An overview of the 2008 Calendar Year performance of the AAG Agri-Index in comparison to the All Ordinaries.
Over the period from 2nd January 2008 to 30th December 2008, the AAG Agri-Index index has fallen just over 50%. The same sentiment which has affected the All Ordinaries hit the AAG Agri Index companies which had, until recent times defied the general market trends.
Last updated 2 January 2009
| View index breakdowns |
|---|
| View Historical breakdown |
| View FYTD breakdown |
| View Monthly breakdown |
| 2008 Calendar Performance |
| Featured Company Profiles |
Chart. 2 Jan 2008 - 30 Dec 2008
Winners
The 2008 calendar year has proven to be tough, so much so that only one company has finished up with a positive result.
Marine Produce Australia recording calendar year growth of 275%, has main operations involving farming diversified aquaculture produce mainly in Australia’s north, with a strong research and development focus in its own aquaculture technology.
The big move up came about after securing funding requirements to achieve its targeted grow out of fish stocks, boosting the stock price from $0.014 to$0.10 almost overnight. The company also announced it would work towards securing more capital through the placement of additional equity, pleasing shareholders in this major issue that previously posed a threat to the company.
Lets face it though, if this is the only “winner” it has been a pretty tough year.
The top 5 Increases
| Code | Company | 2 Jan Open | 30 Dec Close | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPA | Marine Produce Australia Ltd | $ 0.016 | $ 0.006 | +275% |
Chart. 2 Jan 2008 - 30 Dec 2008
Losers
The big losers for the 2008 calendar year all wore the full brunt of the global market collapse. These included Australian Wine Holdings, Timbercorp, Evans and Tate, GSF Corporation and Olea Australis.
Evans and Tate produce and sell Australian premium wine from the Margaret River and the Yarra Valley selling the majority of its wine domestically. Another disappointing performer, ETW fell 92%- worse than the Russian sharemarket.
Australian Wine Holdings (AWL), a wine brand seller and producer developing independent wine brands, likewise fell 92%. Tough times in the wine industry can be partially responsible for the two company’s performances with oversupply and the emergence of a real buyers market with competitive pricing. AWL reported losses of over $4.7 million with $375,000 rising from discontinued operations. The company has also announced that margins are looking unlikely to be recouped through normal trading activity.
GSF Corporation also lost 92% over the calendar year. The company is involved in harvesting, processing, wholesaling and exporting fine quality seafood, where in comparison to other Aquaculture companies they have had a very disappointing result. GSF followed a volatile path after the market learned of the failed acquisition of Zambian Mineral towards the end of the 07/08 financial year. This has continued to impact on shareholder confidence, and the company was unable to take up another valuable opportunity in the resource sector as promised at the time of the failed acquisition.
Despite being named the by the Forest Stewardship Council as Australia’s “Best Large Forest Manager” during the year, Timbercorp’s share price also fell 92%. There was unease during the year as Timbercorp waited for a decision on the MIS test case, with many investors not willing to price in a positive outcome. Timbercorp moved away from its previous focus on MIS due to the economic crisis and uncertainty about the tax effects. On top of these troubles, Directors were forced to raise a one off provision of $13 million from a Table Grapes project established in 2004/05. Further concerns over debt levels, provisions on grower loans and water supply have hit this high flyer hard.
The top 5 Decreases
| Code | Company | 2 Jan Open | 30 Dec Close | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWL | $ 0.040 | $ 0.003 | -92.5% | |
| TIM | $ 1.510 | $ 0.115 | -92.4% | |
| ETW | $ 0.130 | $ 0.010 | -92.3% | |
| GSF | $ 0.076 | $ 0.006 | -92.1% | |
| OLE | $ 0.025 | $ 0.002 | -92.0% |