Barramundi Limited/Announcement
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Strong result for Barramundi

Full Year Results21 August 2023BRMFinancials

Barramundi Limited results announcement


Results for announcement to the market

Name of issuer Barramundi Limited

Reporting Period 12 months to 30 June 2023

Previous Reporting Period 12 months to 30 June 2022

Currency NZ$

Amount (000s) Percentage change

Revenue/(Loss) from

continuing operations

43,579 N/A

Total Revenue/(Loss) 43,579 N/A

Net profit/(loss) from

continuing operations

38,334 N/A

Total net profit/(loss) 38,334 N/A

Interim/Final Dividend

Amount per Quoted Equity

Security

$NZ 1.44 cents per share

Imputed amount per Quoted

Equity Security

$NZ 0.00010572

Record Date 7 September 2023

Dividend Payment Date 22 September 2023

Current period Prior comparable period

Net tangible assets per

Quoted Equity Security

$0.72 $0.64

A brief explanation of any of

the figures above necessary

to enable the figures to be

understood

The financial statements attached to this report have been audited by

PricewaterhouseCoopers and are not subject to a qualification. A copy

of the auditor’s report applicable to the financial statements is

attached to this announcement.

Authority for this announcement

Name of person


authorised

to make this announcement

W.A. Burns

Contact person for this

announcement

W.A. Burns

Contact phone number (09) 4840352

Contact email address enquire@barramundi.co.nz

Date of release through MAP


21 August 2023

Audited financial statements accompany this announcement.

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For immediate release:

21 August 2023


Strong result for Barramundi


Highlights

• Net profit after tax for the year ended 30 June 2023 $38.3m

• Total Shareholder return

1

-1.1%

• Adjusted NAV return

2

+23.1%

• Dividend return

3

+ 7.5%


Barramundi Limited (NZX: BRM) today announced a net profit for the 12 months to 30 June 2023 of

$38.3m, a significant turnaround following last year’s net loss of $34.6m.

Key elements of the FY23 result include profit on investments of $39.5m, dividend, interest and

other income of $4.0m, less operating expenses, fees and tax of $5.2m.

The financial year began with heightened global uncertainty for share markets. This included

recession concerns, driven by rapidly rising interest rates as central banks globally sought to stem

rising inflation. Turmoil in parts of the global banking sector in early 2023 also served as a timely

reminder that higher interest rates will impact the global economy for some time to come.

As the year progressed, and with sustained relatively low unemployment across many developed

countries, the Australian economy has proved more resilient. Furthermore, indications of easing

global inflation through the first half of 2023 have tempered investor concerns of how high interest

rates might need to go in this economic cycle.

This supported a rebound in global equity markets over the year including in the US (S&P500 index),

Europe (STOXX 600) and Japan (Nikkei 225). Australia was no exception with Barramundi’s

benchmark index, the S&P/ASX 200 (hedged 70% to NZ$), returning +14.8% in the 12-month period

to 30 June 2023.

Against this backdrop, Barramundi’s portfolio performed particularly well. The portfolio’s Adjusted

net asset value return

2

of 23.1% (26.4% gross performance return

4

), was well above the benchmark

index’s return in the period.

That said, despite the strong increase in net asset value (NAV), the total shareholder return

1

for the

12-month period was -1.1%. This was largely driven by the fall in the share price, which moved from

a 22% premium to NAV, to a 1% discount to NAV over the course of the year.

In accordance with Barramundi’s quarterly distribution policy (2.0% of average NAV per quarter), the

company paid a total of 5.52 cents per share to shareholders during the year ended 30 June 2023.

On 21 August 2023, the board declared a dividend of 1.44 cents per share, payable on 22 September

2023 with a record date of 7 September.

Chair Andy Coupe said “Barramundi has performed well in what has been a volatile year with

markets being driven by a number of factors. The majority of the companies within Barramundi are

delivering solid earnings and the board remains confident in the investment strategy and the
medium to long-term resilience of the portfolio.”

