Chairman Sir Selwyn Cushing said that directors were satisfied with the performance which had seen the trust's net asset value increase to $2.26 per unit from $1.91 at June 30, 2002.
The Trust will make a distribution of 3 cents per unit (not imputed) on September 29.
Strong demand for rural properties pushed property values higher again this year despite weaker farm product prices and declining farm profitability. The overall value of properties owned by the Trust increased by 26%, Sir Selwyn said.
Difficult climatic conditions and the reduced milk solids payout affected the performance of the Trust's six dairy farms.
Harvesting at its Ngaruawahia forest continued over an area of 170ha. Production from the forest was "pleasing" but forestry returns were affected by the high New Zealand dollar.
The value of the forest was written down by $1.5 million due to the combined effect of lower log prices, higher shipping costs for export logs and the high value of the New Zealand dollar.
Sir Selwyn said the trust expects the year ahead will be a challenging one but the trust's diversity of assets meant it was well positioned for a pick up in the rural economy.
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