Annolyse
BriefingsCompaniesInsightsPrinciplesCompareChatWatchlist

Explore

  • Briefings
  • Companies
  • Insights
  • Compare

Resources

  • Search
  • Methodology

© 2026 Annolyse.

←Back to companies

SML · NZX

Synlait Milk (SML)

Primary Industries / Dairy processing•Covered: HY21 - HY26•8 published briefings

Synlait Milk is an NZX-listed primary industries / dairy processing company with HY21 - HY26 of published result briefings.

Latest briefing

HY26 · Released 23 March 2026

EBITDA margin hit an unprecedented -4.5% with FCF at -NZ$195.0m

Continuing-operations EBITDA swung to a NZ$34.7m loss while Synlait disposed of North Island assets and withdrew FY26 guidance.

Market data

Latest available
Price
NZD 0.41
Mkt cap
$250.3m
Yield
0%

Quote as of 05-06-2026 3:45pm NZT

Sections⌄
  1. Snapshot
  2. Chat
  3. Longitudinal View
  4. Follow-through
  5. Archive
  6. Related Insights
  1. Snapshot
  2. Chat
  3. Longitudinal View
  4. Follow-through
  5. Archive
  6. Related Insights

Snapshot

Latest metrics

HY26, released 23 March 2026

← Swipe to view more
SML latest metrics
MetricValueChange
Revenue$777.6m↓ -15.2%
EBITDA-$34.7m↓ -155.0%
NPAT-$80.6m↓ -1779.2%
Operating cash flow-$183.4m↓ -1423.3%
OCF / EBITDA %528.4%↑ +547.5pp
Net debt$472.1m↑ +20.5%
Net debt / EBITDA-13.61x↓ -319.2%
ROE %-11.2%↓ -11.8pp
DPS0.0c—
PBT-$66.1m↓ -981.3%

Source: latest published briefing (HY26, released 23 March 2026). Change compares against the prior equivalent period: HY25, released 24 March 2025.

Chat

Ask about SML

Ask follow-up questions about Synlait Milk's latest result and company history.

Informational only. No buy, sell, hold, price-target, or personal financial advice.

Ask about SML

Informational only. No buy, sell, hold, price-target, or personal financial advice.

Sign in to chat

Sign in to ask company questions.

What changed in the latest result?What is unusual in the historical context?How has cash conversion changed over time?Compare this company with CNU.

Checking account...

Longitudinal view

Performance over time

The latest period is shown first.

