The Renishaw Coastal Precinct on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, being developed by JSE-listed Crookes Brothers, had been listed as a catalytic project within the province, as well as for the country.
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Crookes Brothers, after swinging into a R274 million loss in the 12 months to end March compared with an R89,8 million profit the year before, has forecast another challenging financial year ahead.
The banana, sugar, macadamia nuts, and property group said the conflict in the Middle East continues to exert upward pressure on input costs across all segments.
Sugar cane pricing remains under pressure. Against this backdrop, the group intends to maintain its focus on operational performance, cost efficiencies, and disciplined capital allocation.
In the sugar segment, softer pricing is anticipated across all operating regions, reflecting the strength of the Rand and Kwacha against the US dollar and the influx of imported sugar into South Africa.
“The focus will remain on maximising yields and maintaining quality to protect margins. The recent signing of Phase Two of the South African Sugar Cane Value Chain Master Plan is a positive development, and the imminent announcement of an expected increase in the dollar-based reference price import tariff will address the influx of low-cost sugar imports into the South African market,” the group directors said.
The main loss-maker in the past year was the macadamia nut segment, which saw revenue slide 30% to R20,23m, while a R299,23 million operating loss was reported versus a R29,11 million operating profit the year before. The operating loss after biological asset impairments from macadamia nuts was R300,75 million versus a R25,81 million loss the year before.
Lower macadamia segment revenue reflected a reduced harvest of 857 tons in the 2025 season. The primary driver was a tornado-like storm in October 2024, which uprooted approximately 210 hectares of trees (approximately 36% of the planted area), 70 hectares of which were completely destroyed, and caused severe damage to the macadamia processing plant.
Compounding this, civil unrest from October 2024 to March 2025 disrupted labour availability, interrupted critical spraying programs, and delayed repairs to the processing plant.
The cumulative effect was lower nut quality and weaker realised selling prices.
The banana segment successfully launched the new Crookes Brothers first-grade brand for fruit produced in Eswatini, which has been well received by the market.
The group intends to build on this platform by establishing a dedicated sales and marketing capability to deepen market penetration and capture efficiencies along the value chain.
The property division enters the new financial year with a strengthened pipeline, and the new residential offering, Restilridge Farm Estate, is emerging as a key growth driver.
“With bulk infrastructure completed and the market launch underway, it is well positioned to expand the mid-market offering while maintaining a disciplined, cash-neutral funding approach aligned with pre-sales,” the directors said.
Construction of the remaining subphases of Phase 7 at Renishaw Hills will continue, funded through bank finance. The Renishaw Coastal Precinct continues to progress well, with advanced negotiations underway for the sale of a medical site, the school site, and a medium-density mixed-use site.
A planned exit from the macadamia segment is expected to improve group liquidity, enabling the group to focus capital and management attention on its core agricultural and property operations.
In the past 12 months, revenue fell 7% to R777,59m. The operating loss came to R209,9m versus an operating profit of R117,1m a year before. The change in fair value of the agricultural assets came to a negative R20,6m versus a positive R15,42m a year before.
The group's equity accounted share of profits from its banana associates, Quinta Da Bela Vista (QBV) and Lebombo Growers, increased to R13,1m from R8,5m.
The increase is attributable to improved profitability at QBV, driven by quality enhancements that resulted in a higher proportion of the crop being classified and sold as first-grade.
Banana yields per hectare across the group remained robust. This was supported by the absence of major adverse weather events – with the exception of a single destructive windstorm at Mawecro – together with operational improvements and above-average bunch masses.
Despite the reduction in planted area, the segment outperformed its production target, delivering an operating profit of R41,2m (R51,6m), which reflects the resilience of this core business.
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