Business Description Yates Limited, formerly Norgard Clohessy Equity, (YTL) and Arthur Yates & Co Limited were merged in March 2001. Arthur Yates & Co Limited became a wholly owned subsidiary of YTL. YTL now has two major areas of operations: garden products and forestry.
Arthur Yates & Co. is a leading manufacturer and marketer of garden products and vegetable seeds in Australia and New Zealand. Products include seeds and bulbs, plant health products, garden merchandise and growing media.
Norgard Clohessy Equity Limited specialises in the marketing of managed investment products particularly in the agribusiness sector. The company offers products that are innovative commercial and tax effective.
Company Strategy and Prospects (Last Update: 14 March, 2002) YTL posted improved earnings for the half year to December 2001. The result comprised a $2.7 million profit from Arthur Yates and a $0.9 million loss from Yates equity which includes Yates Forestry. The strong result of Arthur Yates was attributable to a number of restructuring activities, and performance of Yates Botanicals and the Mt Druitt warehouse.
Following the merger, YTL has undergone a significant degree of reorganization and refocus, while remains committed to the large-scale agribusiness. A number of ongoing initiatives have been planned across all area of operations. A restructure of the Agribusiness Investment division to bring minimize unnecessary costs almost completed. Arthur Yates & Co has reduced its manning 8% to 542 positions over last year and centralized its accounting and administration.
YTL's strategy is focused on its core gardening products business and the rationalization of its products to ensure that all products realized adequate returns. The group is also looking to extract value from its forestry assets.
As part of its strategy, YTL plans to rationalize its growing media (potting mix) operations in New Zealand and commercialise its Yates Saltgrow Eucalypts, which has combined characteristics of salt and stress tolerance.
Analysts forecast an improvement in earnings over the next two years.
