"I'm still trying to digest this result but, for what it's...

"I'm still trying to digest this result but, for what it's worth, I did a fair bit of work on their COVID margins some time back and came up with a percentage much closer to 60 than 50."

Yes, I do remember that sort of number appearing somewhere in the public domain at one stage; But i think that related to a period where Covid testing rates where very high, and dis-economies of scale would reduce that figure considerably as that activity slows.

So I don't think it is anywhere close to 60% at current levels of Covid testing; probably not even the 50% I've used.

But I think that's all a bit moot, anyway, because I've assumed Covid testing is going to be zero from 1 July 2023, which is so conservative an assumption as to be almost silly, because Covid testing will continue at some sort of base level for a great many more years; I wouldn't be at all surprised if SHL is still generating $150m or $200m pa from testing for Covid in 2 or 3 years time.

So I reckon close $1.0bn EBIT is on the cards for FY2024 just from the base business.

And, the cream on top of that, it would come as no surprise to me if Covid boosted that by 8% to 12% (so $200m to $300m of residual Covid Revenue @ 40% contribution margin)
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