Chorus PBT rose 228.6% but a tax swing drove NPAT's 825% jump

The NPAT figure is flattered by the effective tax rate falling to 46.4% from 81.0%, so PBT growth is the cleaner signal of underlying operating momentum, and both tax rates remain well above a normalised charge.

Revenue rose 1.5% to $1b and EBITDA rose 3% to $726.0m from $705.0m. Operating cash flow increased 32.4% to $740.0m, and cash conversion improved to 101.9% of EBITDA from 79.3%. Capex fell 9.9% to $374.0m (36.3% of revenue, down from 40.9%), lifting free cash flow to $368.0m.

On the balance sheet, total assets rose 16.2% to $7.1b and equity nearly doubled to $1b from $567.0m, while gross borrowings rose 5.7% to $3.3b. Net debt to EBITDA held broadly steady at 4.29x versus 4.34x.

Cash generation looks genuinely stronger, not just accounting-driven: operating cash flow of $740.0m against EBITDA of $726.0m puts conversion at 101.9%, up from 79.3%, and a lower capex intensity (36.3% of revenue versus 40.9%) supports free cash flow of $368.0m. This matters because it gives more room to fund the dividend from cash generated in the period rather than from balance-sheet capacity.

The near-doubling of equity to $1b alongside a 16.2% rise in total assets is large enough to change the leverage picture, yet nothing in the disclosed commentary explains the driver. Net debt to EBITDA is effectively unchanged at 4.29x despite the equity move, so the practical effect on financial flexibility is limited so far, but the scale of the balance-sheet shift warrants explanation.

Management's FY27 EBITDA guidance of $730 million to $760 million sits modestly above the FY26 outcome of $726.0m, implying continued but incremental EBITDA growth rather than a step-change.

The first-half to full-year shape shows NPAT more back-half weighted than revenue or EBITDA, with the interim period contributing 40.5% of full-year NPAT versus roughly 49% of revenue and EBITDA. This is consistent with normal seasonal skew rather than evidence of deteriorating trajectory, but there is no forward NPAT guidance to test it against.

The operating cash and free cash flow improvement look more durable, since operating cash flow rose in line with EBITDA growth and capex fell as a share of revenue, rather than the improvement coming from a one-off working-capital swing.

Return on equity improved to 3.6% from 0.7%, which is directionally positive but still low in absolute terms, and it is partly a function of the equity base nearly doubling, so the ratio should be read cautiously until the equity movement itself is explained.

This briefing cannot assess the specific driver of the equity and total-asset movement or the sustainability of the current effective tax rate, because the underlying explanation was not present in the supplied release excerpts.