Senior Portfolio Manager Robbie Urquhart added “It was pleasing to see the value of Barramundi’s

NAV rebound strongly in 2023, more than recouping the loss during a difficult 2022. We saw a large

number of our portfolio companies increase the pricing of their goods or services, offsetting

inflationary cost pressures and supporting their earnings growth in the year. Allied to this, our

technology businesses, which are meaningful constituents of our portfolio, also took prudent steps

to rein in their cost growth and prioritise cash flow generation. These are indicators of high calibre

businesses with strong competitive advantages, and sensible management teams. They are the sorts

of qualities we look for in our investments. This has stood Barramundi shareholders in good stead in

what has been an eventful year in markets.”


For further information, please contact:

Wayne Burns

Corporate Manager

Barramundi Limited

Tel: (09) 484 0352


1

Total shareholder return- the return combines the share price performance, the warrant price performance, the net value

of converting any warrants into shares, and the dividends paid to shareholders. It assumes all dividends are reinvested in

the company’s dividend reinvestment plan, and that shareholders exercise their warrants, (if they were in the money), at

warrant expiry date.

2

Adjusted NAV (net asset value) return- the underlying performance of the investment portfolio, adjusted for capital

management initiatives (dividends, buybacks & warrants), and after expenses, fees & tax.

3

Dividend return - is the dividends paid for the period over the average share price for the period.


4

Gross performance return – The Manager’s portfolio performance in terms of stock selection & currency hedging before

expenses, fees and tax.

5

S&P / ASX 200 index (hedged 70% to NZ$).


The total shareholder return, adjusted NAV return and gross performance return methodologies are described in the Barramundi Non-

GAAP Financial Information Policy. A copy of the policy is available at http://www.barramundi.co.nz/about-barramundi/barramundi-

policies/


About Barramundi

Barramundi is a listed investment company that invests in quality, growing Australian companies. The Barramundi portfolio is managed by

Fisher Funds, a specialist fund manager with a track record of successfully investing in growth company shares. The aim of Barramundi is

to offer investors competitive returns through capital growth and dividends, and access to a diversified portfolio of investments through a

single, tax-efficient investment vehicle. Barramundi listed on NZX Main Board on 26 October 2006 and may invest in companies listed on

the Australian Securities Exchange (with a primary focus on those outside the top 20 at the time of investment) or unlisted companies.

---

Independent auditor’s report
To the shareholders of Barramundi Limited

Our opinion

In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements of Barramundi Limited (the Company) present

fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as at 30 June 2023, its financial

performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with New Zealand Equivalents

to International Financial Reporting Standards (NZ IFRS) and International Financial Reporting

Standards (IFRS).

What we have audited

The financial statements comprise:

● the statement of financial position as at 30 June 2023;

● the statement of comprehensive income for the year then ended;

● the statement of changes in equity for the year then ended;

● the statement of cash flows for the year then ended; and

● the notes to the financial statements, which include significant accounting policies and other

explanatory information.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (New Zealand) (ISAs

(NZ)) and International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Our responsibilities under those standards are

further described in theAuditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statementssection of our

report.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis

for our opinion.

Independence

We are independent of the Company in accordance with Professional and Ethical Standard 1

International Code of Ethics for Assurance Practitioners (including International Independence

Standards) (New Zealand)(PES 1) issued by the New Zealand Auditing and Assurance Standards

Board and theInternational Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International

Independence Standards)issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA

Code), and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

Our firm carries out an agreed-upon procedures engagement for the Company in relation to the

performance fee calculation. The provision of this other service has not impaired our independence as

auditor of the Company.

Key audit matters

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in

our audit of the financial statements of the current year. Given the nature of the Company, we have

one key audit matter: Valuation and existence of Australian listed equity investments. This matter was

addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion

thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on this matter.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC Tower, 15 Customs Street West, Private Bag 92162, Auckland 1142 New Zealand

T: +64 9 355 8000, www.pwc.co.nz

Description of the key audit matterHow our audit addressed the key audit matter
Valuation and existence of Australian

listed equity investments

Australian listed equity investments

(the investments) are valued at $194

million and represent 96% of total assets

at 30 June 2023.

