Not paying a final dividend probably stems from a short-term cash imbalance, caused by three things - namely:
a) The non-settlement of the insurance claim and the contract with Main Roads WA means BYL was not 100% sure when $9m was going to roll into its coffers.
b) The expensing of unbillable ramp-up expenses would have left them a bit short anyway. The benefit of these expenses accrues during the residual term of these contracts (substantially, the RIO contract).
c) BYL would not have been able to reduce staffing for the time lost due to delayed starts, and that would have been a cash drain for which no revenue was received to offset it.
My view is that Management's prime role is to optimise the running of BYL - it is not to concern itself with short-term movements in the SP.
Management restated its policy of paying between 25% -35% of NPAT as dividends, and it stated that they would revisit the dividend matter at the end of H1, when they would know the cash position, and how well the company is performing. Let us see what the H1 reports have to say about business performance and the Interim DPS for FY2016.
BYL Price at posting:
25.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held