Article by Chris McLennan courtesy Farm online.
Cashed-up Gina Rinehart has unveiled more of her future livestock plans with the sale of more large cattle stations in the north.
Australia’s richest woman says the profits from the sale of her stations will be “redeployed” to buy “high quality east coast pastoral and cropping properties”.
Through her companies, Hancock Prospecting and S. Kidman and Co, she last week announced the sale of Brunchilly Station (457,200 hectares, 1,129,765 acres) in the Northern Territory’s Barkly Tableland.
Ms Rinehart is also selling Glengyle (550,000ha, 1,359,089 acres), Durrie (660,000ha, 1,630,896 acres) and Naryilco (751,000ha, 1,855,761 acres) in Queensland’s Channel country.
S. Kidman and Co. said it was already “advanced” in the sale of another 2.4 million hectares of its northern cattle country. This follows Ms Rinehart’s successful plan to sell off almost two million hectares of her pastoral holdings last year.
To give some idea of the scale of the sell-off, the combined 44,000 square kilometres of country from those of the 2021 and the current sales is larger than Denmark.
At the time of the sale announcement, her company said the sales were “consistent with the recent redirection of the agricultural portfolio within S. Kidman and Co. and Hancock Agriculture”. With the release of Hancock Prospecting’s annual report this week, Ms Rinehart has elaborated on her plans.
The report said east coast properties would be bought to support their continued push into high-value Wagyu beef.
Her company, Australian Outback Beef Pty Ltd, the owner of S. Kidman and Co, reported revenue of $84 million for the financial year.
Its operations, incorporating backgrounding, feedlotting and branded beef products, delivered “significantly” increased new profit after tax of $42 million.
“HPPL remains committed to increasing its investment in the agricultural sector,” the annual report states.
“A number of pastoral stations across the portfolio have been profitably sold after these properties had been upgraded and significantly improved through capital investment.”
Helen Springs Station in the NT will remain as a core property from her hard fought purchase of Kidman and Co with Chinese partners Shanghai CRED Real Estate Stock Company for $386.5 million in 2015.
After this latest sale, there will be little left of the original Kidman empire. Already the Kidman headquarters has been moved from South Australia to Queensland.
“We remain committed to retaining and continuing to support the iconic history of S. Kidman & Co and its legacy,”
Hancock Agriculture and Kidman Cattle Company acting chief executive Adam Giles said in a statement.
One of the Queensland stations’ being sold, Glengyle Station, is home to the heritage listed Kidman’s Tree of Knowledge. Under this large Coolibah tree Sir Sidney Kidman camped and reputedly envisioned his chain of stations running the breadth of the continent – he bought Glengyle in 1913.
Industry analysts said the company is moving away for its model of large-scale grass-fed operations to a feedlot focus.
“Discussions are advanced in regards to the (sales) process,” the company said. It is believed Ms Rinehart made around $300 million from its strategic move to sell off nine big stations in Western Australia and the Territory in 2021.
The statement said: “The Kidman stations retained have been identified to allow the continuation of the Kidman supply chain model, breeding cattle in the north for backgrounding in the Channels and supplementing the channel country breeder herd.
“Suitable cattle will then be delivered into feedlots for preparation for sale in the Kidman boxed beef brand.”
