers," it said in a statement. "Also at this stage Seeka does not anticipate any material affect to earnings, noting its comprehensive insurance cover."

Seeka reported a profit of $3.2 million in calendar 2014 on revenue of $115.7 million, though hasn't provided guidance for the current year.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Seeka shares last traded at $3.25, and have increased 0.6 percent this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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