AAco's shares are trading about 2 per cent below the $1.42 a share issue price as the strong Australian dollar offsets strong cattle prices and uncertainty about long-term exports to Indonesia weigh on investors, reports The Australian Financial Review.

But billionaire shareholder Joe Lewis has used the share price weakness to boost his stake. Through his Southeast Point company, Mr Lewis lifted his holding from 10.8 per cent to 11.8 per cent.

AAco was forced to cut its profit outlook during 2011 after a government suspension of live cattle exports to Indonesia.

While trade has resumed, AAco is establishing new markets to help diversify its live cattle earnings. It also wants to develop an abattoir in Darwin to provide processing facilities that offer it a significant freight advantage compared with trucking its cattle to southern Australia.