Table of Contents
What changed
Revenue rose 18.2% to $138.1m, with New Zealand up 14% to $100.0m and Australia up 32% to $38.2m (helped by price). Group EBITDA before significant items was $15.1m (no prior comparable disclosed) and operating profit rebuilt 84.4% to $5.6m from $3.0m. Despite that, profit before tax was essentially flat at $0.6m (-0.4%), and statutory NPAT of $0.6m versus $0.4m is driven by a small tax benefit rather than an operating uplift. Net operating cash inflow fell 82.2% to $1.8m from $9.9m, cash declined to $12.0m, and gross borrowings rose to $71.1m, taking net debt to $59.1m (roughly 3.9x current-half EBITDA).
What matters
- Earnings quality read is PBT, not NPAT. Pre-tax profit was flat at $0.6m while reported NPAT grew 43.2%; the gap is explained by an implied negative effective tax rate this half versus ~25% prior. On the cleaner PBT read, operating leverage from the 18% revenue lift did not drop through.
- Cash conversion deteriorated sharply. OCF/EBITDA of ~11.7% is weak, and trade debtors rose 52.8% to $42.8m while inventories rose 49.4% to $32.7m. Receivable days moved to ~56 from ~44 and inventory days to ~43 from ~34 — a clear working-capital build that absorbed the profit recovery in cash terms.
- Leverage direction is the wrong way. Net debt rose ~$11.2m year-on-year against only a $6.0m increase in equity, at the same time as cash generation weakened. Total liabilities grew 24.4% versus 7.2% equity growth.
Expectations
No numeric guidance, forward-work book, or medium-term target was disclosed in the supplied material; management commentary is qualitative and points only to "further margin recovery" in H2. Annualising HY23 revenue gives ~$276.3m, about 17% above FY22's $236.1m, but the FY22 shape was roughly half-year weighted on revenue (HY22 was 49.5% of the full year), so a straight doubling is not obviously supported and AGG price-led growth may not repeat. The release does not provide enough to judge whether H2 margin recovery is quantifiably under way.
Quality of result
Durable elements include the Australian segment swinging from a $0.7m loss to a $2.6m result (~6.8% EBIT margin) and the restoration of group operating profit to $5.6m. Less durable: the NPAT growth is tax-driven on a flat PBT; EBITDA is presented before significant items without a full statutory bridge in the supplied pages; and the cash result is materially worse than the P&L, with the shortfall sitting in receivables and inventory rather than in earnings. New Zealand EBIT also fell despite higher revenue and trading days, so margin recovery has not yet landed in the dominant segment.
Unresolved
- What are the "significant items" excluded from the $15.1m EBITDA, and what is the statutory EBIT/EBITDA bridge?
- Is the receivables build ageing-driven or purely volume/price-driven, and how much of AGG's 32% growth was price versus volume that needs to be financed again next half?
- Capex for the period and any covenant headroom on the enlarged $71.1m borrowing position were not disclosed in the supplied pages.
- Dividend policy status after the prior references to "resumption" of dividends is not confirmed here.
This briefing cannot assess liquidity covenants, the composition of significant items, or forward order-book support because none of those are quantified in the supplied extraction.
Key metrics
| Metric | HY23 | HY22 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $138.1m | $116.9m | +18.2% ↑ |
| EBITDA | $15.1m | — | — |
| Net profit after tax | $600m | $419m | +43.2% ↑ |
| Net cash inflow from operating activities | $1.8m | $9.9m | -82.2% ↓ |
| Operating profit | $5.6m | $3.0m | +84.4% ↑ |
| Cash and cash equivalents | $12.0m | $13.7m | -12.4% ↓ |
| Total assets | $285.7m | $241.2m | +18.4% ↑ |
Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/mpg-hy23
Segment breakdown
| Segment | Current revenue | Prior revenue | Current result | Mix shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | $100.0m | $87.9m | $3.6m | -2.8pp |
| Australia | $38.2m | $29m | $2.6m | +2.8pp |
Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/mpg-hy23
Analytical metrics
| Metric | HY23 | HY22 | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBT growth | -0.4% | — | cleaner earnings measure |
| Effective tax rate | -7.5% | 25.2% | — |
| OCF / EBITDA (cash conversion) | 11.7% | — | deteriorated |
| Capex | — | −$7.3m | — |
| Debtor days | 56.4 | 43.7 | +12.7 days |
| Inventory days | 43.1 | 34.1 | +9.0 days |
| Trade debtors | $42.8m | $28.0m | +$14.8m |
| Net debt | $59.1m | $47.8m | +$11.2m |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.90x | — | Weakening |
| Gross borrowings | $71.1m | $61.5m | +$9.5m |
| ROE (annualised) | 0.7% | 0.5% | Strengthening |
| HY22 share of FY22 revenue | 49.5% | — | Other half was 50.5% |
| HY22 share of FY22 NPAT | -91.3% | — | Other half was 191.3% |
| Profit from continuing operations | — | $0.4m | — |
Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/mpg-hy23
This analysis was generated using Annolyse, an AI-powered tool that extracts and analyses NZX company announcements. The underlying data is extracted from official company filings and verified against source documents. 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.