Higher NZ kiwifruit volumes led to better earnings but also required significant investment, chief executive Michael Franks said.
The after-tax profit for the six months ended June 30 was $7.12 million, up from $3.71m a year earlier. With the new business activities, revenues were $134.2m up from $96.8m.
Investors liked the result, with Seeka shares up 28c to $4.78 in early NZX trading.
Total turnover was $151m, including about $17m in sales the company made as agent for other growers and suppliers, a growing part of the business.
Seeka packed 32.3m trays of kiwifruit during the main operating season, up from 27.8m a year earlier. It had a 24.8% share of the post-harvest Green crop and a 16% share of the new SunGold crop, up from 14%.
Further SunGold growth was expected as orchards continued to recover from the Psa virus, Franks said.
The newly-acquired Australian kiwifruit and nashi pear orchard business traded profitably, though at a lower level than expected because of a challenging growing season in northern Victoria, as the company learned how to operate in the Australian business environment.
Seeka’s avocado business delivered record returns to growers and topped industry returns for the third year in a row, Franks said.
The strong profit growth was achieved despite a big increase in borrowings, with the Australian business 100% debt-funded and a significant infrastructure spend.
Borrowings of $79.6m made up 37% of the total assets of $214m at balance date; a year earlier the ratio was 22% of total assets of $141m.
Directors increased the interim dividend to 10c a share, up from 9c previously.
