Elders, which has lost Aus$450m over the last two years, forecast a "much improved performance" in 2011, boosted by a sales force shake-up in the face of a new heavyweight competitor – Agrium.

John Ballard, the chairman of the Australian feedlot-to-farm supplies group, said that the results from the first months of the Elders fiscal year, which began in October, had been "favourable, on track and well ahead" of those of a year before.

The improvement had been driven by the rural services division, which was set for a "strong improvement" in earnings, boosted not just by improved agricultural business conditions, but sweeping reforms of the group's sales functions.

Besides revamping salary packages, the shake-up, named "Go to Client", is attempting to incentivise sales through the introduction of phantom equity programmes for branches, and instil what the group calls a "high performance sales culture" including weekly staff reviews and action plans.

About half of Elders' 1,200 front-line staff have been coached so far in improved sales techniques, with the remainder to be trained by March.

"The Go to Client programme is bringing a new level of performance management, coaching, accountability and systems to Elders' day-to-day sales efforts," Mr Ballard told the company's annual meeting.

Rival revived?

The move comes as Elders, which has a stockmarket value of $275m, prepares for enhanced competition from AWB's farm retail chain, Landmark, now that it has been acquired by Agrium, the Canada-based fertilizer and farm services group worth $12.8bn.

Agrium chief executive Mike Wilson on Wednesday, unveiling the sale of AWB's commodity management operations to Cargill, said that Agrium was "excited to be in the important Australian agriculture retail market" and would "strive to realise the full strengths and opportunities that the Landmark business presents".

"We will continue to focus on the successful integration of Landmark in a timely and effective manner," he said.

Agrium is forecasting a jump of 17% to Aus$81m in Landmark's earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) this year, lifted by cuts to overheads, purchasing efficiencies, and by offering a wider range of products.

Difficult times 

The entrance of Agrium has come as 170-year-old Elders is recovering from one of its worst ever downturns - dented by setbacks in its forestry division, including the "collapse" of the managed investment scheme sector in timberlands, as well as by the impact of low crop prices on farm takings.

Elders, once Australia's biggest company, In June stunned markets by ripping up guidance of a Aus$55.7m underlying profit for the year to the end of September and replacing it with a warning of losses of Aus$8m-14m.

Elders shares closed at Aus$0.605 in Sydney on Thursday, down 1.6% on the day, but nearly double the level plumbed after June's profit warning.