Chocolate and confectionery company, Yowie Group, has posted a US$0.9 million (AU$1.3 million) first-half profit, reversing a US$4.66 million (AU$6.7 million) loss a year earlier. But its auditor has flagged material uncertainty over the group’s ability to continue as a going concern and its shares remain suspended from the ASX.
The results for the half-year to 31 December 2025, reported in US dollars, were lodged on 24 July, almost seven months after balance date, as the company works through legacy reporting obligations following the change in board control in June 2025 that installed Sulieman Ravell as chair and Jarrod Milani as global CEO in November 2025.
Group net sales fell 16 per cent to US$5.12 million. Australian sales dropped 28 per cent to US$0.97 million, with the company saying elevated cocoa prices made some of the prior year’s seasonal programs commercially unviable to repeat. US sales fell 13 per cent to US$4.15 million on reduced ranging with a major customer, whose share of total net sales fell from 35 to 25 per cent.
The turnaround in the bottom line was driven largely by one-off items: a US$729,373 impairment reversal on loans receivable and a US$0.9 million benefit from reversing excess historical returns and spoilage accruals. Excluding that adjustment, gross margin was around 47 per cent rather than the reported 58 per cent.
Cash stood at US$128,282 at balance date, with net current liabilities of US$1.46 million and an operating cash outflow of US$919,000 for the half.
Auditor RSM drew attention to a material uncertainty over going concern, though the directors said they had reasonable grounds to expect the group could continue, pointing to its funding arrangements and expected reductions in minimum royalty guarantees.
The company has been leaning on a secured working capital facility from major shareholder Keybridge Capital, which has been progressively increased from A$1 million in July 2025 to A$3.5 million in May 2026 and was fully drawn at the date of signing.
The report also details the continuing legal aftermath of the contested board change. Loans connected to former director Nicholas Bolton and related entities have been fully impaired, and the NSW Supreme Court in July heard the final day of a claim brought by WAM Active on behalf of Keybridge seeking to recover about AU$5 million transferred to a Bolton entity, with judgment pending. The Court of Appeal last year ordered Bolton to personally pay costs on an indemnity basis after dismissing his appeal over the June 2025 board spill.
On the manufacturing side, the group’s Ernest Hillier business, Australia’s oldest chocolate manufacturer, relaunched its consumer range under the HILLIER name with 12 products aimed at independent retailers. The NBA x Yowie range launched nationally in 7-Eleven and Kmart ahead of a North American rollout in early 2026, the Yowie Puzzle Pack went into Coles, and in February the company secured a three-year seasonal licence to manufacture and sell Violet Crumble, Polly Waffle and FruChocs themed products in Australia.
