Ann: 1H FY2025 Results Presentation, page-5

"GP margins have contracted and profit declined when your remove the gain on sale from the property"

Not sure how you came to the view that GP margins have contracted. I find the opposite.
In fact, one of the standout features of this result is the very strong GP Margin performance, to record levels, no less:




All of the resulting $16m increase in Gross Contribution (and then some, as will be seen below) has been invested in CoDB, with CoDB-to-Sales rising by almost 400bp on pcp:



If, instead of 36%, had the CoDB rate been held unchanged on pcp (32.2%), it would have resulted in a ~$13.5m increase in DH24 PRe-Tax Profit (PBT), which would have resulted in a 16% increase in PBT, instead of the reported 3% decline. Heck, even if JH24's CoDB-to-Sales rate of 33.6% was repeated in DH24, PBT would still have come in almost 10% higher.

Knowing ARB management like I do, I don't think this increase in CoDB ratio is merely accidental or sloppy cost control; instead I think it reflects an intentional and considered investment in enterprise capability that will drive the next step-up in growth.

And this assertion is not made without some precedence to support it. Previously when there has been an uptick in CoDB-to-Revenue (i.e., 2006/07 and 2012/13/14), it has been followed by an acceleration in earnings growth in subsequent years.

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