Table of Contents
What changed
Revenue rose 6.8% to $300.3m as travel demand began to rebound, but the reported earnings line is heavily distorted by comparability. The release states operating EBITDAFI was down 16% to $144.5m (versus a restated $171.5m in FY21). The $711.9m prior-year "EBITDA" in the like-for-like table includes fair value movements and is not like-for-like with the $144.5m EBITDAFI. PBT fell 65.6% to $169.6m and NPAT fell 58.7% to $191.6m. Operating cash flow improved materially to $101.2m (from $61.0m), but capex stepped up to $260.0m from $197.1m, and cash on hand fell to $24.7m from $79.5m. Gross borrowings rose $83.8m to $1,476.6m; net debt lifted to about $1,451.9m. No final dividend was declared, consistent with FY21.
Segment mix: Property became the largest disclosed segment ($123.3m income, 41.6% share) at an ~83.5% EBITDAFI margin, while Aeronautical's margin collapsed from ~54.8% to ~27.7% despite revenue rising to $118.8m.
What matters
- Reinvestment is outrunning operating cash. OCF-to-EBITDAFI of ~70% looks healthy in isolation, but capex of $260.0m (86.6% of revenue) drove pre-lease FCF to -$158.8m, worse than the -$136.1m in FY21. The funding gap showed up directly in a $54.8m cash drawdown and an $83.8m increase in gross borrowings.
- Leverage moved the wrong way. On the disclosed EBITDAFI measure, net debt to EBITDAFI is around 10.0x versus 1.8x in FY21. Even allowing for the fact that EBITDAFI is still depressed versus a normalised base, the combination of rising borrowings, dwindling cash, and suspended dividends points to a balance sheet actively absorbing the recovery.
- Earnings mix quality weakened where it matters most. Aeronautical is the volume-levered segment, and its EBITDAFI margin halving to ~27.7% is a larger read-through than the headline revenue rebound suggests. Property carried the result.
Expectations
No quantified forward-work, traffic, or earnings guidance was disclosed in the supplied extracts, and there are no stated targets to measure against. The HY22 context does provide shape: H2 implied revenue of ~$174.1m and EBITDAFI of ~$84.2m both exceeded H1, consistent with a second-half traffic inflection. NPAT was more first-half weighted (56.8% in H1) because of non-cash investment uplifts flagged in the HY22 release. The release language ("rebounding demand") supports directional momentum, but the filing does not support a view on how quickly Aeronautical margins normalise or when the capex intensity eases.
Quality of result
Moderate and directionally improving, but not yet durable. The cleaner operating read is PBT down 65.6%; NPAT fell less (58.7%) because of a ~$22.0m tax benefit (effective tax rate about -13.0% versus +5.9% prior), so the headline NPAT understates the operating decline. OCF improvement is genuine and is helped by trade receivable days collapsing from ~31 to ~10, a working-capital tailwind that will not repeat at the same magnitude. Reported NPAT also benefits from investment/fair value uplifts flagged at the half year — a non-GAAP reconciliation was referenced but not included in the extracts, limiting the ability to strip them out cleanly. Property, the highest-margin segment, is carrying the group mix; the genuinely cyclical recovery in Aeronautical has not yet shown up in margin.
Unresolved
- What is the FY22 underlying profit/loss figure, and how large were the fair-value and investment uplifts inside reported NPAT?
- What is the forward capex profile, and when does the spend on the terminal/infrastructure programme peak?
- What is management's tolerance for leverage at ~10x EBITDAFI, and what are the banking covenant thresholds?
- When does the board expect dividends to resume, and against which earnings or cash metric?
- How much of the Aeronautical margin compression is volume-driven versus cost reset, and what is the path back?
This briefing cannot assess valuation, covenant headroom, or the underlying-profit bridge, because NTA, covenant terms, and the non-GAAP reconciliation table were not included in the supplied extracts.
Key metrics
| Metric | FY22 | FY21 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $300.3m | $281.1m | +6.8% ↑ |
| Net profit after tax | $191.6m | $464.2m | -58.7% ↓ |
| Net cash inflow from operating activities | $101.2m | $61m | +65.9% ↑ |
| Final dividend per share | 0.0c | 0.0c | flat |
| EBITDAF | $144.5m | $711.9m | -79.7% ↓ |
| Operating profit | $223.3m | $587.2m | -62.0% ↓ |
| Profit before tax | $169.6m | $493.2m | -65.6% ↓ |
| Cash and cash equivalents | $24.7m | $79.5m | -68.9% ↓ |
| Total assets | $10152.9m | $9782.8m | +3.8% ↑ |
Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/aia-fy22
Segment breakdown
| Segment | Current revenue | Prior revenue | Current result | Mix shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aeronautical | $118.8m | $110.1m | $32.9m | -0.5pp |
| Retail | $54.2m | $52.2m | $38.1m | -0.9pp |
| Property | $123.3m | $109.7m | $103m | +1.3pp |
Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/aia-fy22
Analytical metrics
| Metric | FY22 | FY21 | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBT growth | -65.6% | — | cleaner earnings measure |
| Effective tax rate | -13.0% | 5.9% | — |
| OCF / EBITDAF (cash conversion) | 70.0% | 8.6% | stable |
| FCF pre-lease | −$158.8m | −$136.1m | −$22.7m |
| FCF / NPAT | -82.9% | -29.3% | complementary conversion metric |
| Capex % revenue | 86.6% | 70.1% | — |
| Capex | $260.0m | $197.1m | +$62.9m |
| Debtor days | 10.0 | 31.0 | -21.0 days |
| Inventory days | 0.0 | 0.3 | -0.3 days |
| Trade debtors | $8.2m | $23.9m | −$15.7m |
| Net debt | $1451.9m | $1313.3m | +$138.6m |
| Net debt / EBITDAF | 10.00x | 1.80x | Weakening |
| Gross borrowings | $1476.6m | $1392.8m | +$83.8m |
| Payout ratio vs NPAT | 0.0% | — | — |
| Payout ratio vs FCF pre-lease | 0.0% | — | covered |
| ROE (annualised) | 2.4% | 5.9% | Weakening |
| HY22 share of FY22 revenue | 42.0% | — | Other half was 58.0% |
| HY22 share of FY22 EBITDAF | 41.7% | — | Other half was 58.3% |
| HY22 share of FY22 NPAT | 56.8% | — | Other half was 43.2% |
| Profit from continuing operations | $0.2m | $464.2m | −$464.0m |
Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/aia-fy22
This analysis was generated using Annolyse, an AI-powered tool that analyses NZX/ASX company announcements. The analysis is based on available company filings and standard Annolyse calculations. This is general information only and does not constitute financial advice. The analysis may contain errors. Always read the original company filings and consult a licensed financial adviser before making investment decisions.