Q&A with CEO Tony Crimmins

What sort of company is Abundant Produce?

Australian company Abundant Produce has been making waves in the agrifood sector recently, but just what sort of company is it? In order to get to the heart of the matter, the company has posted a Q&A with its CEO, Tony Crimmins.

You recently said of Abundant Produce “although it operates in the agricultural sector, Abundant is, at its heart, a technology company”. The Australian Stock Exchange places you in the ‘Consumer staples’ sector, within the ‘Food, Beverage & Tobacco’ industry group. So just what sort of company should investors regard Abundant Produce as being?
Our core function is to use the latest scientific advances to create novel horticultural cultivars. We produce value by developing bio-tech intellectual property, so we’re a tech business. As this intellectual property is fed into the $100-billion-and-growing annual seed market Abundant’s potential growth rate is immense.

At the same time, it’s also true we offer investors upside exposure to agricultural food production. World food production needs to double between 2000 and 2050 and exploding affluence in the Asian region is driving increased demand for vegetables. We aren’t exposed to agricultural production risks, like drought or flood, though.

So profitability is driven by your capacity to produce new types of food plant and then to work with the seed distributors to sell them… and your business will grow as you develop more and more cultivars of different plant types?
Yes, though we hope to hasten that growth with a few strategic acquisitions.

You’ve been quoted as saying that you have some specific companies in mind. Can you tell us more?
I can’t talk about specifics unless and until they happen, of course, but we’re a tech business so our acquisitions will be driven by IP. That means acquisitions will target plant traits we regard as desirable, or as a good fit with our existing cultivars.

To cross-breed with or do you mean a good fit with your portfolio of products?
Both.

And are you able to suggest any sort of time frame for your first acquisition?
Well, of course any acquisitions will be subject to both a great deal of due diligence and willing sellers so it’d be unrealistic to put a specific timeframe on it.

For more information:
Abundant Produce
Suite 8, 6th Floor,
55 Miller Street,
Pyrmont, NSW 2009,
Australia
Phone: +61 2 9571 8300
Fax: +61 2 9571 8200
abundantproduce.com

Publication date: Tue 6 Sep 2016