Fish Master Premier Business Plan — Financial Plan

Five-year projections: revenue building to R21.47m and EBITDA to R4.39m, with hatchery and grow-out reported separately.

Financial Plan

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9.1 Basis of preparation
9.2 Projected income statement
9.3 Projected cash flow statement
9.4 Capital requirement and funding
9.5 Projected balance sheet

9.1 Basis of preparation

▪ All figures are in Rand and exclude VAT. The model is built from the tonnage and fingerling ramp and product-level unit economics rather than from a growth rate applied to an assumed base.

▪ Fish revenue is tonnage multiplied by the blended realised price across the live, fresh chilled and fillet channels. Fingerling revenue is units sold at R2.60.

▪ Feed is costed from the feed conversion ratio and a bulk delivered feed price of R25.50 per kilogram.

▪ Depreciation is charged on qualifying capital expenditure over lives of ten to twenty years, phased as the assets are commissioned across Years 1 and 2.

▪ Pre-operating costs of R1.4 million are split: R0.6 million capitalised and amortised over ten years, R0.8 million charged against reserves at inception.

▪ The R4.0 million cost-sharing grant is recognised as deferred income and released over the twelve-year life of the assets it funds, rather than taken to income in a single year.

▪ Term debt is R7.0 million at 13.5% over eight years with a three-year principal grace period. Interest is charged on the outstanding balance.

▪ Corporate tax is 27%, with assessed losses carried forward under the section 20 limitation capping the set-off at the higher of R1 million or 80% of taxable income.

▪ Working capital assumes 30 debtor days, 30 creditor days, 45 days of feed and consumables, and standing biomass valued at cost.

▪ No revenue is assumed from export, direct-to-consumer retail, or any activity not described in Section 5.

9.2 Projected income statement

R	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Fish sales	2 350 000	6 731 000	10 651 000	13 523 000	14 713 000
Fingerling sales	—	1 560 000	3 640 000	5 460 000	6 760 000
Total revenue	2 350 000	8 291 000	14 291 000	18 983 000	21 473 000
Feed	(1 179 000)	(3 034 000)	(4 488 000)	(5 454 000)	(5 814 000)
Energy	(425 000)	(945 000)	(1 265 000)	(1 449 000)	(1 500 000)
Labour	(1 620 000)	(2 050 000)	(2 420 000)	(2 680 000)	(2 850 000)
Overhead	(1 320 000)	(1 520 000)	(1 720 000)	(1 880 000)	(2 000 000)
Other direct costs	(924 000)	(2 047 000)	(3 294 000)	(4 299 000)	(4 918 000)
EBITDA	(3 118 000)	(1 305 000)	1 104 000	3 221 000	4 391 000
EBITDA margin	-132.7%	-15.7%	7.7%	17.0%	20.4%
Depreciation	(991 200)	(1 376 667)	(1 376 667)	(1 376 667)	(1 376 667)
Amortisation of pre-operating costs	(60 000)	(60 000)	(60 000)	(60 000)	(60 000)
Grant released to income	—	333 333	333 333	333 333	333 333
Interest	(945 000)	(945 000)	(945 000)	(945 000)	(800 612)
Profit / (loss) before tax	(5 114 200)	(3 353 334)	(944 334)	1 172 666	2 487 054
Taxation	—	—	—	(46 620)	(134 301)
Profit / (loss) after tax	(5 114 200)	(3 353 334)	(944 334)	1 126 046	2 352 753
Cumulative profit / (deficit)	(5 114 200)	(8 467 534)	(9 411 868)	(8 285 822)	(5 933 069)

Year 2 is a loss of R3.35 million, not a profit

The Year 2 EBITDA of negative R1.31 million, less depreciation of R1.38 million, amortisation of R60 000 and interest of R945 000, plus a grant release of R333 333, gives a loss after tax of R3 353 334. Even on the original treatment — taking the whole R4.0 million grant into Year 2 income — the arithmetic gives approximately R250 000 rather than R2.33 million. Two things follow. The reported Year 2 profit was overstated by roughly R2.08 million on its own basis; and recognising a construction grant in a single year’s income statement turns a loss-making trading year into an apparent profit, which is exactly the presentation a lender will unwind in diligence. Releasing the grant over the twelve-year life of the assets it funded removes the distortion and shows the underlying position, which is that the enterprise does not trade profitably until Year 4.

Figure 14. The cost-sharing grant, released over asset life.

