<span class="" id="parent-fieldname-description"> CBH Group says record grain crops have allowed for more infrastructure investment, and chief executive Andrew Crane says rail is to be a key focus. </span> <p>At its recent annual meeting, Crane confirmed a net profit after tax of $162m for 2012.</p><p>“The marketing and trading division recorded a strong result, after acquiring more than 6.3 million tonnes of grain across Australia, including more than 40% of the WA harvest along with its shipping," he said.</p><p>Crane went on to reference extensive investment in rail infrastructure by CBH in recent years.</p><p> In 2012, 22 new locomotives and 574 new wagons arrived in WA to replace ageing infrastructure, he said in his report.</p><p>“As well as putting the ownership of rail assets into growers’ hands and helping to provide a sustainable future for rail, the new rail fleet will provide growers with an increase in the amount of tonnes delivered to port by rail, more competitive freight rates and safer rail operations for our employees,” he said.</p><p>“The tangible benefits to growers of this investment were evident in the estimated freight rates we announced for the 2012-13 season, which include an average 7% in rail freight rates.”</p><p>But CBH is not done investing in rail infrastructure, he explained.</p><p>“Our ports are very efficient they can outload large crops very capably,” he said. “Our biggest challenge continues to be feeding those ports. The rail investment is pivotal to doing this faster and more reliably.”</p><p>Group chairman Neil Wandel told members the cooperative is committing an extra $40m over the next three years to upgrade the network.</p><p>“One of the main ways we can return value to growers is by investing in their supply chain to ensure it remains the most efficient and low cost in the country,” Wandel said.</p><p>“We have done this by committing an additional $40m over the next three years on network upgrades, specifically focused on increasing site turnaround times.</p><p>“This investment is in addition to the annual commitment on capital expenditure.”</p>
