DF1, the New Zealand dairy farmer owned by Harvard University's endowment fund, posted a profit of $4.87 million last year, having bought the Big Sky Dairy Farm properties in central Otago from their receivers.
Harvard paid about $32 million for the Ainwick, Tercio and Saran farms on the Maniototo Plain, having gained Overseas Investment Office approval for the purchases in September 2010.
Big Sky was the biggest dairy farm operator in Central Otago when it defaulted on payments in 2007 and was placed in liquidation in 2009.
DF1's accounts for the year ended June 30, 2011, show Harvard picked up assets worth almost $34 million in the deal.
Revenue surged to $11.2 million in 2011 from about $1.6 million a year earlier, when it recorded a $1.2 million loss, DF1's accounts show. The Big Sky farms are being managed alongside DF1's existing dairy property, Helenslea.
Harvard's interests in New Zealand include a majority stake in the Kaingaroa forests.
The $US32 billion ($NZ38 billion) endowment fund made an 18.8 per cent return on its natural resource portfolio in the year ended June 30, which included the cutting rights to Kaingaroa forests. The overall portfolio returned 21.4 per cent for the period.
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