True but depreciation is an expense nonetheless....not a cash...

True but depreciation is an expense nonetheless....not a cash one as you say but it's reflective of age/wear on capital equipment & this is a very capital hungry business. Cranes come with a hefty price tag & the Board have indicated they want to grow the business with what they see as a market opportunity with infrastructure/wind farm/mining expansion. Unless they embrace alternative forms of financing (leasing) for their fleet expansion I suspect we'll see muted share price appreciation that seems blind to the free cash generation you have pointed out in favour unfortunately to a net profit figure held back due to that growing depreciation charge as they expand the lifting fleet. It might be some years before they put the brakes on expansion & allow the average age of the fleet to increase which within a larger business & lower relative depreciation will see the stat profit rise. The Board have a lot of skin in the business. They must have weighed the mid/long term consequences against dressing up the numbers with a smaller/older equipment business. If the market doesn't recognise the look through effects, these are the opportunities that private equity does.