Gina Rinehart's Hancock Agriculture will use beef profits to finance more property expansion

Ms Rinehart has famously sold off many of the enormous Kidman stations across central and northern Australia to continue her switch to feedlotting for her Wagyu and Santa Gertrudis brands.

"Hancock Prospecting remains committed to increasing its investment in the agricultural sector," the company states in its annual financial report produced this week.

The company said the substantial profits made from its beef operations "are being re-invested in high quality properties as opportunities of value are identified".

Hancock Agriculture operates one of Australia's biggest beef cattle herds across more than 3.5 million hectares of NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, with the portfolio including the famed S. Kidman and Co cattle stations.

In the past year Ms Rinehart has bought Moolan Downs Station in Queensland and Ottley Station in NSW.

Moolan Downs covers 10,029ha (24,782 acres) 200km south east of Roma; while the 8371ha (20,685 acre) Ottley Station is 50km west of Inverell.

The two properties were formerly owned by the Packhorse Pastoral Company and had been sold after the tragic death of co-founder Tom Strachan in a light plane crash in 2022. His son Noah, and pilot Garry Liehm were also killed.

Those Hancock buys followed hot on the heels of the Warra Warra purchase on Queensland's Western Downs and the Wee Waa 6856ha aggregation near Narrabri.

The Hancock Prospecting annual report said Australian Outback Beef Pty Ltd, the 100 per cent owner of S. Kidman and Co Pty Ltd, co-owned with Chinese joint venture partner Shanghai CRED Real Estate, reported revenue of $48.8 million this year.

That revenue was down from $84 million the year before.

Its operations incorporate backgrounding, feedlotting and branded beef products, coupled with the successful divestment of four properties, delivered a strong net profit after tax of $84.8 million.

Posted net profit the year before was $42 million.

"Several properties have been divested during the year after they had been upgraded and significantly improved," the company said.

Those sales of four properties, delivered a strong net profit after tax of $84.8 million which the company said would help fund further land purchases.

Ms Rinehart famously sold off most of her big stations in one of the biggest agricultural land ownership shake-ups in recent history.

A further 2.4 million hectares of her cattle country in the north of Australia were sold last year after her audacious plan to sell off Gina Rinehart has completed her audacious plan to sell off almost two million hectares of station country succeeded the year before.

It is believed the first round of sales raised more than $300 million.

The company said the sell off was "consistent with the recent redirection of the agricultural portfolio within S. Kidman and Co. and Hancock Agriculture".

Some northern country was kept "to allow the continuation of the Kidman supply chain model, breeding cattle in the north for backgrounding in the Channels and supplementing the channel country breeder herd", the company said.

"Suitable cattle will then be delivered into feedlots for preparation for sale in the Kidman boxed beef brand."

This year Ms Rinehart and the boss of her vast agricultural interests, the former NT chief minister Adam Giles, travelled to the UK to launch their beef brand under the UK-Australia free trade deal.