David Mair: Sanford Managing Director on profits surging 224% and reducing debt by half

A big turnaround for fisheries company Sanford with the reveal of their latest profits.  

They’ve reported an after-tax profit of $63.7 million – a 224% increase for the year to September.  

Cash flow was also up 85%, helping cut debt by nearly half to $93.4 million. 

Sanford Managing Director David Mair told Mike Hosking that by focusing on customers, they’re turning the business around.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Back to this good news story of Sandford and the
fishing two hundred and twenty four percent boost and profit
debts are down, the muscles are selling. David Mayor of
Sandford's managing director and is with us.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Good morning, good morning mate.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
So the turnaround journey, is it complete or are we
on our way?

Speaker 2 (00:14):
We're on our way, We're about halfway through, whatever that means.
But it's very pleasing to have such a great result.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
So by way of background, you came from another company,
you relatively knew there. What did you find, what did
you like? What were the problems?

Speaker 2 (00:30):
If I was managing director of scalar Up for fourteen years.
In a funny way, the business principles are the same.
So I'm a purpose guy, not a mission guy or
a vision guy or those kind of things. And by
focusing on customers, true customer focus, we're turning this business around.
But of course that takes time. So the challenges have

(00:52):
been that sense. It had too much debt in my view,
and the debt was increasing, and I'm very focused on
operating cash flow. So the thing I'm most pleased in
the results was simply we created one hundred and thirty
five point three million of operating cash flow and use
that cash flow to pay down debt ninety two point

(01:14):
one million. Repayment of debt our net debt is now
ninety three point four And as you know, well Mike,
that means we're in control of the company, not the bens.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
Is yours a Sandford story as opposed to a fishing story,
then do you think?

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yes? Very much? So I'm to borrow a quote, I'm
there to make Sandford grade again.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
Good? Hen you where's China fit into all of this?
And what can you tell us about China as opposed
to say, America as a market.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Yeah, that's a that's a really interesting thing because you know,
the signals from the government and others are you know,
we we need to diversify away from China. But from
my point of view, you know, I lived in Japan
for ten and a half years. Why bore you with
my history. But the reality is China remains a very
important market for companies like Sanford. The fundamental thing that

(02:05):
the world wants from New Zealand is protein, So Centford's
very much a protein story. In the same way that
you know, many about dairy companies are forms. The largest
one from tier and they will continue to just think
about the population and the growth protein. Growth of protein
for the next ten years is just up. It's very strong.
Back ones. It doesn't sound very exciting selling protein compared

(02:28):
to salmon or muscles or whatever. But China is very
important to us and so we are re establishing strong
relationships there and the business is going well. Right now.
It's tough in China because discretionary spending has dropped away,
and that's just you know, to have internal issues and
things like that. But thus things will get sold. Business

(02:48):
is taking a longer term view, not looking at last month,
next month, that kind of thing.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
What about the US and the tariff, Yeah, it's again.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
The tarff thing is interesting for us, you know, observe
the change in beef and things like that. But for
US and for all New Zealand exporters, it comes down
to who pays. So when it comes to just quickly salmon,
our importers pay the tariff and they believe they can
pass it on the closer you get to it. You know,

(03:21):
a substitutable product, a true commodity like for example, frozen
half shell muscles, it's much easier to substitute so it's
much harder to pass it on where the ultimate consumer
can change. It's had almost no impact on Centford in
the twenty five and we don't see you know key
for how I say that that we don't see a

(03:41):
big impact going forward.

Speaker 1 (03:43):
Well that's encouraging. All I can do is wish you
the very best, David Man, who's the other boss at Sandford.
This morning, right the Epstein vote.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
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