Synlait Milk (ASX:SM1) Earnings Power Value (EPV): A$-1.60 (As of Jul25)


ASX:SM1 Synlait Milk Ltd ASX:SM1
40 GF Score
Price A$0.33
GF Value A$0.26
Valuation Significantly Overvalued
! 4 Warning Signs
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What is Synlait Milk Earnings Power Value (EPV)?

Synlait Milk ASX:SM1 +1.54% 40 Earnings Power Value (EPV) is A$-1.60 as of Jul25. GuruFocus rates ASX:SM1 with a GF Score™ of 40/100 and a GF Value™ of A$0.26 (Significantly Overvalued). The stock has 4 warning signs investors should review.

As of Jul25, Synlait Milk's earnings power value is A$-1.60. *

* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

Margin of Safety is N/A.

The basic concept of EPV is that one should value a stock based on the current free cash flow of a company and not on future projections which may, or may not, come true. It is arguably a better way to analyze stocks than Discounted Cash Flow analysis that relies on highly speculative growth assumptions many years into the future. Assumption: Current profitability is sustainable.


Synlait Milk  (ASX:SM1) Earnings Power Value (EPV) Explanation

Assumption: Current profitability is sustainable.

Earnings power value (EPV) uses a very basic equation which assumes no growth, although it does rely on an assumption about the cost of capital as well as the fact that current earnings are sustainable. It also involves several adjustments to clean up the underlying Earnings figures.


Be Aware

Though using today's earnings in calculating Earnings Power Value, GuruFocus is normalizing these earnings to the business cycle. This eliminates the effects on profitability of valuing the firm at different points in the business cycle. This means that we are considering the average earnings over 5 years.


Synlait Milk Earnings Power Value (EPV) Related Terms


Synlait Milk Earnings Power Value (EPV) Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Synlait Milk's Earnings Power Value (EPV) can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Synlait Milk Earnings Power Value (EPV) Chart

Synlait Milk Annual Data
Trend Jul16 Jul17 Jul18 Jul19 Jul20 Jul21 Jul22 Jul23 Jul24 Jul25
Earnings Power Value (EPV)
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -3.62 -3.00 -4.52 -5.53 -1.65

Synlait Milk Semi-Annual Data
Jul16 Jan17 Jul17 Jan18 Jul18 Jan19 Jul19 Jan20 Jul20 Jan21 Jul21 Jan22 Jul22 Jan23 Jul23 Jan24 Jul24 Jan25 Jul25 Jan26
Earnings Power Value (EPV) Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 0.00 -5.53 0.00 -1.65 0.00

ASX:SM1 vs KHC, GIS, JBS: Earnings Power Value (EPV) Comparison

For the Packaged Foods subindustry, Synlait Milk's Earnings Power Value (EPV), along with its competitors' market caps and Earnings Power Value (EPV) data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Synlait Milk Earnings Power Value (EPV) vs Consumer Packaged Goods Industry

For the Consumer Packaged Goods industry and Consumer Defensive sector, Synlait Milk's Earnings Power Value (EPV) distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Synlait Milk's Earnings Power Value (EPV) falls into.


ASX:SM1
40GF Score
Synlait Milk Ltd ASX:SM1
Earnings Power Value (EPV) is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
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Synlait Milk Earnings Power Value (EPV) Calculation

Earnings Power Value also known as just Earnings Power is a valuation technique popularised by Bruce Greenwald, an authority on value investing at Columbia University. It is arguably a better way to analyze stocks than Discounted Cash Flow analysis that relies on highly speculative growth assumptions many years into the future.

The basic concept of EPV is that one should value a stock based on the current free cash flow of a company and not on future projections which may, or may not, come true. This valuation tool excludes the potential growth that a company may have so that needs to be looked at separately. Since future growth is excluded from the analysis, only the maintenance capital expenditures are subtracted from after-tax EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) and growth capex is ignored.

Synlait Milk's "Earning Power" Calculation:

Average of Last 5 Years Last Year
Revenue 1,433
DDA 57
Operating Margin % -1.74
SGA * 25% 21
Tax Rate % 23.02
Maintenance Capex 56
Cash and Cash Equivalents 72
Short-Term Debt 307
Long-Term Debt 45
Shares Outstanding (Diluted) 539

1. Start with "Earnings" not including accounting adjustments (one-time charges not excluded unless policy has changed). "Earnings" are "Operating Income.

2. Look at average margins over a business/Industry cycle: Average Operating Margin = -1.74%

To normalize margins and eliminate the effects on profitability of valuing the firm at different points in the business cycle, it is usually best to take a long-term average of operating margins. Ideally this would be as long as 10 years and include at least one economic downturn. However, since most of companies do not have as long as 10-year history, here GuruFocus uses the latest 5 years data to do the calculation. To smooth out unusual years but reflect recent developments, we take an average of the 5 year margin.

3. Multiply average margins by sustainable revenues and then adjust for maintenance SGA. This yields "normalized" EBIT:

To be conservative, GuruFocus uses an average of the 5 year revenues as the sustainable revenue.
EPV analysis recognises that part of SG&A expenditure is made to maintain and replace the existing assets, while part is made to grow sales. Since EPV is only interested in what it costs a going concern to maintain its existing asset base, it adds back a percentage of SG&A (between 15% and 50% - this is a matter of judgment and industry knowledge) to make up for the fact that some of this expenditure went to fund growth and shouldn't be accounted for. To start off, we assume 25% for the sake of prudence.
Sustainable Revenue = A$1,433 Mil, Average Operating Margin = -1.74%, Average Adjusted SGA = 21,
therefore "Normalized" EBIT = Sustainable Revenue * Average Operating Margin + Average Adjusted SGA = 1,433 * -1.74% +21 = A$-3.803453288 Mil.

