New Zealand’s Synlait Milk has secured a refinancing package and a new shareholder loan to support its financial recovery.
The NZ$320m ($181.5m) refinancing is backed by a new nine-bank syndicate including ANZ, HSBC, Bank of China and China Construction Bank, the company said in a stock-exchange filing.
The move builds on the publicly listed dairy processor’s March “recovery” plan.
Synlait posted a net loss of over NZ$80m in the six months to the end of January, compared to a net profit after tax of NZ$4.8m a year earlier.
The company also booked a negative EBITDA of NZ$35m and an 88% surge in net debt to NZ$472.1m.
As a result, Synlait set out a three-part plan to “stabilise, simplify and scale” the business.
The new refinancing package consists of a NZ$119m secured term loan, NZ$146m in seasonal working capital facilities, a NZ$15m secured overdraft, a NZ$15m revolving NZD/CNH facility and a NZ$25m NZD/CNH term loan.
Bright Dairy, Synlait's majority shareholder, is providing a replacement NZ$130m shareholder loan to supersede its previous financing, with a drawdown expected this month.
The seasonal working capital facilities, one of the term loans, and both NZD/CNH facilities mature in June 2027, with lenders holding a three-month extension option.
Other term loan facilities mature 12 months after the first drawdown, subject to the same extension option on one facility.
The secured overdraft is “on-demand”, the filing read.
Under the new covenant framework, Synlait must maintain total shareholder funds above NZ$450m and meet a net senior leverage ratio of three times by June 2027.
To reduce long-term reliance on short-term funding, the seasonal working capital will step down from NZ$146m to NZ$86m in March 2027 and contract further to NZ$26m in June 2027.
Meanwhile, Synlait’s board has resolved to change the company's financial balance date from 31 July to 31 December to align with Bright Dairy.
While the 2026 balance date remains 31 July, a five-month transitional reporting period will run from August to December before the company permanently adopts a standard 12-month calendar year.
