The Graincorp Ltd (ASX: GNC) share price could fall lower this morning after the company announced lower earnings due to recently disrupted grain trading conditions.
What did Graincorp announce this morning?
Graincorp announced this morning that its Grains business unit had experienced a disruption to grain trading conditions over the last six weeks of its half-year reporting period to 31 March 2019.
The disruption is primarily due to the impact of international trade tensions on grain flows, which has been coupled with the impact of ongoing drought conditions in eastern Australia.
Overall, these factors have had a significant negative impact on summer crop production, most particularly the company's sorghum crop.
Management reported that the Grains business unit's expected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) has experienced a deterioration of approximately $40 million for the period.
What's been happening for Graincorp recently?
The Graincorp share price is up 4.2% so far this year and has significantly lagged the S&P/ASX200 Index (ASX: XJO) which itself has returned investors 12.6% in 2019.
The Aussie agriculture company's share price surged 25.5% on 3 December 2018 after it received a $2.4 billion takeover offer from the Long Term Asset Partners consortium.
The company announced plans to demerge its global malting business in early 2019 which saw its share price climb higher, but I'm personally not in the game of betting on stocks subject to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) scrutiny.
While the Aussie bulk grain handler is in the black in 2019, I'd personally be looking to the tech sector for further growth options including the likes of Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) or Appen Ltd (ASX: APX).
The Aussie fintechs have been a key factor behind the ASX200's strong start to 2019 and I don't see any reason why the growth stocks can't climb higher in the second half of the year.
For those who want to look for other growth options within the agricultural sector, this top-rated stock could boost portfolio gains as it continues to soar in a $22 billion industry.