← Swipe to view more
SML metric history
MetricHY266 MONTHS23 March 2026HY256 MONTHS24 March 2025HY246 MONTHS2 April 2024FY2312 MONTHS25 September 2023HY236 MONTHS27 March 2023HY226 MONTHS1 April 2022FY2112 MONTHS27 September 2021HY216 MONTHS29 March 2021Trend
Revenue$777.6m$916.8m$652.9m$1.3b$769.8m$790.6m$1.4b$664.2m
Chart
Revenue growth %-15.2%40.4%Unprecedented highUnprecedented high revenue growth. 40.4%; 5-period range -15.2% to 19%. Revenue growth: 40.4%, unprecedented high; 5-period mean 0.9%, range -15.2%-19.0%.-15.2%-20.5%-2.6%19.0%5.0%18.8%
Chart
  • HY25 Revenue growth %: Unprecedented high revenue growth. 40.4%; 5-period range -15.2% to 19%. Revenue growth: 40.4%, unprecedented high; 5-period mean 0.9%, range -15.2%-19.0%.
EBITDA-$34.7m$63.1m$19.9m$90.7m$51.5m$68.4m$37.3m$47.7m
Chart
EBITDA margin %-4.5%Unprecedented lowUnprecedented low ebitda margin. -4.5%; 5-period range 3% to 8.7%. EBITDA margin: -4.5%, unprecedented low; 5-period mean 6.5%, range 3.0%-8.7%.6.9%3.0%6.9%6.7%8.7%Outside range highOutside range high ebitda margin. 8.7%; 5-period range -4.5% to 7.2%. EBITDA margin: 8.7%, above normal range; 5-period mean 3.9%, range -4.5%-7.2%.2.7%7.2%
Chart
  • HY26 EBITDA margin %: Unprecedented low ebitda margin. -4.5%; 5-period range 3% to 8.7%. EBITDA margin: -4.5%, unprecedented low; 5-period mean 6.5%, range 3.0%-8.7%.
PBT-$66.1m$7.5m-$94.9m-$20.3m$6.1m$31.1m-$39.2m$8.5m
Chart
PBT growth %————-80.4%265.9%—-77.0%
Chart
NPAT-$80.6m$4.8m-$96.2m-$4.3m$4.8m$27.9m-$28.5m$6.4m
Chart
NPAT growth %————-82.8%335.9%—-75.6%
Chart
Operating cash flow-$183.4m-$12m-$98.1m$39m-$124.7m$117.3m$15.9m-$69.1m
Chart
OCF / EBITDA %528.4%-19.1%-493.0%43.0%-242.1%171.4%42.5%-144.9%
Chart
FCF pre-lease-$195m-$23.4m-$114.8m-$26.1m-$158.1m$71.3m-$100.3m-$131.7m
Chart
DPS0.0c———————
—
ROE %-11.2%0.6%-13.8%-0.5%0.6%Outside range lowOutside range low roe. 0.6%; 3-period range 0.6% to 3.7%. ROE: 0.6%, below normal range; 3-period mean 1.7%, range 0.6%-3.7%.3.7%Outside range highOutside range high roe. 3.7%; 3-period range 0.6% to 0.8%. ROE: 3.7%, above normal range; 3-period mean 0.7%, range 0.6%-0.8%.-3.7%0.8%
Chart
  • HY23 ROE %: Outside range low roe. 0.6%; 3-period range 0.6% to 3.7%. ROE: 0.6%, below normal range; 3-period mean 1.7%, range 0.6%-3.7%.
Net debt$472.1m$391.9m$559.3m$413.4m$516.9m$391.8m$476.9m$482m
Chart
Net debt / EBITDA-13.61x6.21x28.1xUnprecedented highUnprecedented high net debt / ebitda. 28.11x; 4-period range 5.7x to 10.1x. Net debt / EBITDA: 28.11x, unprecedented high; 4-period mean 8.01x, range 5.70x-10.10x.4.56x10.04x5.73xOutside range lowOutside range low net debt / ebitda. 5.7x; 4-period range 6.2x to 28.11x. Net debt / EBITDA: 5.70x, below normal range; 4-period mean 13.61x, range 6.20x-28.11x.12.79x10.11x
Chart
  • HY24 Net debt / EBITDA: Unprecedented high net debt / ebitda. 28.11x; 4-period range 5.7x to 10.1x. Net debt / EBITDA: 28.11x, unprecedented high; 4-period mean 8.01x, range 5.70x-10.10x.
Debtor days47Outside range highOutside range high debtor days. 47d; 4-period range 0d to 36d. Debtor days: 46.6 days, above normal range; 4-period mean 17.5 days, range 0.0 days-36.1 days.36021002734
Chart
  • HY26 Debtor days: Outside range high debtor days. 47d; 4-period range 0d to 36d. Debtor days: 46.6 days, above normal range; 4-period mean 17.5 days, range 0.0 days-36.1 days.
Inventory days9969Unprecedented lowUnprecedented low inventory days. 69d; 5-period range 77d to 111d. Inventory days: 68.9 days, unprecedented low; 5-period mean 97.4 days, range 77.3 days-111.4 days.88691117772111Outside range highOutside range high inventory days. 111d; 5-period range 69d to 111d. Inventory days: 111.4 days, above normal range; 5-period mean 88.9 days, range 68.9 days-110.6 days.
Chart
  • HY25 Inventory days: Unprecedented low inventory days. 69d; 5-period range 77d to 111d. Inventory days: 68.9 days, unprecedented low; 5-period mean 97.4 days, range 77.3 days-111.4 days.
Total assets$1.8b$1.7b$1.7b$1.7b$1.9b$1.7b$1.6b$1.8b
Chart

Reference: annolyse.ai/companies/sml

Note: Figures are shown as reported. Half-year and full-year absolute values are not directly comparable. Growth rates and ratios are the meaningful comparison across mixed periods.

Operating working-capital movement

Per-period working-capital absorption or release, from the same published history. Positive values are working-capital build; negative values are release.

↗
Loading chart...
  • HY23 SML: Outside range high operating working-capital movement. $132.2m; 5-period range $-151.5m to $76.6m. Operating working-capital movement: NZ$132.2m, above normal range; 3/5 prior periods had builds averaging NZ$46.4m, and 2 had releases averaging NZ$-111.1m.
  • HY24 SML: Unprecedented low operating working-capital movement. $-151.5m; 5-period range $-70.8m to $132.2m. Operating working-capital movement: NZ$-151.5m, unprecedented low; 4/5 prior periods had builds averaging NZ$67.9m, and 1 had releases averaging NZ$-70.8m.

The setup & the reality

HY25 → HY26 Follow-through

The latest result is checked against what the prior briefing said to watch.

