News: GNC UPDATE 1-Australia's GrainCorp annual profit more than doubles, sees challenging FY18

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Nov 21 (Reuters) - Australia's largest listed bulk grain handler GrainCorp Ltd (GNC) said on Tuesday its annual net profit more than doubled thanks to last season's bumper wheat crop.

The company said underlying net profit came in at A$141.6 million ($106.85 million) for the year to Sept. 30, up from A$52.7 million and in line with the range of the company's forecast of A$130 million to A$160 million.

Revenue for the period rose 10 percent to A$4.58 billion, after ideal weather pushed Australia's 2016/17 season wheat crop to a record 35.1 million tonnes.

GrainCorp, however, said it expected the 2018 fiscal year to be challenging with dry weather across the country expected to cut wheat production this year to a decade low.

"In FY18, we expect a considerable decline in grain production across eastern Australia due to prolonged dry weather across many grain growing regions," Chief Executive Mark Palmquist said in a statement.

Lower wheat output means GrainCorp, which enjoys near dominance across the east coast, will earn less income from storage and handling, which makes up about 60 percent of the company's revenues.

GrainCorp declared a final dividend of 15 Australian cents per share for the period, up from 3.5 Australian cents the previous year.

The grain handler's shares fell 2.9 percent in early trade to a three-week low, compared with a 0.2 percent rise on the main index (xjo). ($1 = 1.3247 Australian dollars)