Some of Costa Group's Riverland citrus orchards have been hit by a hail storm.

Some of Costa Group's Riverland citrus orchards have been hit by a hail storm.Credit:Gabriele Charotte

But the company,which is in the process of raising money from retail shareholders and recentlyraised $87 million from institutional investors,stressed that this estimate was based only on a preliminary assessment.

It also said it was possible that the storm would have no ultimate financial impact and that its overall portfolio could"counterbalance"any potential adverse impact.

"However,as the recently announced pro-rata entitlement offer is currently in progress,we believe that more fulsome disclosure of indicative information is appropriate at this stage,"Costa said.

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The company has not changed its 2020 forecast of a net profit of about $56.6 million.

Costa said there would be no impact on its nearly completed 2019 citrus harvest and no impact in 2021 was expected.

However,it said the storm could have"some impact on the quality of some of the crops which,if it eventuates,may have an impact on pricing in calendar year 2020".

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Costa said a natural part of citrus growing included the process of"fruitlets"(which form the fruit),falling off the trees in early summer. The company expects most of the"fruitlets"that fall to be those damaged by hail,with a larger proportion of the undamaged fruit remaining on the trees.

In late October,Costaannounced a $176 million capital raise to strengthen its balance sheet as it battled drought and other challenges.

Shares in Costa closed up 1.5 per cent at $2.79.

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