Hansells Food auditor retains 'material uncertainty' tag in latest unprofitable year
The company recorded a loss of $6.8 million in the year ended March 31, from a loss of $9.4 million a year earlier.
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Hansells Food Group's auditor has again cited material uncertainty related to the food ingredients company's ability to continue as a going concern after it posted a drop in sales and a narrower full-year loss.
The owner of brands including Hansells cooking ingredients, Thriftee drink concentrate, WeightWatchers foods, Alfa One rice bran oil, Vitafresh and Vitasport drinks, recorded a loss of $6.8 million in the year ended March 31, from a loss of $9.4 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 15 percent to $103.7 million, according to the Auckland-based company's annual report. Cost of sales fell 12 percent to $79.7 million.
Auditor BDO Auckland cited the loss in its audit of the accounts while noting that current liabilities exceeded current assets by $34 million and negative net assets had widened to $7.4 million from $1.6 million in 2016.
Notes to the company's accounts say it has received continued support letters from controlling shareholder Varapong Supachok, with a 65.9 percent holding, and from Thailand's Kasisuri Co, which owns about 5 percent and is associated with Varapong Supachok. Hansells has negative working capital of $34 million from $31 million in 2016. Included in that negative working capital balance are trade payables and interest bearing loans owed to Kasisuri of about $42 million, up from $36 million a year earlier.
Mr Supachok, who is based in Thailand, is chairman of Hansells and is also a shareholder and chief operating officer of Kasisuri. The notes reiterate the company's view in its 2016 accounts, saying the going concern assumption assumes no significant changes in either the New Zealand or UK operations, the attainment of expected cost savings from restructuring in Australia and continued funding from Scottish Pacific, Kasisuri and Supachok.
Hansells had $14.5 million of loans from Scottish Pacific and related parties at balance date, down from $18 million a year earlier. The loans mature in 2017. In the latest year finance costs fell to $3.8 million from $5 million.
Other costs also fell. Freight and distribution expenses declined to $5.7 million from $8.6 million while sales and marketing costs slipped to $19.9 million from $20.8 million. Administration expenses dropped to $1.5 million from $5.8 million.
Hansells managing director and founder Ross MacKenzie is the company's second-largest shareholder with 21%.
(BusinessDesk)
Jonathan Underhill
Mon, 04 Sep 2017
Mon, 04 Sep 2017
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Hansells Food auditor retains 'material uncertainty' tag in latest unprofitable year
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