Thanks for this summary SB. Not a shareholder but heavily into SFF so this reading was of great interest. This certainly is an industry going gangbusters at the moment.
I wonder if the fact that Blue Sky will now delist, will have any effect on SFF and potentially create more interest.


Yes, it is clear all players are having a purple patch with procurement and market pricing.

Not clear if they will delist from the USX, or not. But with Southern Lamb having 50%+, and then Binxi with 19.?%, then maximum of 30% remaining and any remaining holders have just rebuffed $3.00.

Quote Originally Posted by GTM 3442 View Post
Bluesky was always a second fiddle to SFF in the portfolio, although a decade or so ago, Bluesky seemed to have better prospects with the doubt around SFF's ability to repay their bonds.

Positions have reversed since, but only after the infusion of capital into SFF.

But I have enough SFF to not want to over-concentrate. And I'm not sure that the good times will keep rolling.

I'm in the happy position of starting at a low entry price - 40c - so the dividend yield on my holding is fantastic. I think there are probably a few in the same position.
While always have been a bigger company, SFF was a cot-case there for a while, primarily from the hangover of the price for Richmond. The lifting of the debt noose has done wonders, and while in a better place, should not under-estimate strong/record prices for many products. Great that some of this pricing has migrated to the bottom line. Difficult to make money when markets going the other way.

Blue Sky turn over <1/10th of SFF and is forecast to make >$20m EBITDA this year - so perhaps SFF's performance isn't quite so good in terms of a percentage margin. But over $100m net must be a record for a meat company in NZ, and much has been salted away/invested in CapEx. However there is something to be said for a single plant operator, without a large corporate structure.

I'm also not convinced the good times will continue. They rarely do!! Eg, if there is an issue with China and exports stop, then it equates to about $3/Kg off lamb schedules.

The rise in SFF may mean that some here have an over-concentration in SFF (eh Percy!), having bought at modest pricing. But even excluding the most recent FY, and go back to previous years earnings, PE is still around 5. Net assets >$3 per share.

I'm just still a little perplexed about the Gore plant. Clearly a bit of a lemon and would have needed a decent spend, but they only operated it for 1 season I think and sold it for a couple of mil. Would have thought there would have been a place for an small, cost-efficent beef processor in the area. Beef margins are pretty good at the moment, and CEO would have had beef processing experience. They process Bobby's, so have relationships with dairy farmers for supply.