AACo said four of its properties had been subject to “unprecedented levels of flooding not seen before in the Gulf region,” adding that the overall impact of the floods on the company’s fiscal 2019 earnings was expected to be material.
Shares in AACo slumped throughout the day to close down 12.3 per cent (13 cents) at 93 cents.
Incitec Pivot also updated the market on the flood impact,revealing that the rail closure between Townsville and its Phosphate Hill facility would hit earnings.
Loading
Incitec Pivot’s Phosphate Hill facility produces phosphate fertilisers which are transported by rail to Townsville,from where they are then sent elsewhere in Australia or overseas. Phosphate Hill is about 250 kilometres south of Mt Isa.
The company said it had started a progressive shut down of plants at Phosphate Hill over the weekend,and would continue to"run each plant for as long as possible given storage and input constraints".
The extent of the damage to farms caused by the monsoonal rain that hit north west Queensland is mind boggling. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszcuk said recently she had seen“a sea of dead cattle” as she toured devastated areas,while some estimates of the losses have been put at a minimum of 300,000 head.