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The chairman of Longtable Group, which owns 48 per cent of Maggie Beer Products and two premium dairy businesses, says the company would like to add to its portfolio with another acquisition and that patience is required as the business steadily built up brands which had a "defendable" position in a tough industry.
Tony Robinson said on Monday said the food industry was highly competitive and brands which had longevity, substance and the ability to ward off copycats were in the best position to thrive, even though the share price of the company is under pressure.
Laura McBain, the former chief executive of sharemarket darling Bellamy's Australia has been chief executive for a year.
"We're trying to build a business that has a sustainable and defendable difference," Mr Robinson said.
Longtable shareholders on Monday approved the second tranche of a share placement to help pay for its latest acquisition, premium dairy business St David's Dairy, which it announced on June 21 it would buy for $15 million. This added to its suite of dairy brands following the acquisition of Australia's largest biodynamic and organic dairy business,
B.-d Farm Paris Creek, in late 2017 for about $34 million.
The highest profile brand in the Longtable stable is Maggie Beer Products, which makes a range of ice-creams, pate, quince pastes, and sauces and has been battling to make any headway.
Mr Robinson said the company had faith in the long-term strategy and power of the Maggie Beer brand.
"We think Maggie Beer fits into that category," he said. But the hunt is on for more acquisitions. "We would definitely like to find others to add on," he said. Longtable's share price has halved to around 62.5¢ since early January this year. Longtable undertook a 25 to one share consolidation a few months ago to lift it out of the ranks of the penny dreadfuls punted on by day traders and subject to sharp volatility.
The Maggie Beer Products business
suffered a loss of $251,000 in the first half of 2017-18 as a rollout into IGA stores operated by Metcash went slower than planned, and higher spending on promotions hit margins. It suffered a painful slide into the red in 2016-17, posting
an annual loss of $2.13 million.
The Maggie Beer Products business was built over decades by Maggie Beer, who has a national profile through a string of cookbooks, television shows and as a frequent guest judge of Network Ten's MasterChef series.
Longtable was previously known as Primary Opinion until a name change in late 2017. It paid $15 million for a 48 per cent stake in Maggie Beer Products in mid-2016, as it transformed from its previous business of running a networking community in legal services, human resources and accounting. Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett is a shareholder in Longtable.
