Quote Originally Posted by Sideshow Bob View Post
SFF Ltd would have retained a huge amount of profit in recent years. Even last year, $189m profit, Coop received $38.5m (paid out likely around $33m), but based on this, SFF would have kept about $112m. And this was only last year - while it was a record, there have been a few reasonable years in a row where they've kept a good chunk of change in the back pocket. So think they have enough for their projects, capital expenditure etc.

However for this year, they may not make a profit - and I'm probably glass half-empty, but I'm not so sure this will happen, or at least to any great degree. I understand margins are pretty poor. Lamb has been extremely difficult - lots of Australia product around and schedules there are $4's, while in NZ trying to pay $7 while markets are being flooded with Ozzie product. Understand that beef margins are pretty average and nothing special.

We get no real guidance on how things are tracking - which can be frustrating. Maybe if you went to a supplier meeting there may be some comment, but nothing wider. But the shares are primarily for suppliers, who in theory are there for the long-term while they supply stock, and not so worried on the ups and downs or timing.

Alliance are just finishing their FY 30/9 so we are going to have to wait until November for them to report. But was seen that David Surveyor left Alliance after their record year, and already going downhill.

The thing is the shares are illiquid at best. So has moved about $0.19c in recent weeks based on 40k shares and a handful of trades.

I think in terms of a divvy this year, it might just depend if they throw shareholders a bone. In the meantime, we wait!
I agree with you but will be very surprised if they will not show some profit this year. The good thing is that despite the large divies we've received in the last couple of years, the cash management has been prudent and plenty left in the kitty for the operating Co to continue investing and for the Co-op to have relatively healthy cash reserves.
My relatively large holdings was bought fully aware of the illiquid nature of these shares and the reality of the huge ups and downs in the industry, just like the suppliers understand. I sold a few earlier in the year and through that and dividends have recovered my initial investment, so expect I will be sitting on my holding for a great many years to come, through some upwards and downwards cycles. I'm more likely to add than reduce, barring some unforeseen circumstances.