News

July 09, 2006

Asian Citrus Plans To Expand Its Fruit Trading Into Foreign Markets

By Sally White

Booming China is associated with its industrial revolution and huge appetite for metals, but a star Chinese performer on London’s AIM market is Asian Citrus – floated last August at 112p it is now trading around 208p, capitalising it at £129million, and is climbing back towards its 250p peak. China’s largest orange plantation owner and operator has just announced that its latest crop – the main summer one accounting for 75 per cent of annual sales – was, in line with expectations, up 16 per cent. The final figures for the financial year to end June will be out in mid-October.

Goal of Asian Citrus is to supply China’s increasingly wealthy consumers with “quality oranges at an affordable price.” In its debut figures for the first half to December 2005 that made it Rmb59.1million or £4.2million (up 34 per cent). House broker Evolution China is forecasting that it will be able to report Rmb 276million for the year as a whole, giving earnings per share of 25p.

Asian Citrus operates on two leased plantations in China, both roughly on the same latitude as Florida...