KEY POINTS:
Firm fruit and vegetable prices boosted Turners and Growers' half year net profit by nearly 20 per cent to $5.7 million.
The produce company expected annual profit to increase if prices stayed high during summer, but it was vulnerable to currency fluctuations in the second half when it received most of its pipfruit export revenue.
Most domestic divisions were expecting a "reasonable" annual result, chairman Tony Gibbs said. The company posted a 28 per cent rise in annual profit last year to $17 million.
The high dollar and reduced domestic volume helped the struggling imports business rally near the end of the first quarter.
But the currency eroded the higher prices achieved by the pipfruit export business.
- NZPA
