Seeka, one of New Zealand's largest kiwifruit growers, registered a 7% fall in profits during the first half of the year as it wrote down the value of its banana-sourcing business further.

The company reported profits of NZ$10.4 million in the six months through June, from NZ$11 million in the same period a year earlier. Seeka said the bottom line included a NZ$1.5 million write-down of goodwill to its tropical fruit business, Seeka Glassfields. 

However, revenues rose by 9% to NZ$145.4 million, thanks in part to its kiwifruit handling volumes rising by 21% to 31.1 million tray equivalents.

The company also delivered record returns in the 2017-18 avocado selling season. It distributed and marketed 209,850 trays, 
delivering an "exceptional" average return to growers of NZ$40.81 per tray, up by 64% from the previous season.

Glassfields, which imports and ripens tropical fruit and provides a logistics service for retailers, suffered after a major customer sourced a direct supply of bananas in 2018, Seeka said. This pushed the board to reassess the value of the tropical business. 

Seeka said it anticipates a better second half than in 2017, with a rebound in volumes of New Zealand kiwifruit production and stronger avocado volumes and earnings.