Scales annual profit beats IPO forecast as apple exports drive horticulture earnings

Scales annual profit beats IPO forecast as apple exports drive horticulture earnings
By Paul McBeth Feb. 26 (BusinessDesk) - Scales Corp, New Zealand's biggest apple exporter, reported a 9.8 percent drop in annual profit, beating its offer document forecast, after better-than-expected apple volumes drove up earnings in its horticulture division. Net profit fell to $18.4 million, or 14.3 cents per share, in calendar 2014, from $20.4 million, or 16.8 cents, a year earlier, the Christchurch-based company said in a statement. That beat the $15.9 million profit forecast in its June 2014 prospectus, a target the company had pre...