Further disclosures on the investments

are included in note 2 to the financial

statements.

This was an area of focus for our audit

and an area where a significant proportion

of audit effort was directed.

As at 30 June 2023, all investments were

in companies that were listed on the ASX

and were actively traded with readily

available, quoted market prices.

All investments are held by Trustees

Executors Limited (the Custodian) on

behalf of the Company.

Our audit procedures included updating our

understanding of the business processes employed by

the Company for accounting for, and valuing, its

investment portfolio.

We obtained confirmation from the Custodian that

the Company was the recorded owner of each of the

investments.

We obtained copies of and assessed Trustees

Executors Limited’s Internal Controls Reports for

Custody, Investment Accounting and Registry services

for the period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. We

also obtained confirmation from Trustees Executors

Limited that there had been no material change to

the control environment in the period from 1 April 2023

to 30 June 2023.

We agreed the price for all investments held at 30

June 2023 and the exchange rate at which they have

been converted from Australian dollars to New

Zealand dollars to independent third-party pricing

sources.

Our audit approach

Overview

MaterialityOverall materiality: $996,000, which represents approximately 0.5% of net

assets.

We chose net assets as the benchmark because, in our view, the

objective of the Company is to provide investors with a total return on its

assets, taking account of both capital and income returns.

Key audit mattersAs reported above, we have one key audit matter, being:

Valuation and existence of Australian listed equity investments.

As part of designing our audit, we determined materiality and assessed the risks of material

misstatement in the financial statements. In particular, we considered where management made

subjective judgements; for example, in respect of significant accounting estimates that involved

making assumptions and considering future events that are inherently uncertain. As in all of our audits,

we also addressed the risk of management override of internal controls, including among other

matters, consideration of whether there was evidence of bias that represented a risk of material

misstatement due to fraud.

We tailored the scope of our audit in order to perform sufficient work to enable us to provide an opinion

on the financial statements as a whole, taking into account the structure of the Company, the

accounting processes and controls, and the industry in which the Company operates.

PwC

2

Materiality
The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. An audit is designed to obtain

reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement.

Misstatements may arise due to fraud or error. They are considered material if, individually or in

aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on

the basis of the financial statements.

Based on our professional judgement, we determined certain quantitative thresholds for materiality,

including the overall materiality for the financial statements as a whole as set out above. These,

together with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit, the nature,

timing and extent of our audit procedures and to evaluate the effect of misstatements, both individually

and in aggregate, on the financial statements as a whole.

Other information

The Directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the

information included in the annual report, but does not include the financial statements and our

auditor's report thereon. The annual report is expected to be made available to us after the date of this

auditor's report.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we will not express

any form of audit opinion or assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other

information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the

financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially

misstated.

When we read the other information not yet received, if we conclude that there is a material

misstatement therein, we are required to communicate the matter to the Directors and use our

professional judgement to determine the appropriate action to take.

Responsibilities of the Directors for the financial statements

The Directors are responsible, on behalf of the Company, for the preparation and fair presentation of

the financial statements in accordance with NZ IFRS and IFRS, and for such internal control as the

Directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from

material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Directors are responsible for assessing the Company’s

ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and

using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Directors either intend to liquidate the

Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements, as a whole,

are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that

includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that

an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (NZ) and ISAs will always detect a material misstatement

when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually

or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users

taken on the basis of these financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located at the

External Reporting Board’s website at:

https://www.xrb.govt.nz/assurance-standards/auditors-responsibilities/audit-report-2/

This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

PwC

3

Who we report to
This report is made solely to the Company’s shareholders, as a body. Our audit work has been

undertaken so that we might state those matters which we are required to state to them in an auditor’s

report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume

responsibility to anyone other than the Company and the Company’s shareholders, as a body, for our

audit work, for this report or for the opinions we have formed.

The engagement partner on the audit resulting in this independent auditor’s report is Philip Taylor.

For and on behalf of:

Chartered AccountantsAuckland

21 August 2023


PwC 4

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