4. Multiply by one minus Average Tax Rate (NOPAT):

Same as average operating margin calculation, GuruFocus takes an average of the 5 years tax rates.
Average Tax Rate = 23.02%, and "Normalized" EBIT = A$-3.803453288 Mil,
therefore After-tax "Normalized" EBIT = "Normalized" EBIT * ( 1 - Average Tax Rate ) = -3.803453288 * ( 1 - 23.02% ) = A$-2.9278222720366 Mil.

5. Add back Excess Depreciation (after tax at 1/2 average tax rate). This yields "normalized" Earnings:

Excess Depreciation = Average DDA * % of Excess Depreciation (after tax at 1/2 average tax rate) = 57 * 0.5 * 23.02% = A$6.509792808 Mil.
"Normalized" Earnings = After-tax "Normalized" EBIT + Excess Depreciation = -2.9278222720366 + 6.509792808 = A$3.5819705359634 Mil.

6. Adjusted for Maintenance Capital Expenditure:

First, calculate the revenue change regarding to the previous year. If the revenue decreased from the previous year, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
Second, if the revenue increased from the previous year, then calculate the percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue.
Third, calculate Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase.
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase] was negative, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase] was positive, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase.
Fourth, GuruFocus uses an average of the 5 year maintenance capital expenditures as maintenance CAPEX.
Synlait Milk's Average Maintenance CAPEX = A$56 Mil *.
* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

7. Investors require a return of "WACC" for the risk they are taking: WACC = 9%

8. Synlait Milk's current cash and cash equivalent = A$72 Mil.
Synlait Milk's current interest bearing debt = Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation = 45 + 307 = A$352.085 Mil.
Synlait Milk's current Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) = 539 Mil.

Synlait Milk's Earnings Power Value (EPV) for Jul25 is calculated as:

EPV = ( ( Norm. Earnings-Maint. CAPEX *) / WACC + CashandEquiv - Int. Bearing Debt ) / Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average)
= ( ( 3.5819705359634 - 56)/ 9%+72-352.085 )/539
=-1.60

Margin of Safety (EPV)=( Earnings Power Value (EPV)-Current Price )/Earnings Power Value (EPV)
=( -1.5963090680133-0.33 )/-1.5963090680133
= N/A

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

What does a Earnings Power Value (EPV) of A$-1.60 mean?
Synlait Milk (ASX:SM1) has a Earnings Power Value (EPV) of A$-1.60 as of Jul25. Bruce Greenwald's earnings power value focuses on current earnings without factoring in future growth. View historical data on Synlait Milk and its competitors.
Is Synlait Milk's Earnings Power Value (EPV) too high?
Synlait Milk's current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is A$-1.60. Overall, Synlait Milk has a GF Score™ of 40/100 and is considered Significantly Overvalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Synlait Milk's Earnings Power Value (EPV) compare to KHC and GIS?
Synlait Milk's Earnings Power Value (EPV) of A$-1.60 can be compared against companies in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Earnings Power Value (EPV) for a Consumer Packaged Goods company?
A good Earnings Power Value (EPV) depends on the Consumer Packaged Goods industry context. However, Earnings Power Value (EPV) should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Earnings Power Value (EPV) mean?
A high Earnings Power Value (EPV) can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Bruce Greenwald's earnings power value focuses on current earnings without factoring in future growth. View historical data on Synlait Milk and its competitors. Synlait Milk's current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is A$-1.60. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Synlait Milk stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Synlait Milk (ASX:SM1) is currently considered Significantly Overvalued. The stock's GF Value™ is A$0.26, compared to a current price of A$0.33 — trading 26.9% above its estimated fair value. The current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is A$-1.60. Synlait Milk's overall GF Score™ is 40/100 with 4 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Earnings Power Value (EPV) calculated?
Earnings Power Value (EPV) is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Synlait Milk (ASX:SM1), the current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is A$-1.60 as of Jul25. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Is Synlait Milk (ASX:SM1) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Synlait Milk stock appears to be overvalued. The current stock price of A$0.33 is trading 26.9% above its estimated GF Value™ of A$0.26. GuruFocus considers Synlait Milk to be Significantly Overvalued.

Key valuation signals for ASX:SM1:

  • Earnings Power Value (EPV): A$-1.60
  • GF Value™: A$0.26 vs. price of A$0.33 (26.9% above fair value)
  • GF Score™: 40/100 with 4 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the ASX:SM1 stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Synlait Milk Business Description

Other Exchanges SML:New Zealand
Address 1028 Heslerton Road, RD13, Rakaia, STL, NZL, 7783
Synlait Milk Ltd is a dairy processing company that benefits from a differentiated milk supply and operating environment in New Zealand. The business operates within one industry that includes the manufacture of milk powder and its related products, liquid milk, cheese, and butter. Its segment are Synlait and Dairyworks, out of which it derives maximum revenue from Synlait segment.
40GF Score

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Earnings Power Value (EPV) is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

A$0.33
Price
A$0.26
GF Value