The headline Pre-Tax number of $16.1m was bolstered by a $0.56m reversal of a provision, but even stripping that out, it came in ahead of the $15m update provided in June.
Some salient features of the JH23 performance result were the 350bp increase in the GP Margin on JH22 and DH22, to 38%, as the company flexed its pricing power, as well as the discipline in managing fixed overheads, with Cost-of-Doing Business to Revenue still near all-time lows, despite the inflationary environment:
But the highlight of the result was the absolute monster cash flow in the second-half, as the company ran down inventory, which had been built up post-Covid, to more normalised levels:
As a result of the strong cash generation, the company ended the year with almost $9m in Net Cash.
In that context, I thought the 67% dividend payout ratio was a bit parsimonious, but I suspect capital is being retained for the redevelopment of the Kilburn site, notably the empty block behind the factory (denoted by the yellow shaded area in the aerial photo below), because the existing operating footprint is getting a bit crowded.
