Herd size has grown 28pc over the past year for Cunningham Cattle Co

THE Gunn Agri Cattle Fund has announced unaudited results for its financial year ended 30 June, including an EBITDA profit of $18.34 million.

At the end of the last financial year, the fund managed gross assets worth $290 million, up $64.7 million from the previous year.

The manager of the Fund, Gunn Agri Partners, reported an investor contributions based net asset value (NAV) of $1.62 per unit, up from $1.00 at the fund’s establishment in 2015. The Fund has achieved compounded annual growth in the property portfolio of 13.8pc since launch, after accounting for purchase price and post-acquisition capital expenditure.

The rate of capital growth of the fund’s property portfolio has been at about double the market rate of northern pastoral properties during this period, due to the active transformation of assets in the portfolio, Gunn Agri Partners said.

Driving that performance had been a strategy of investing in productivity-enhancing infrastructure including increased watering points, fencing enabling more effective stocking density management and grazing land development.

The Fund also achieved strong capital growth through transformation of former grazing land to cropping on its Goodar station near Goondiwindi. Goodar has experienced compounded annual growth rates of 14.5pc since acquisition in 2016, after accounting for purchase price and post-acquisition capital expenditure.

Gunn Agri Cattle Fund’s portfolio of geographically-diversified holdings span a distance of 1500km, from far north Queensland to the NSW border including 990,000ha of grazing country, 6375ha of cropping land and an additional 67,300ha of grazing land leased or agisted.

Last financial year’s operating results have enabled investor distributions of 3pc on total investor contributions, with a distribution forecast for the second quarter of FY2022 of 8pc on total investor contributions.

“This has been delivered through a focus on operating assets at scale, optimised productivity and operating land at its highest value use,” the fund managers said.

Herd size up 28pc

The Fund’s operating company, Cunningham Cattle Co, recording a herd of 63,800 head at year’s end, valued at $87 million, up 28pc year-on-year.

Operating results for the financial year were supported by sales proceeds of $17.9 million, with costs remaining within budget.

Cunningham Cattle Co chairman Bill Gunn said the outstanding results had been a culmination of the right strategy implemented at an appropriate stage of the cycle, coupled with diligent execution by the entire team.

Vice chairman and chair of the company’s risk and audit committee Jim Sutcliffe said the company had implemented a comprehensive framework for governance and risk management that formed an important part of managing risk when executing its investment mandate.

Gunn Agri chief executive Alan Hoppe said the strong wet season, coupled with record prices and a dedicated and hard-working team had delivered excellent results for investors.

“We have been investing into the long term productivity of our farms and our people and that is paying off. The focus on maintaining a low cost per kilogram of beef produced will continue to drive profitability into the future,” he said.