<p>ABB Grain has posted a half-year profit of $18.8m, a fall of 58% on the same period in 2006.</p> <p>The diminished result, down from $44.8m this time last year, has been blamed on the drought, which cut grain receivals to 25-year lows.</p> <p>ABB managing director Michael Iwaniw said the result was in line with the Adelaide-based company’s forecast.</p> <p>"Certainly from a company perspective and our company heavily reliant on rainfall for good volumes of grain production, it certainly hits home,” Mr Iwaniw told the ABC.</p> <p>ABB would bounce back to a $16m to $19m net profit for the full year, he said.</p> <p>Meanwhile, parts of Western Australia’s wheat belt received welcome rain over the weekend, boosting hopes that the state’s drought will break.</p> <p>Bindoon, north of Perth, received the highest fall of 35 mm while the midwest region received what farmers said was welcome rain, but not enough to end the drought conditions. </p> <br />
