ProTen eyes Australia, Asia expansion; mulls ASX listing

ProTen, Australia's largest independent contract grower of broiler chickens for meat, plans to expand its local operations and is eyeing Asia for future growth.

The company, whose shares trade on New Zealand's Unlisted market, expects to spend $A140-150 million over the next two to three years to expand its Australian chicken farming business, chief executive Daniel Bryant told BusinessDesk. The Sydney-based company this year raised a net $A24.6 million from investors and secured $A60.2 million of funding from Rabobank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia to aid its expansion.

ProTen, whose history stretches back to a single shed developed by Max Bryant in Halcombe in 1987, now has 172 sheds across New South Wales and Western Australia, has plans under way to develop a further 96 sheds, and is eyeing the acquisition of a further 60 sheds in a new region. By 2018, it expects to have about 300 sheds and be producing 70 million birds a year. The company, which has long-term supply contracts with Baiada Poultry, Australia's biggest chicken processor, is considering taking its corporate chicken farming model beyond Australia and into Asia, for future expansion.

"There's a fair bit of growth in front of us," Mr Bryant said. "We will start acquiring land and getting development consent over the next 12 months to lock in the next tranche of growth. We've got plenty to do in Australia but the time is right to start looking to the next three to five to seven years.

"We have got enough capital now to probably meet the next three to four years of our programme. Funding into Asia would require additional investment."

Potential expansion into Asia was still in the "very early days" and would likely be in the next two to five years, he said.

ProTen boosted profit 59% to $A6.8 million in the year ended June 30 and chairman John Signal told the company's annual meeting this week that profit growth is forecast to continue for the next five years as the planned development projects and acquisitions are completed. In 2014, the company developed a five-year growth plan to double the size of the business and triple profit.

Still, the company's stock is suffering from a lack of liquidity on the Unlisted market and it is looking into pursuing either a trade sale or an ASX listing to realise the full value for shareholders, Mr Signal said. The company's management is due to present a range of options for the board to consider in early 2016, he said.

The stock last traded at 77c on September 29, valuing the company at $86.9 million.

(BusinessDesk)