SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — GrainCorp Ltd. announced on Feb. 7 that it expects to report underlying EBITDA of between A$480 million to A$540 million in fiscal 2022, which would be up sharply from EBITDA of A$331 million in fiscal 2021.

Robert Spurway, managing director and chief executive officer of GrainCorp, said the upswing reflects outstanding supply chain execution, continued delivery of operating initiatives and strong global demand for Australian grains and oilseeds.

“GrainCorp delivered an excellent result in FY21, and I am pleased to report that we expect this performance to be further improved in FY22,” Spurway said. “In addition to a second consecutive bumper crop and the global demand for Australian grain, our strong start to FY22 demonstrates the efficiency of our supply chain and the resilience of our industry.

“Once again, Australian growers faced numerous challenges, including flooding and a wet, interrupted harvest, while our operational and processing teams continued to work under heightened COVID-19 restrictions. Notwithstanding, GrainCorp experienced minimal supply chain issues and provided over 1.5 million tonnes of additional storage capacity for growers in time for the 2021-22 harvest and broke multiple site receival records across our network.”

Spurway said GrainCorp’s combined grain intake across the harvest period totaled 13.7 million tonnes year-to-date, and has been supplemented with a high opening grain inventory position of 4.3 million tonnes. He said the company is anticipating good summer crop receivals in fiscal 2022, which are expected to benefit from optimal weather conditions.

GrainCorp said it expects to see total receivals of 16 million tonnes to 17 million tonnes and exports of 8.5 million tonnes to 9.5 million tonnes in fiscal 2022. By comparison, total receivals in fiscal 2021 totaled 16.5 million tonnes and exports totaled 7.9 million tonnes.

“The strong harvest, coupled with supply shortages and adverse weather conditions in the Northern Hemisphere, is driving excellent global demand for Australian grain and oilseeds and strong supply chain margins for grain exports,” Spurway said.