Sanford has delivered a record interim profit of $42.4 million for the six months to 31 March 2026, a 24.6 percent jump on the prior comparable half, even as overall revenue slipped 5.5 percent to $270.2 million.
The result was announced to the NZX on 14 May under the title “Sanford delivers a record interim profit result” and makes this the strongest first half profit the New Zealand fishing and aquaculture company has reported in its 145 year history. Adjusted earnings before interest and tax climbed 20.3 percent to $65 million, and net debt fell by $63 million to $102.1 million. The board declared a fully imputed interim dividend of 5 cents per share.
The headline figures mask three very different businesses moving in different directions. Salmon revenue fell 17 percent but contribution to group earnings rose 29 percent, with management pointing to a stronger product mix and better realised prices on the cuts that did go out the door. Wild catch revenue rose 7 percent and contribution lifted 32 percent, helped by a $3.6 million one off gain from closing out a fuel derivative position before the worst of the Iran related fuel shock hit in March. Mussels remain the weak spot. Revenue from the green shell business dropped 27 percent and contribution collapsed 57 percent, with the company citing demand and price pressure and a soft scampi catch alongside it.
Chief executive David Mair said the company is positioning to grow safely from this base. “My intention is to position the company with a solid platform that will enable us to grow and take advantage of investment opportunities as and when they arise,” he said. Mair told analysts Sanford would lean first on “no-cost / low-cost opportunities” to add capacity, signalling that any larger capital spend will need to clear a high bar. He described current trading conditions as “interesting times”.
Chair Sir Rob McLeod, who has led the Sanford board through the worst of the post Covid trading conditions, told shareholders he intends to retire from the board “at an appropriate” time during the 2026 calendar year. A successor has not been named.
The share price closed at $8.15 ahead of the announcement, up roughly 65 percent over the past twelve months, valuing the company at just over $760 million. That run has come even as one of Sanford’s three legs, the mussel division, has continued to lag. Investors appear to have decided the rest of the business is now strong enough to carry the weight while management works on the recovery in mussels.
The wild catch story is more nuanced than the topline numbers suggest. The $3.6 million fuel derivative gain helped, but the underlying lift came from better catch rates and an expanded mix of species reaching higher margin markets. Sanford operates one of the largest deepwater fleets in New Zealand and benefits when both volume and species mix line up. The risk in the second half is fuel. Diesel prices in New Zealand have surged on the back of the Middle East conflict, which only really bit after the March balance date, and the company has already flagged the cost pressure as it sets up for the half ending 30 September 2026.
Salmon is now arguably the most interesting part of the story. Big Glory Bay in Stewart Island and Sanford’s Tasman operations have lifted contribution sharply on a smaller sales line, which suggests the company is moving up the value chain, selling more value added product into Asia and North America rather than chasing volume at lower margins. With global salmon prices still elevated and supply from Norway and Chile constrained, the strategy looks well timed.
Mussels are the unresolved question. Sanford is the largest mussel processor in the country and runs farms in the Marlborough Sounds, Coromandel and Stewart Island. The 57 percent contribution drop reflects both softer demand in key European and North American markets and price pressure from a strong Northern Hemisphere harvest. The company has not yet given a clear timeline for when the mussel business will return to historic earnings levels.
Investors took the result well. The fully imputed 5 cent dividend marks a return to half year cash distributions after several leaner periods, and the $63 million reduction in net debt gives management room to invest further in fleet renewal and processing upgrades without leaning on the balance sheet. The company employs around 1,500 people across its New Zealand operations and remains one of the country’s largest seafood exporters.
Sanford is one of the few large primary sector exporters still trading on the NZX, alongside a2 Milk, Synlait, Scales and Seeka. A record half from a 145 year old Auckland headquartered company that flies the flag for New Zealand seafood will be quietly welcomed across the industry, particularly as other parts of the export economy continue to wrestle with currency volatility and global demand softness.
The full result was covered by the NZ Herald and the formal announcement sits on the NZX under code SAN.
What do you make of Sanford’s split between salmon, wild catch and mussels? Do you eat New Zealand seafood often, and would you like to see more local fish, salmon and green shell mussels on Kiwi menus instead of imports? Leave a comment below and tell us what you think.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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