One small-cap ASX stock is getting plenty of attention on Thursday.
New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd (ASX: NZK) shares are up 13.51% to 21 cents at the time of writing.
This comes after the salmon producer released an update before the market opened.
The move has pushed shares close to their 22-cent 52-week high, while lifting the company's market capitalisation to $113 million.
So, what did New Zealand King Salmon tell investors this morning?
Let's take a closer look.
Image source: Getty Images
What's behind today's jump?
According to the release, New Zealand King Salmon has lifted its full-year earnings expectations.
The company now expects FY26 pro-forma EBITDA of between NZ$36 million and NZ$39 million.
This is ahead of its previous guidance range of NZ$30 million to NZ$34 million.
Pro-forma EBIT guidance has also moved higher to between NZ$27 million and NZ$30 million, up from NZ$21 million to NZ$25 million.
However, there was another part of the update that caught my attention.
Harvest guidance hasn't changed, with New Zealand King Salmon still expecting between 5,950 and 6,050 metric tonnes in FY26.
Management said fish performance has been better than expected, while mortality has continued to come in below previous assumptions.
Carrington said better fish performance was flowing through to earnings, but there was still more work to do.
A much better year so far
The upgrade adds to a big turnaround that has already been underway in FY26.
In its half-year results, New Zealand King Salmon reported a net profit of NZ$13.8 million, compared with a NZ$20.8 million loss in the previous corresponding period.
That represents a NZ$34.6 million swing from loss to profit.
Pro-forma EBITDA also improved to NZ$17.2 million from NZ$5.7 million.
Lately, the business has been showing better earnings, and management expects that improvement to continue through the rest of FY26.
What should investors watch next?
Today's upgrade is good news, but investors will get a better look at next year in November.
New Zealand King Salmon is aiming to lift harvest volumes to between 7,200 and 7,600 tonnes in FY27, before targeting 8,500 to 9,100 tonnes in FY28.
The catch is that costs are moving higher as well.
Management said higher feed prices and wellboat expenses are starting to come through this year, with the full impact expected in FY27.
Management plans to provide FY27 guidance alongside its FY26 results in November.
If volumes keep growing while fish performance remains strong, the business could still have room to improve despite those extra costs.
