WEST PERTH, AUSTRALIA — The CBH Group reported on Jan. 14 its 2014-15 annual net profit after tax was A$82.7 million ($60.3 million), down 94% from A$149.2 million in the same period of last year.

CBH’s total revenue for 2014-15 was A$3.7 billion, down 5.2% from A$3.9 billion in the same period of last year.

CBH reported a loss in its marketing and trading activities for the yearof A$16.7 million, largely due to grain and commodity markets experiencing some of the worst declines since the global financial crisis, the company said.

The 2014-15 season was the fourth largest production on record of 13.6 million tonnes. The company invested A$177.4 million in capital expenditure and maintenance of the network. CBH also implemented long-term agreements with 10 export customers resulting in 10.2 million tonnes of port capacity sold for five years.

“We’ve focused on lowering our costs to serve, driving better prices and generating greater returns from investments,” said Wally Newman, CBH Group chairman. “The continued investment in the network is certainly paying off through efficiencies in the supply chain. We saw a record one million tonnes delivered to one site, Chadwick in the Esperance zone, largely because of these investments.”

Andy Crane, CBH Group chief executive officer (CEO), said that the positive financial result was not only the product of a large crop but of a dedicated focus on managing costs and driving operational efficiencies.

“Our key measure of performance is the dollar per tonne charge for storage, freight and port fees minus rebates of charges generated from CBH’s other investments,” Crane said. “This puts our growers and their competitiveness at the very center of every decision we make.”