Bega Cheese Ltd · Financials

Bega Cheese's revenue rose every year across the reported decade, from $1.2B in FY2016 to $3.6B in FY2025, nearly tripling in total. The largest annual gains came in FY2021, when revenue climbed 38.9% to $2.1B, and FY2022, when it rose a further 45.2% to $3.0B. Growth then slowed considerably: revenue increased 12.2% in FY2023 to $3.4B, 4.3% in FY2024 to $3.5B, and just 0.8% in FY2025 to $3.6B.

Margins have moved unevenly against that growth. Gross margin rose from 12.8% in FY2016 to a peak of 22.9% in FY2022, before easing slightly to 20.9% in FY2025. Operating margin peaked at 6.1% in FY2018, fell to a low of 0.2% in FY2023, the same year the company reported a net loss, and stood at 0.8% in FY2025. Net margin has twice turned negative across the period, at -6.8% in FY2023 and -0.2% in FY2025, against a high of 11.3% in FY2017.

Diluted earnings per share have moved in step with these swings, from $0.19 in FY2016 to a high of $0.91 in FY2017, before falling to just $0.0211 in FY2019. EPS recovered to $0.29 in FY2021, then turned negative at -$0.75 in FY2023 alongside that year's $229.9M net loss, returned to a positive $0.0996 in FY2024, and slipped to -$0.0279 in FY2025. Basic shares outstanding nearly doubled over the decade, from 152.6 million to 305.0 million, diluting per-share results.

Bega Cheese's balance sheet has expanded considerably over the past decade: total assets grew from $586.7M in FY2016 to a peak of $2.5B in FY2021, before easing to $2.0B in FY2025. Total liabilities followed a similar path, rising from $258.8M to a peak of $1.2B in FY2021 and standing at $1.1B in FY2025, while shareholders' equity increased from $327.8M to $980.2M over the same period, after peaking near $1.3B in FY2021 and FY2022.

Long-term loans rose from $47.5M in FY2016 to a high of $391.9M in FY2021, and have since been reduced to $246.0M in FY2025, equal to about 25.1% of the $980.2M equity base. Short-term debt and bank overdrafts, at $15.2M in FY2016, have been at or near zero in every year since FY2020. Cash and cash equivalents ended FY2025 at $120.9M, up from $9.7M in FY2016 and from $65.6M a year earlier.

Retained earnings climbed from $202.8M in FY2016 to a peak of $364.9M in FY2021, then fell sharply to $97.0M in FY2023 alongside that year's $229.9M net loss, and have continued declining to $67.2M in FY2025. With total liabilities of $1.1B against equity of $980.2M in FY2025, liabilities modestly exceed equity, even as minimal short-term debt and a larger cash balance point to limited near-term refinancing pressure.

Operating cash flow has generally trended higher over the reported decade, from $59.0 million in FY2016 to $165.0 million in FY2025, though the path was not smooth - it dropped to just $8.2 million in FY2023 before recovering strongly. Capital expenditure has risen in step with the business, from $34.0 million in FY2016 to $94.4 million in FY2025, reflecting a larger ongoing investment outlay.

Free cash flow followed the same uneven pattern, climbing from $25.0 million in FY2016 to $86.4 million in FY2022, turning negative at -$59.9 million in FY2023 as operating cash flow collapsed while capital spending stayed high, then recovering to $70.6 million in FY2025 on the back of stronger operating cash generation.

Dividends paid to shareholders rose from $13.7 million in FY2016 to $28.4 million in FY2025, with no stock buybacks recorded in any year of the reported period. The company continued paying dividends even through the weaker FY2023 cash flow year, funding that payment from cash resources rather than the free cash flow generated in that particular year.