Whoever said Bruce Wayne was not philanthropic enough hadn’t met Batman Investments (BIPL) – an unrelated investor. Freeing the food processing and fruit juice company The Original Juice Co (ASX: OJC) (formerly the Food Revolution Group) from debt or high-interest rates, BIPL has agreed to convert the current $790,000 loan into shares in the Company.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Company has issued 7,900,000 new fully paid ordinary shares at an issue price of $0.10 per share to a nominee of BIPL. As a result, the loan has been fully paid off, enabling The Original Juice Co to focus on squeezing fruit rather than pennies. 

This price represents a 20% discount to the Company’s last closing price of A$0.125 per share on 27th March 2023 and did not require shareholder approval.

Besides this nod of approval BIPL, The Original Juice Co got another metaphorical thumbs up from Jeffrey Gibb Kennett, the former Premier of Victoria and outspoken former President of the Hawthorn Football Club. While still a human headline anytime he discusses the Hawks, Kennett leads the Board at The Original Juice Co and recently increased his stake with $17.3k purchase of OJC shares on-market after being appointed Chairman of the Company in December 2022. 

In fact, in a display of faith in the Company, Kennett has agreed to be remunerated in both equity, subject to shareholder approval, and a portion of cash, which will come from the pool of directors’ remuneration that has been previously approved by shareholders. With that in mind, the Company is proposing to grant up to 20 million ordinary shares to Kennett by way of remuneration, vesting over three years as long as he remains in the role.

These updates are especially noteworthy when you consider its past financial position.

In H1 FY23, the Company recorded a net loss of over $1.1 million. The losses were driven by increasing costs in freight, direct labour and trade spending in the first half of the financial year led to a decrease in margin of 4.19%. As of December 2022, the Company’s cash position stood at $730k. Its first half financials make the new investment by Kennett and the debt relief by Batman Investments encouraging news. 

Additionally, considering the Company’s revenue, The Original Juice remained a top performer, with The Juice Lab and the Original Juice Black Label brand contributing a significant chunk. This probably prompted the name change.

Since adopting a new name on March 24, 2023, things are looking up for The Original Juice as investors express support for the new identity.