WELLINGTON: Sanford reported a 38 percent drop in annual profit after New Zealand’s largest listed fishing group wrote down the value of businesses and exited some struggling units.
Net profit fell to $13.8 million, or 14.8 cents per share, in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, from $22.4 million, or 24 cents a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. That included impairment charges of $13.3 million and $3 million of restructuring costs after Sanford wrote down a series of assets, some of which it sold.
Revenue slipped 1.1 percent to $455.3 million. Before one off-costs and exchange rate impacts, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 16 percent to $69.3 million.
“The year was marked by the introduction of a new direction which led to the introduction of anew logo and tagline and changes in the organisational structure, the way we work and in the focus of our resources,” chief executive Volker Kuntzsch said. “The next step will be a consolidation of these changes into specific activities pointed at creating value.”
The company has pared back its operations in the past year, closing an unprofitable mussel processing factory in Christchurch, exiting the Pacific tuna business and putting the unit’s fleet up for sale, and writing down the value of its Australian operations due to a limited quota holding across the Tasman.
The board declared a final dividend of 14 cents per share, payable on Dec. 9 with a Dec. 2 record date. That takes the annual payout to 23 cents per share, unchanged from a year earlier. The shares rose 1 percent to $5.15, and have gained 6.3 percent so far this year. The announcement came just before the close of trading.
Chairman Paul Norling signalled plans to seek an increase in the pool for directors fees in his commentary in the annual report, saying they need to stay in line with the market after an underspend of some $341,000 over the past four years. The board will seek shareholder approval at the upcoming annual meeting to raise the pool to $700,000, effective from Oct. 1, 2015, from the current level of $630,000.
“This increase will reflect the midpoint of the market median amongst publicly listed companies of similar size and complexity, and will also provide some minor un-utilised flexibility should additional or ‘one off’ costs arise,” Norling said.
Sanford didn’t provide earnings guidance for the 2016 year, saying it will focus on bedding in changes from the past year and look boost its use of fish by-products and waste.
