Sent the post just as the result hit the wire. Bit of a mixed...

Sent the post just as the result hit the wire.

Bit of a mixed bag, I have to say:

Strong operating performance (33% EBITDA growth above even my upper end expectation of 30%).
But much of this was negated by a 120% increase in the finance expenses line (due to lease interest rates, I assume).

Drilling into some of the key P&L ratios, GP Margin was 59.9%, up from 51.8% in pcp (testimony to the higher GP Margin ALS business, I suspect), but this was negated by CoDB-to-Sales which jumped from 43% to 51%.

In terms of balance sheet and cash flow, operating cash flows reasonable, reconciling well with P&L, and investing cash flows muted, resulting in improved net debt + lease position

So, some bouquets, some brickbats in the quality of the result (as is almost always the case with this sort of business).

Overall, I score it a 6.5, or maybe 7, out of 10.

Finally, there is the revision to full-year EBITDA guidance, from the previous 20% growth on FY2023, to 19% to 25% growth, effectively ($95m to $100m compared to FY2023's $80.1m).

Which sounds like an upgrade, but more accurately I think it can be described as "on average, an upgrade, but with small chance that it could end up being a downgrade".

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