Apple Fields looking at branching out

Press, 1 December 1987, Page 50

Apple Fields looking at branching out

Apple Fields, the Christ-church-based grower and exporter of apples, may diversify in the near future. At the company’s first annual general meeting yesterday, the chairman, Mr David Clark, told shareholders Apple Fields intended to use the skills it had in research and analysis to develop further in “related areas.” After the meeting he told “The Press” these areas would not necessarily be rural-based. “We would like to balance our present activities, which are heavily reliant on the apple industry,” he said. Apple Fields, being a company in “land based" activities had acquired a number of “land skills,” Mr Clark said. Two of the company’s major shareholders, Mr Tom Kain and Mr Charles Kain, had expertise in

commercial property development and a move towards that investment sector could not be ruled out, he said. “The Kain brothers have done very well in property development,” Mr Clark said. “We have looked at a number of propositions (in the commercial property sector) but none of them has been suitable.” To predict the extent of Apple Fields future diversification would only be speculation at this stage, he said. The meeting approved the issue of 1,050,000 fully paid Apple Fields shares at an issue price of 90c to Messrs Charles and Tom Kain. This was in payment for all the shares in Canterbury Orchard Services, a company set up to manage the partnerships involved in establishing apple orchards on the outskirts of Christchurch

and Belfast. The meeting also approved the acquisition of the shares held by Messrs Kain in the land owning companies associated with Apple Fields, the Kain Brothers, and other outside land owners in orchards which are managed by Canterbury Orchard Services. Mr Clark said Apple Fields now owned 60 per cent of the land associated with its own orchards and 50 per cent of the land in orchards it managed. Mr Charles Kain will join his brother Tom, and Mr Tom Suckling, as an executive director of. Apple Fields. The acquisition of Canterbury Orchard Services was an important step for Apple Fields, as it brought the company into profit immediately, he said. The company reported a maiden profit of $636,709 for the year to

September 30, compared to a loss of $68,950 forecast in the prospectus. Mr Tom Kain said Apple Fields was one of the biggest apple enterprises in the world now. “There are larger orchards in America, but they are not specialising in apples.” The company would be involved in more than 600 ha of orchard development by the end of next, year. Mr Clark said the company was planning towards the future and hoped to have its own packing facility by the time most of its trees matured in 1992-93. As an interim measure, Apple Fields would lease a small packing facility from another company. Apple Fields hoped that Once its own packing facility had reached full production it would process 2.5 million cases for export worth about SIOOM.