CORRECTED-PGG Wrightson falls into H1 loss
(Corrects financial result, dividend to that of group, not of finance subsidiary)
WELLINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - New Zealand's largest listed rural services company PGG Wrightson Ltd (PGW.NZ) on Thursday reported a first half loss as one-off costs offset strong trading.
The company made a net loss of NZ$32.8 million ($16.7 million) in the six months to Dec. 31, compared with a profit of NZ$34.6 million from the same period last year.
It declared an unchanged interim dividend of 5 cents a share.
PGG Wrightson said its trading performance had improved, but one-off costs involved with a failed merger with meat processor Silver Fern Farms hit profit, and a writedown of the value of its stake in NZ Farming Systems Uruguay (NZS.NZ).
The company also said it had received bank commitments for its existing NZ$475 million facilities.
Shares in the company, formed in late 2005 when Wrightson Ltd joined with Pyne Gould Guinness Ltd, last traded up 5.6 percent at NZ$0.76 in a flat broader market .NZ50.
The merged company has around 15 percent share in a fragmented and competitive rural services market worth more than NZ$5 billion a year. It provides retail, finance, livestock and property services to farmers and rural communities.
It competes with major banks such as ANZ-National Bank (ANZ.AX) to provide finance to farmers, and in retail and trading services with Fonterra's RD-1 chain and smaller operators such as Allied Farmers Ltd. (ALF.NZ). ($1=NZ$1.96)
