Avocado and fresh produce grower Costa Group has announced the sudden resignation of its chief executive.Credit:iStock
“Reaching my decision has been a process and there are several things that have gone into my decision,” he said in a statement. “It has been an intense couple of years in agriculture made even more challenging with the overlay of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Costa’s share price closed Monday’s session down 14.2 per cent to $2.18.
Costa chairman Neil Chatfield praised Hallahan’s performance in delivering strong company results while managing the impacts of the pandemic and extreme weather conditions,and thanked him for his contribution to the company.
Rain bombs across Australia’s east coast have inflictedsignificant damage to Costa’s orange crops and its share price,while the nation’s avocado glut has bruised Costa’s avocado business.
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Costa Group’sunderlying net profits rose by 10.8 per cent to $49.2 million in the first half of 2022,while total revenue rose 15.7 per cent to $708.7 million compared with the first half of 2021.
However,its avocado business has been unprofitable for years:an oversupply of the “green gold” has led to a fall in prices that resulted in Costa Group’s avocado business revenue sliding 16.4 per cent,suffering a non-cash $2.2 million goodwill impairment as a result.