{"id":2722,"date":"2022-04-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.farmersweekly.co.nz\/synlait-back-on-profitable-track\/"},"modified":"2022-04-28T10:39:42","modified_gmt":"2022-04-28T10:39:42","slug":"synlait-back-on-profitable-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/news\/synlait-back-on-profitable-track\/","title":{"rendered":"Synlait back on profitable track"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>

Synlait\u2019s interim results were presented by former chief executive John Penno and his successor Grant Watson (pictured).<\/i><\/p>\n

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Synlait has reported a good start to its two-year financial recovery plan, including a 300% increase in net profit after tax in the six months ended January 31.<\/p>\n

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The interim results were the first presentation as chair from co-founder and former chief executive John Penno, and the new CEO Grant Watson, only 10 weeks into the role.<\/p>\n

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Revenue was up 19% to $790.6 million and net profit jumped from $6.4m to $27.9m.<\/p>\n

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Directors also remain confident that the full-year results will deliver \u201crobust profitability\u201d and the recovery programme will enable completion of capital works and reduction of debt to comfortable levels.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe have made some big steps in the right direction as we reset management and governance and rebuild our profitability and balance sheet,\u201d Penno said.<\/p>\n

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Some $5m of the planned $7m of savings from the operational reset was delivered.<\/p>\n

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Net debt is down 19% to $392m, which Penno hailed as perhaps the biggest achievement of the reporting period.<\/p>\n

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Much-reduced sales of infant base powder to a2 Milk were replaced by higher volumes of milk powders, enabling Synlait to forecast a $9.60\/kg milksolids farm gate price for the season.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe turnaround in our Ingredients business and flexibility within our product mix has meant that very high dairy prices have had no impact on our ability to pay a competitive milk price,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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The Pokeno plant fit-out to produce nutritional adult and paediatric plant-based products for the Asia Pacific region is on track and commercial production will start late in 2022.<\/p>\n

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Synlait\u2019s share price has marked time during the past year between $3.20 and $3.80 as the senior appointments were made and the recovery strategy implemented.<\/p>\n

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Before the collapse of a2 infant base powder orders in mid-2020, Synlait was trading around $7 a share.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Synlait has reported a good start to its two-year financial recovery plan, including a 300% increase in net profit after tax in the six months ended January 31.\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":1328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[28],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t