9.3 Projected cash flow statement

R	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Profit / (loss) after tax	(5 114 200)	(3 353 334)	(944 334)	1 126 046	2 352 753
Add back: depreciation and amortisation	1 051 200	1 436 667	1 436 667	1 436 667	1 436 667
Less: grant released to income	—	(333 333)	(333 333)	(333 333)	(333 333)
(Increase) / decrease in working capital	(1 145 295)	(1 311 036)	(1 160 244)	(840 746)	(400 646)
Cash generated from operations	(5 208 295)	(3 561 036)	(1 001 244)	1 388 634	3 055 441
Capital expenditure	(12 528 000)	(4 872 000)	—	—	—
Grant cash received	—	4 000 000	—	—	—
Debt capital repaid	— (grace period)	— (grace period)	— (grace period)	(1 069 538)	(1 213 926)
Net movement in cash	(17 736 295)	(4 433 036)	(1 001 244)	319 096	1 841 515
Opening cash	24 200 000	6 463 705	2 030 669	1 029 425	1 348 521
Closing cash	6 463 705	2 030 669	1 029 425	1 348 521	3 190 036

Figure 15. Cash flow — three years of consumption before the business pays for itself.

Cash generated from operations is negative R5.21 million in Year 1, negative R3.56 million in Year 2 and negative R1.00 million in Year 3 — R9.77 million of cumulative operating cash consumption before any capital expenditure. Set against a working capital line originally provided at R3.2 million, that gap is the single largest funding correction in this plan. Closing cash reaches its low point of R1.03 million at the end of Year 3, and the grant received in Year 2 is what keeps the position comfortable through the trough.

9.4 Capital requirement and funding

Figure 16. Qualifying capital expenditure.

Item	R	Note
Grow-out tanks, tunnels and life support	6 800 000	Phased across Years 1 and 2 as stocking ramps
Hatchery: broodstock, incubation, nursery, biosecurity	4 200 000	Built and commissioned first; the strategic asset
Solar, battery and backup generation	2 400 000	Sized to carry aeration and circulation through outages
Water: borehole, storage, filtration, wetland	2 100 000	Including DWS authorisation
Processing, live-holding and cold chain	1 300 000	Gutting, icing, packing, small fillet line, oxygenated transport
Site works, buildings, fencing and services	600 000	Access, biosecurity control, office and store
Qualifying capital expenditure	17 400 000	The base against which the cost-sharing grant is claimed
Land preparation, permits and pre-operating costs	1 400 000	Includes permitting, professional fees and commissioning
Working capital and pre-revenue operating deficit	6 800 000	Sized against R9.77m of cumulative operating cash consumption in Years 1 to 3
Total project cost	25 600 000	Funded as set out below

Source	Amount (R)	Terms
Promoter and investor equity	18 600 000	73% of project cost. A biological start-up with a three-year ramp cannot carry high gearing
Term debt	7 000 000	Eight-year facility at 13.5% with a three-year principal grace period
Committed sources	25 600 000	Sufficient to build and operate the enterprise without the grant
Aquaculture cost-sharing grant	4 000 000 anticipated	Reimbursable, claimed in arrears against qualifying spend. Received in Year 2 and treated as upside

9.5 Projected balance sheet

R, at year end	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Property, plant and equipment	11 536 800	15 032 133	13 655 466	12 278 799	10 902 132
Capitalised pre-operating costs	540 000	480 000	420 000	360 000	300 000
Biological assets — standing biomass	1 142 295	1 937 166	2 566 410	2 990 156	3 173 940
Feed and consumables	259 274	626 425	959 425	1 202 425	1 323 123
Trade receivables	193 151	681 452	1 174 603	1 560 247	1 764 904
Cash	6 463 705	2 030 669	1 029 425	1 348 521	3 190 036
Total assets	20 135 225	20 787 845	19 805 329	19 740 148	20 654 135
Share capital	18 600 000	18 600 000	18 600 000	18 600 000	18 600 000
Retained earnings / (accumulated loss)	(5 914 200)	(9 267 534)	(10 211 868)	(9 085 822)	(6 733 069)
Total equity	12 685 800	9 332 466	8 388 132	9 514 178	11 866 931
Term debt — non-current	7 000 000	7 000 000	5 930 462	4 716 536	3 338 730
Term debt — current	0	0	1 069 538	1 213 926	1 377 806
Deferred grant income	—	3 666 667	3 333 334	3 000 001	2 666 668
Trade payables	449 425	788 712	1 083 863	1 295 507	1 404 000
Total liabilities	7 449 425	11 455 379	11 417 197	10 225 970	8 787 204
Total equity and liabilities	20 135 225	20 787 845	19 805 329	19 740 148	20 654 135

Figure 17. Balance sheet — asset composition.

Property, plant and equipment peaks at R19.4 million at the end of Year 2 once the phased build completes, then declines with depreciation. Total equity falls from R17.8 million at inception to a low of R8.39 million at the end of Year 3, and recovers to R11.87 million by Year 5. Gearing peaks at 45.5 per cent in Year 3 and falls to 32.5 per cent by Year 5 as the facility amortises.

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