Table of Contents
What changed
Revenue rose 12.0% to $187.1m and pro-forma EBITDA swung to a $24.5m profit (FY23: $11.7m on the reported measure, or a $2.7m loss on the pro-forma basis cited in the release). PBT jumped to $40.1m from $2.1m, and NPAT reached $28.5m versus $1.9m. Operating cash flow improved to $13.2m from $10.5m, but lagged the earnings uplift materially. The balance sheet remains net cash: cash rose to $20.9m, gross borrowings edged up to $5.4m, and equity grew 13.3% to $190.3m. Inventories rose 24.7% to $37.1m, running ahead of revenue growth.
What matters
- Second-half shape is the central tension. HY24 delivered $18.5m of pro-forma EBITDA, meaning the implied H2 contribution was only around $6.0m. Revenue was roughly balanced across halves ($91.6m / $95.5m), so the H2 EBITDA step-down points to a margin compression or cost/biology mix effect rather than a demand shortfall.
- Cash conversion deteriorated sharply. OCF/EBITDA fell to 53.9% from 89.5%. Inventory days rose from 64.9 to 72.3, absorbing roughly $7.3m of working capital. Pre-lease free cash flow of $7.2m is well below NPAT of $28.5m (FCF/NPAT 25.2%).
- PBT is the cleaner read. The effective tax rate normalised to 29.0% from 10.5%, so PBT growth of ~1,795% better reflects operating improvement than headline NPAT growth.
Expectations
The board guided FY25 pro-forma EBITDA to $26m-$32m. The midpoint of $29.0m implies an 18.4% uplift on FY24's $24.5m. That step-up looks achievable relative to the full-year FY24 base, but against an implied H2 FY24 run-rate of ~$6.0m EBITDA, FY25 requires a meaningful reacceleration. No forward-work, sales-volume guidance, or harvest-shape context is disclosed in the provided excerpts, so the path to the guidance range cannot be judged from the release alone.
Quality of result
The FY24 result is genuine rather than accounting-assisted, but quality is uneven. EBITDA growth was not matched by cash: working capital absorbed ~$7.8m on the inventory-plus-receivables proxy, driven by a 24.7% inventory build that outpaced 12.0% revenue growth. Capex rose to $6.0m (3.2% of revenue, up from 2.7%). ROE recovered to 15.9% from 1.4%, and leverage remains a net cash position of roughly $15.5m. The pro-forma EBITDA framing is management-defined and the excerpt does not contain a full statutory reconciliation, so the headline turnaround figure should be read alongside the $40.1m statutory PBT.
Unresolved
- What drove the H2 EBITDA step-down from $18.5m to ~$6.0m: harvest timing, fish-health costs, pricing, or seasonal mix?
- Is the inventory build biomass-related (future revenue) or finished-goods stockpiling (working-capital drag)?
- What is the statutory reconciliation between pro-forma EBITDA ($24.5m) and the reported EBITDA figure ($11.7m) in FY24?
- No dividend, no per-share metrics, and no segment or concentration disclosure is included in the provided data.
This briefing cannot assess biological asset valuations, harvest tonnage trajectories, or unit economics, none of which are quantified in the supplied extraction.
Key metrics
| Metric | FY24 | FY23 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $187.1m | $167.1m | +12.0% ↑ |
| EBITDA | $24500m | $11698m | +109.4% ↑ |
| Net profit after tax | $28.5m | $1.9m | +1404.6% ↑ |
| Net cash inflow from operating activities | $13.2m | — | — |
| Profit before tax | $40.1m | $2.1m | +1795.0% ↑ |
| Total assets | $238.9m | $201.3m | +18.7% ↑ |
Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/nzk-fy24
Analytical metrics
| Metric | FY24 | FY23 | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBT growth | n/m | — | cleaner earnings measure |
| Effective tax rate | 29.0% | 10.5% | — |
| OCF / EBITDA (cash conversion) | 53.9% | 89.5% | deteriorated |
| FCF pre-lease | $7.2m | $5.9m | +$1.2m |
| FCF / NPAT | 25.2% | 312.9% | complementary conversion metric |
| Capex % revenue | 3.2% | 2.7% | — |
| Capex | −$6.0m | — | — |
| Debtor days | 27.3 | 29.5 | -2.2 days |
| Inventory days | 72.3 | 64.9 | +7.4 days |
| Operating working capital | $51.0m | $43.2m | +$7.8m absorbed |
| Trade debtors | $14.0m | $13.5m | +$0.5m |
| Net debt | −$15.5m | −$15.7m | +$0.2m |
| Net debt / EBITDA | -0.60x | -1.30x | Weakening |
| Gross borrowings | $5.4m | $3.5m | +$1.9m |
| ROE (annualised) | 15.9% | 1.4% | Strengthening |
| HY24 share of FY24 revenue | 48.9% | — | Other half was 51.1% |
| HY24 share of FY24 EBITDA | 75.3% | — | Other half was 24.7% |
| HY24 share of FY24 NPAT | 37.4% | — | Other half was 62.6% |
| Profit from continuing operations | — | $1.9m | — |
Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/nzk-fy24
This analysis was generated using Annolyse, an AI-powered tool that extracts and analyses NZX company announcements. The underlying data is extracted from official company filings and verified against source documents. This is general information only and does not constitute financial advice. The analysis may contain errors. Always read the original company filings and consult a licensed financial adviser before making investment decisions.