AoFrio Limited Analysis

Overview

AoFrio is a leading provider of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and energy-efficient motors to the food and beverage industry around the world.

The company supplies advanced electronic IoT solutions for the commercial refrigeration industry, helping refrigeration original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and food, beverage and retail companies across the globe reduce their costs, increase sales and become more sustainable.

AoFrio designs, manufactures and sells smart refrigeration controls, cloud-based refrigeration management solutions, controlled motors and digital marketing solutions.

We have a clear strategy for our next growth phase and have recalibrated the business to become a global hardware-enabled, full-service SaaS company.

This is AoFrio's pathway to lifting recurring IoT SaaS-driven revenue, expanding in existing markets and exploring new regions around the world.

Spanning a global network, AoFrio's customer-focused teams are based in New Zealand, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, USA, Guatemala, Argentina and Singapore. Its supply-chain partners have factories in Vietnam and China, and distribution partners in the UK and USA.

The company is listed on NZX under the ticker of WDT since February 2001, and changed its ticker to AOF in September 2022.

Performance

The following information was extracted from AoFrio Limited's FY24 Annual Report, released on 27 February 2025:

FY24 was a year of successful execution. AOF achieved strong revenue growth and delivered on both revenue and EBITDA guidance. AOF made good progress on its growth strategy, entering new geographies for the Cold Drinks Equipment (CDE) market, launching new solutions for the CDE and the Motors and Fans business and taking three proof-of-concept trials to commercial proposals for a new market segment: Food Retail.

In summary, all segments are contributing, operating costs are under control and growth investments have been funded from operating cash flows.

Revenue for FY24 was $79.7m, a 19.7% increase over FY23. The gross margin was 29.1%, down 0.9pp and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) improved $1.5m to $2.5m. The loss for the year reduced by $1.6m, reflecting the improved EBITDA result.

Net operating cash flow was $5.8m compared to $3.9m in FY23. As we have stated previously, this was invested in product development activities as AOF continues to fund growth strategies from generated cash flows.

In FY25, AOF will continue to pursue the strategy to protect and grow the core businesses and to diversify its market segments with a focus on:

• The multi-year CDE market entry strategy for the USA and Europe.

• Completion of the new connected controller and web-based software solution, for launch in FY25.

• Implementing the rollout of the new Food Retail solution following successful trials in FY24.

Robust business growth is expected through FY25 and beyond. Based on the approved budget for FY25, revenue in FY25 is projected in the range $85m to $95m. EBITDA guidance for FY25 is set between $3.5m and $4.0m, though macroeconomic conditions and NZ$ / US$ currency fluctuations may influence these projections.

AoFrio’s Chair John Scott said, “We had a strong year reflected in financial and non-financial metrics. The results were strong each quarter. It’s a testament to the team’s focus on customers and outcomes. It positions us strongly for 2025 as we continue to build.”