Management have sold the gloomy story well to the broker...

Management have sold the gloomy story well to the broker community, some of whom have run with the 'past the peak' mantra and reduced their price target. A wonderful bonus for those looking to accumulate.

I also think it's worth looking at actions as opposed to words from some of these high quality management teams.

Despite spending about $400m on building stock levels and having negative free cashflow of $73m, the board saw fit to raise the FY22 dividend by 25%. Therefore another $100m of cash outflow, despite all of the headwinds in the macro economy. I doubt very much that the board is inclined to do this without being reasonably confident that the dividend is sutainable and being underpinned by fairly resilient earnings.

What's pleasing and further proof that the US entry is now beginning to pay off handsomely is how all the work on operational upgrades/ development training/refurbishments/trials etc. is boosting efficiency and resonating with customers. This is evidenced by the rising group NPAT margins:
FY20 NPAT Margin 3.8%
FY21 NPAT Margin 4.6%
FY22 NPAT Margin 5.1%
Correspondingly, ROAE is on the rise and back above 12%, albeit with some leverage.

While still some way off the 8% NPAT Margin pre-Moresco, the upswing is underway!