Current result now available

HY26 · Released 23 March 2026

EBITDA margin hit an unprecedented -4.5% with FCF at -NZ$195.0m

Continuing-operations EBITDA swung to a NZ$34.7m loss while Synlait disposed of North Island assets and withdrew FY26 guidance.

Read latest briefing→

Historical setup

What HY25 said to watch

From Synlait swung to $7.5m PBT on 40.4% revenue jump and deleveraging to 6.2x

No forward guidance or stated targets are supplied. The release notes EBITDA was "just above the guidance range announced in January 2025," indicating the company met its own near-term bar. The supplied second-half shape context is unreliable: HY24 represented 39.9% of FY24 revenue but -0.5% of FY24 EBITDA and 52.8% of FY24 NPAT, because FY24 carried large second-half write-downs (full-year EBITDA was -$4.1b). Annualising HY25 revenue would imply $1.8b versus FY24 reported revenue of $1.6b, but the seasonality assumption embedded in that figure cannot be supported from the supplied data.

The release does not state H2 milk-price assumptions, customer-contract phasing, or capex plans, so the read-through to FY25 is limited to: EBITDA delivery met the company's own range, and leverage has been reset.

Open questions

Open questions from HY25

  • Why was the effective tax rate -35.9%, and what is the normalised rate investors should apply to H2 and FY26?
  • What drove the 40.4% revenue lift — volume, milk-price pass-through, new customer contracts, or a low base — and how much is repeatable in H2?
  • How sustainable is the inventory-days reduction from 88.2 to 68.9, and is any of it customer-driven destocking that reverses in H2?
  • What is the path from 6.2x leverage to a target gearing level, and does management see further debt reduction in H2 without further equity?
  • Why is Foodservice still loss-making at a -6.5% derived margin, and what is the plan for that segment?

This briefing cannot assess milk-price assumptions, customer concentration, or H2 demand visibility, none of which are quantified in the supplied materials.

Archive

Briefing archive

Every published Annolyse briefing for this company appears here in reverse chronological order.

HY26 · Released 23 March 2026

EBITDA margin hit an unprecedented -4.5% with FCF at -NZ$195.0m

Continuing-operations EBITDA swung to a NZ$34.7m loss while Synlait disposed of North Island assets and withdrew FY26 guidance.

Read briefing→

HY25 · Released 24 March 2025

Synlait swung to $7.5m PBT on 40.4% revenue jump and deleveraging to 6.2x

Operating cash flow stayed negative at -$12.0m and a tax credit lifted reported NPAT, leaving the durability of the turnaround as the open question.

Read briefing→

HY24 · Released 2 April 2024

Net debt/EBITDA hit 28.1x as $514m of debt falls due within 12 months

EBITDA margin collapsed to an unprecedented 3.0% on a 15.2% revenue decline, leaving the balance sheet under acute refinancing pressure.

Read briefing→

FY23 · Released 25 September 2023

Cash conversion fell to 43% and net debt/EBITDA jumped to 4.6x

Continuing operations swung to a $14.1m loss as a Dairyworks discontinued-operation gain partly cushioned reported NPAT.

Read briefing→

HY23 · Released 27 March 2023

Working capital absorbed NZ$132.2m, flipping OCF to a NZ$124.7m outflow

FY23 NPAT guidance cut to a NZ$(5)m–NZ$5m range as inventory build pushes net debt/EBITDA to 10.04x and Advanced Nutrition demand softens.

Read briefing→

HY22 · Released 1 April 2022

Inventory release of NZ$70.8m powered Synlait's cash flow recovery

EBITDA rose 43.4% to NZ$68.4m but the unprecedented NZ$117.3m operating cash flow leans on a working-capital release that may not repeat.

Read briefing→

FY21 · Released 27 September 2021

Synlait swung to a $28.5m NPAT loss after a2 Milk volume reset

Revenue rose 5.0% but H2 EBITDA turned negative and operating cash flow fell 85%, leaving net debt at 12.8x EBITDA.

Read briefing→

HY21 · Released 29 March 2021

Revenue +18.8% on Dairyworks but PBT -77.0% as infant formula slid 16%

Headline growth reflects the Dairyworks acquisition while infant formula volumes fell 16% and inventory days reached 111.4, above the historical

Read briefing→

Related insights

Compare this company

The latest SML metrics also appear in these cross-company views.

Insight

Earnings quality and statutory distortions

This result includes a statutory earnings-quality distortion flag.

Open insight→

Insight

Working-capital pressure

Inventory days were 99 days, +30 days versus the prior comparable period.

Open insight→

Insight

Revenue growth context

Revenue growth was -15.2% for this reporting period.

Open insight→

Get notified when SML publishes

Get the next Synlait Milk result briefing and five-year history updates by email.