State Development Fund Ltd

SDF OWNS 78% OF THE SHARE CAPITAL OF AUSPEP

Auspep was founded in 1987 with the fundamental purpose of addressing the increasing demand for synthetic peptides within the Australian research community. It started its operations at the Victorian College of Pharmacy.

In 2009 the company relocated to a new purpose-built Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facility in Melbourne Australia. Auspep is currently the only GMP manufacturer of peptides in Australia. It has successfully partnered with pharmaceutical and medical device companies to synthesise peptides for clinical trials and as active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). Auspep has become a preferred supplier of custom peptides to a broad range of academic, government, pharmaceutical and biotechnology institutions both in Australia and overseas.

Auspep is the only GMP accredited manufacturer of peptides in Australia and specialises in the development and production of synthetic peptides as API’s. For over 20 years Auspep has supplied peptides and related products to researchers around the world. It is now a global manufacturer of high quality custom synthetic peptides.

Auspep’s revenue to June 30 2025 was $9.96 million compared with $6.755 million in 2024. Profit after income tax totalled $3.485 million significantly higher than $1.522 million in 2024.

Due to increasing demand Auspep is looking to upgrade facilities and equipment at the existing manufacturing plant in Tullamarine later this year.

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SDF OWNS 69% OF ARA

ARA owns 49% of the Burnie Airport Comporation Unit Trust (BAC), the other 51% is owned by the Burnie City Council in Tasmania. BAC is the owner of the business and assets of the Burnie-Wynyard Airport, Tasmania. Thus SDF, has an effective 33.81% interest in BAC.

BAC acquired the business and assets of the Burnie-Wynyard Airport in September 2001. Trading up to the pre-Covid period of 2019, passenger through put was consistently running at approximately 70-75,000 per year. The airport was put into a phase of ‘care and maintenance’ during the Covid period. The financial year to the 30th June 2025 has seen a return to more normalised passenger levels of 76,000.

ARA made a profit after tax of $40,000 for 2025. BAC is budgeting for a higher return in 2026.

There still needs to be extensive redevelopment of the airport terminals and runways in the next few years. It is expected that this will require large capital expenditure from both major shareholders. BAC is presently considering how and when this will be achieved and financed.