PBT swung to $212m loss but proportionate EBITDAF beat the guidance midpoint

Yet revenue grew 11.7% to $3.3b and proportionate operational EBITDAF reached $986m, towards the upper end of the $960–1,000m guidance band Infratil set earlier. The June 2024 acquisition of the remaining 49.95% of One NZ pulled a much larger revenue and cost base into full consolidation; One NZ now represents 57.5% of group revenue ($1.9b). Operating cash flow fell 15.6% to $386.4m on capex of $458.3m, leaving pre-lease free cash flow at -$71.9m versus +$21.3m. The prior year's discontinued-operation impact was negligible (-$0.4m).

• Operating profit rose 9.4% to $397m and One NZ's segment result improved to $92.5m from $51.2m, but the swing to a reported loss combined with an unprecedented -23.2% effective tax rate (versus 9.9% prior) points to material non-operating items — fair value movements, financing or revaluation effects following the acquisition. Proportionate operational EBITDAF of $986m is the cleaner economic read this release supplies.

• Manawa Energy's result halved. Manawa contributed $61.3m versus $123.8m on broadly flat revenue ($491.0m versus $472.7m), a $62.5m fall that materially offset One NZ's $41.3m improvement. The release excerpts do not explain the driver, so the read on FY26 underlying earnings depends on whether this is hydrology, pricing, or structural.

• Payout ratio versus pre-lease FCF is suppressed because the source-backed cash-dividend bridge is unavailable.

No FY26 quantitative target appears in the supplied excerpts, so the forward read hangs on whether a first full year of consolidated One NZ can absorb continued Manawa weakness and the renewable development losses at Gurīn Energy (-$34.5m) and Mint Renewables (-$13.9m).

The shape data shows HY25 NPAT of -$212.2m became FY25 NPAT of -$286.3m, implying a -$74.1m second half. Second-half operating cash flow of $293.3m did most of the year's work, consistent with working-capital normalisation rather than margin expansion.

Underlying operating profit of $397m, up 9.4%, is more consistent with the EBITDAF outcome than with the headline loss.

Cash quality is mixed. Pre-lease FCF of -$71.9m sits within Infratil's recent historical range, so cash generation is not abnormally weak — but it remains insufficient to fund the dividend without external sources, which has been the multi-year pattern. Capex stayed heavy at 13.7% of revenue (versus 14.6% prior), so the cash profile continues to favour the longer-dated digital-infrastructure thesis over near-term shareholder yield. The result is therefore better described as durable operating progress masked by acquisition-driven non-cash distortion than as economic deterioration.

This briefing cannot assess share-price valuation against the $1.07 NTA per share without market data not supplied here.