Zeshk's IPO Lands With a 230 Percent Quarterly Profit Jump; Operating Cash Flow Turns Negative (Monday, October 5, 2026)

Today, Monday, October 5, 2026 (13 Mehr 1405), 7 percent of Hassananoo Manufacturing, maker of the well known "Zeshk" tomato paste brand, is being offered on the Tehran Stock Exchange under the ticker Zeshk through the book building (order registration) method. Per the Tehran Stock Exchange's market operations deputy, 351,615,600 shares are going to the market for price discovery. At the same time, the company's newly filed financial statements show spring-quarter (ended June 21, 2026) net profit up 230 percent year on year, while operating cash flow turned negative in that same quarter.

Background

Hassananoo is the 639th company admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange, classified under "food and beverage products except sugar," in the "production of other food products" category. It has been listed on the second market's main board price list since August 17, 2026 (26 Mordad 1405), but today's offering is its first real trade. The group's best known product is tomato paste under the "Zeshk" brand, a staple on many Iranian tables for years. Ahead of today's offering, the company's registered capital stands at 5,023,080 million rial, roughly 5.02 billion shares at 1,000 rial par value. That capital base is exactly what makes today's 7 percent stake equal to 351,615,600 shares, matching the figure the exchange announced.

The numbers

Per the audited consolidated income statement for the fiscal year ended March 20, 2026 (29 Esfand 1404), operating revenue rose from 12,532,695 million rial in fiscal 1403 to 18,503,921 million rial, up 48 percent. Net profit rose from 3,640,627 million rial to 7,055,626 million rial over the same span, up 94 percent; basic earnings per share rose from 725 to 1,399 rial.

The spring-quarter 1405 picture (three months to June 21, 2026) is sharper still: operating revenue rose from 3,297,377 million rial in spring 1404 to 7,296,636 million rial, up 121 percent. Net profit jumped from 1,243,408 million rial to 4,100,116 million rial, up 230 percent, and net profit per share rose from 248 to 816 rial, up 229 percent. Gross margin also widened, from about 42.8 percent for full fiscal 1404 to about 45 percent in this one quarter.

What is driving it

Part of the jump is pricing: per the company's tier-A material disclosure, the board, at its August 24, 2026 (2 Shahrivar 1405) meeting, raised average food product selling prices by 32 percent, citing currency depreciation and raw-material inflation tied to wartime conditions. The rest comes from sales growth, but sales growth alone does not fully explain the profit, because a significant share of it was booked as credit sales.

Outlook

This is where the real risk in this file begins. Responding to a regulator inquiry about the spring-quarter statements, the company disclosed that net cash flow from operating activities was negative 1,192,039 million rial for the quarter. The stated main cause is rising credit sales and a 2,933,890 million rial increase in operating receivables, meaning the profit was booked on paper before turning into cash. Over the same period, operating payables fell by 1,790,789 million rial, partly from settling supplier debt, so the company is collecting from customers later while paying suppliers sooner, a combination that tightens liquidity. Because Zeshk has no trading history before today, no price ratio such as P/E can yet be computed on it; the only available yardstick is this reported profit and cash trend.

Bottom line

Today's 7 percent Zeshk offering sits on top of a company whose operating profit is growing fast, but whose profit quality is not yet proven: part of the jump is pricing, part is credit sales, and in the spring quarter those credit sales pushed operating cash flow negative. Rasad's reading is that if Zeshk's net profit per share in the summer-quarter report stays above the spring quarter's 816 rial, and receivables growth does not keep outrunning cash sales growth, the profit uptrend becomes credible; a drop in profit per share below 816 rial in that same report would call the trend into question.

What to watch

Watch the price discovered in today's offering and the demand behind it, the summer-quarter 1405 report for whether profit growth repeats or fades, and the trend in operating receivables over the next two quarters to see whether credit sales eventually convert to cash. Each of these can be tracked through the company's future Codal filings.