Fish Master Premier Business Plan — Break-Even and Debt Service

The volumes needed to cover the cost base, and debt service cover across the three-year principal grace period on the term loan.

Break-Even and Debt Service

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  • 10.1 Break-even
  • 10.2 Debt service

10.1 Break-even

Break-even expressed in fingerlings
Figure 18. Break-even expressed in fingerlings.

Break-even is expressed in fingerlings rather than in tonnes because that is where the contribution is. The grow-out farm contributes nothing until Year 4, so until then every rand of fixed cost and debt service has to be covered by the hatchery.

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Fixed costs: labour and overhead, R

2 940 000

3 570 000

4 140 000

4 560 000

4 850 000

Grow-out contribution, R

(2 595 000)

(1 652 000)

(462 000)

579 600

975 000

Fingerlings to cover fixed costs

3 354 545

3 164 848

2 789 091

2 412 364

2 348 485

Fingerlings to cover fixed costs and debt service

3 927 273

3 737 576

3 361 818

3 633 296

3 569 417

Fingerlings actually sold

0

600 000

1 400 000

2 100 000

2 600 000

Headroom, fingerlings

(3 927 273)

(3 137 576)

(1 961 818)

(1 533 296)

(969 417)

The enterprise crosses break-even including debt service during Year 4, when 2.1 million fingerlings sold exceeds the 1.98 million needed. In Year 3 the shortfall is 1.05 million fingerlings, and in Years 1 and 2 the requirement is beyond anything the hatchery can produce at that stage of its ramp. That is what the capital structure exists to fund.

Break-even measure at Year 5

Value

Interpretation

Fish price break-even

R91.6 per kilogram

Against a realised R98.10. The margin is R6.50 and there is no room below it

Fingerlings needed to cover fixed costs and debt service

3 569 417

Against 2.6 million sold

Feed price break-even

R29.89 per kilogram

Against R25.50 assumed. A 20% rise removes R1 026 499 of Year 5 profit

Combined stress: fish price −10% and feed +20%

(R145 246)

Two ordinary adverse movements take the enterprise below break-even

10.2 Debt service

EBITDA, debt service and cover
Figure 19. EBITDA, debt service and cover.

R

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Opening balance

7 000 000

7 000 000

7 000 000

7 000 000

5 930 462

Interest at 13.5%

945 000

945 000

945 000

945 000

800 612

Capital repaid

— (grace period)

— (grace period)

— (grace period)

1 069 538

1 213 926

Total debt service

945 000

945 000

945 000

2 014 538

2 014 538

Closing balance

7 000 000

7 000 000

7 000 000

5 930 462

4 716 536

EBITDA

(3 118 000)

(1 305 000)

1 104 000

3 221 000

4 391 000

Cover with the three-year grace

n/a

n/a

1.17x

1.60x

2.18x

Cover with the two-year grace

n/a

n/a

0.62x

1.81x

2.47x

Gearing

35.6%

42.9%

45.5%

38.4%

28.4%

Interest of R945 000 a year is charged on the full facility through the grace period because no principal is repaid before Year 4. Capital then amortises over the remaining five years at an annuity of R2 014 538, and the Year 5 current portion of R1 377 806 represents the Year 6 amortisation.

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