Ann: DGL FY24 Results Presentation, page-85

I thought the results were fairly decent and in line with expectations, however the operating cashflow was again very thin. I don't like the fact they report EBITDA that does not include the lease expenses which are a real operating cost. There is no skating around the fact that the acquired businesses (including those acquired in FY24 and those acquired part way through FY23) have not been accretive to EPS at least in FY24. It's a bit of a turnaround story at this point, and while I think they will get there in time it may be a pretty bumpy ride with at least some risk of permanent loss of capital. If I had to guess I'd say H2 25 or H1 FY26 before we see material improvement.

It was good to hear in the call Simon state that NPAT is the ultimate yardstick for a business (rather than revenue or EBITDA) and they are planning on focusing on amalgamating what they have rather than make a lot more acquisitions. I've sold out as I came across an opportunity that I think has less risk and better upside for the long term but not sure that was the right call. I might jump back in at some point albeit with a much smaller holding.

I was impressed with Frank and Alex on the call. They're both pretty young but good to see that Simon prepared to back people to gain experience on the job. Simon won't be everyone's cup of tea but I think he will run an efficient operation in the long run - right now with the economy and the pace of acquisitions it's fair to say they probably struggling to hold it all together but that should settle over time. Disagree with ROEROC that all roll ups go bust and that they need to keep the acquisitions going here to keep this afloat (although he does have a point about the way DGL present some of the numbers). At the end of the day it's a fairly low margin, cost of capital type industry and therefore the acquisitions are needed as a growth engine.

Simon's acumen in capital allocation will make a big difference to the performance of the business over the next 5/10 years. Based on the share price the jury is still out however that's only a short period of the company's history, over a longer timeframe I'd say there's evidence that he's been very astute and the top line growth since listing is impressive.

GLTAH.