Seeka Limited
Six Months to 30 June 2017 [Unaudited]
This announcement should be read in conjunction with the attachments.
Review of operations for the six months ended 30 June 2017
Revenue for the six months ended June 2017 totalled $134.01m (2016:
$134.24m).
Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation
(EBITDA) totalled $21.93m (2016: $15.84m);
up 38%. EBITDA from Seeka Australia totalled $3.41m (2016: $1.52m); up 124%.
Profits are up in the first six months reflecting a strong lift in earnings
in Australia and a lift in earnings from Seeka''s
avocado business and seasonal timing differences.
Consolidated profit after tax for the six months totalled $11.09m (2016:
$7.12m); up 56%.
Cash flow from operations totalled $1.13m (2016: $3.31m); down largely due to
the decrease of Hayward (green) kiwifruit
yields in the current year.
Cash invested in property plant and equipment totalled $13.22m (2016:
$24.84m); down on the pcp. Major capital
expenditure items included packing plant at Peninsula and Main Road, and the
completion of coolstores at Main Road and
Transcool.
Seeka''s New Zealand coolstore infrastructure is now largely in balance with
2018 expected crop volumes. The next large project
under consideration is replacement of the KKP packing machine in 2019.
Net debt at 30 June (bank loans less bank deposits) totalled $94.55m (2016:
$76.87m); an increase of $17.68m.
Advances of $7.5m were repaid from Seeka Growers to Seeka in July 2017.
Highlights
o Profit after tax of $11.09m (2016: $7.12m), an increase of 56%.
o Significant improvement in earnings from Seeka Australia with earnings
before interest and tax of NZD$3.00m
(2016: $1.23m), up 144%.
o Successful completion to the New Zealand avocado selling season with Seeka
handling 487,095 export trays (2016:
225,656 export trays) delivering $24.85 per tray to growers (2016: $26.86).
o Successful and safe harvest seasons for all crops across Australia and New
Zealand including kiwifruit, avocados,
nashi, plums, pears and cherries.
o Installation of a new $5.8m Compac Spectrim packing machine at Main Road
Katikati that offers automated grading
with relocation of the existing machine to the Peninsula packhouse to handle
increases in Coromandel-grown crop.
o Completion of the coolstore and pre-cooling capacity upgrades at Main Road,
Katikati and at KKP and Transcool, Te
Puke costing in excess of $9.2m.
o Initiation of Seeka''s Australian orchard plan that will result in Seeka
developing at least 40 hectares of new kiwifruit
orchard at Shepparton over the next five years.
Dividend announcement
A dividend of $0.10 per share has been declared by the Board. The dividend is
fully imputed and will be paid on the 22
September 2017 to those shareholders on the register at 5pm on 15 September
2017. The dividend reinvestment plan will
apply to the distribution.
Outlook
Seeka is anticipating lower operational earnings for the full financial year
in 2017 reflecting a significantly lower Hayward
(green) kiwifruit crop across New Zealand. Seeka''s New Zealand kiwifruit
volumes were 21% lower than the previous
corresponding period.
Operational earnings are anticipated to be lower by up to 15% and this
guidance remains in place. Seeka will advise the
market should there be a significant change in guidance and will confirm
guidance at the stakeholder meeting to be held on
Wednesday 18 October 2017.
For more information contact
Michael Franks
Chief Executive
021 356 516
Stuart McKinstry
Chief Financial Officer
021 221 5583
Notes
1. This announcement should be read in conjunction with the attached half
year report (unaudited). A copy of the half
year report can also be found on Seeka''s website Seeka.co.nz.
2. EBITDA is considered by the board to be a key measure of performance and a
reflection of cash flow generation.
End CA:00306159 For:SEK Type:INTERIM Time:2017-08-25 10:22:23