Investment Case Summary
- FY26 EBIT swung to a $946k profit, a $1.3m turnaround from the FY25 loss.
- Same-store sales are up 7% into July 2026, showing the cost-out is not the whole story.
- Quarterly debt repayments of $250k start December, so new site capex needs to earn its keep quickly.
Same-store sales up 7% into July and two new sites under assessment reframe the turnaround story.
Oliver’s Real Food Limited (ASX:OLI) has quietly done something it has not done in years. The healthy highway food chain posted a full-year EBIT of $946k for FY26, a $1.3 million swing from the $399k loss it recorded a year earlier.
The June quarter itself was still a small EBIT loss of $13k, but that is a 96% improvement on the $325k loss in the same quarter last year. EBITDA for the quarter came in at $441k, up 24%, and full-year EBITDA hit $2.9 million on a margin of 12.66%.
The revenue line looks worse than the story actually is. Group revenue fell 11.5% for the quarter to $5.1 million, but every dollar of that decline traces back to store closures. Same-store sales rose 1.09% in the quarter and are running up 7% into July 2026.
That combination is what matters here. A restructured cost base, real same-store growth, and management now openly talking about two new sites under assessment. After two years where survival was the only story, Oliver’s is trying to pivot back to growth.
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The cost-out has done more work than the top line reveals
Expenses fell $725k in the quarter, an 18% reduction, and $2.5 million for the full year. Some of that is closed stores dropping out of the base, but management is also crediting efficiency work and cost programs that have carried through the network.
The gross margin held at 63.96% for the full year, essentially flat on FY25. That is the important tell. When a food business shrinks the store count and holds gross margin, it means the closures were the loss-making sites and the remaining network is genuinely profitable.
The full-year operating result was a $66k loss after $1.0 million of interest. Strip interest out and the underlying business is now cash generative, with $2.5 million of operating cash flow across the year.
Pheasants Nest closure is the last shoe to drop, not a new problem
The Pheasants Nest Southbound store closes on 19 July 2026. This one has been telegraphed since the Northbound site closed in July 2025, when Ampol reserved the right to take back the Southbound location on 90 days’ notice. That notice landed in April.
The site had strong sales but a heavy fixed cost base, so the earnings hit is smaller than the revenue hit will look. Our concern is that investors reading the next quarterly may focus on the revenue drop from this closure and miss that it was already priced into the restructuring story.
The Wyong Southbound refurbishment starting in the next six weeks is the more forward-looking signal. Capex is going into the existing network again, aligned with the refreshed Wyong Northbound design, which suggests the brand rollout is being taken seriously.
The funding position is workable but not comfortable
Cash at 30 June was $273k, with $350k of unused facilities. Total debt facilities sit at $13.5 million drawn, largely to the Gregg family and Gelba Pty Ltd at 7.30% interest. Quarterly principal repayments of $250k on the main facility begin from December 2026.
That repayment schedule is the number investors should track. Operating cash flow of $638k in the June quarter comfortably covers it, but there is not a lot of headroom if trading softens or the new site expansion consumes capital before it produces returns.
The related-party lending is worth noting. It has kept the company alive through the restructuring, but it also means the register is materially exposed to a small group of supportive lenders rather than a diversified banking syndicate.
The Investors Takeaway for Oliver’s Real Food
Oliver’s has done the hard part. The cost base is right-sized, same-store sales are growing, and the FY26 EBIT swing proves the restructuring was more than accounting cleanup. July trading up 7% on same-store sales gives some early evidence that momentum is carrying into FY27.
The interesting question now is what happens with the two new sites under assessment. Board-approved financial parameters suggest discipline, but investors have seen highway food operators over-extend before. We would want to see the first new site trade for a full quarter before assuming the growth chapter is real.
For a broader look at ASX-listed consumer and hospitality small caps navigating turnarounds, investors can find more coverage at stocksdownunder.
