Table of Contents
What changed
Revenue fell 5.7% to NZD 130.2m as New Zealand revenue dropped 13% to NZD 87.0m, partly offset by Australian Glass Group growing to NZD 43.2m (share of group revenue up 5.5pp to 33.2%). Despite the lower top line, EBITDA before significant items rose 9.5% to NZD 16.5m, pointing to margin recovery and cost actions. The statutory picture is very different: a NZD 9.1m intangible asset impairment tied to the New Zealand construction outlook pushed operating profit from +NZD 5.6m to –NZD 3.8m and NPAT from +NZD 0.6m to –NZD 9.2m. Operating cash flow jumped to NZD 13.4m from NZD 1.8m, gross borrowings fell to NZD 59.5m from NZD 71.1m, and net debt/EBITDA improved to roughly 3.2x from 3.9x. Equity fell 25.8% to NZD 66.5m, reflecting the loss and impairment.
What matters
- The disclosed NZD 9.1m intangible impairment is management's own signal on the New Zealand building cycle. It is the named driver of the NPAT/EBITDA divergence rather than a tax or one-off accounting artefact, and it leans against the more positive underlying margin story.
- Mix is shifting toward the higher-margin Australian segment: AGG earned NZD 4.6m of segment EBIT on NZD 43.2m of revenue (~10.7%) versus NZ at NZD 3.2m on NZD 87.0m (~3.7%). AGG's share gain of 5.5pp explains a meaningful part of the EBITDA uplift.
- Leverage is moving in the right direction. Borrowings are down NZD 11.6m, working capital has been tightened (receivable days 51.9 from 56.5; inventory days 40.2 from 43.1; operating working capital down NZD 9.7m), and net debt/EBITDA has improved by roughly 0.7 turns. That matters more than the headline loss for solvency.
Expectations
The release states the earnings result was in line with August guidance, and no quantified forward-work or formal FY24 target was supplied. Annualised HY24 revenue of NZD 260.4m sits just below FY23 revenue of NZD 263.5m, implying a broadly flat run-rate rather than a step-change — but the disclosed FY23 pattern was second-half-weighted (HY23 was 52.4% of FY23 revenue yet the full-year NPAT was a NZD 10.5m loss), so the second-half shape has historically been the more difficult half. Nothing in this release indicates that has reversed, particularly given the impairment signalling a weaker NZ outlook.
Quality of result
The underlying EBITDA improvement on lower revenue looks genuine: segment disclosures point to AGG mix gain plus cost/overhead initiatives, not a one-off boost. Operating cash flow quality is, however, heavily working-capital-assisted — OCF/EBITDA of ~81% versus ~12% a year ago coincides with a NZD 9.7m reduction in operating working capital; roughly all of the OCF improvement is explained by lower receivables and inventories on a smaller revenue base. That is a one-time release, not a repeatable step-up in cash generation. The NZ impairment is non-cash but is an explicit write-down of future-earnings capacity, not a tidying-up adjustment. Capex and management-defined free cash flow were not disclosed, limiting the read on sustained cash quality.
Unresolved
- The HY24 income tax line and PBT were not disclosed in the supplied excerpts, so the tax bridge from EBITDA to the NZD 9.2m statutory loss cannot be fully verified beyond the NZD 9.1m impairment.
- No capex, lease payment, or management-defined free cash flow figures are provided, so free cash flow and dividend/debt-servicing capacity cannot be assessed.
- There is no quantified forward-work book, order intake, or FY24 guidance range disclosed, and no customer concentration data to gauge exposure to the softer NZ construction cycle flagged by the impairment.
- This briefing cannot assess valuation, liquidity covenants, or the recoverable amount assumptions behind the NZD 9.1m impairment, as none were provided in the extracted material.
Key metrics
| Metric | HY24 | HY23 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $130.2m | $138.1m | -5.7% ↓ |
| EBITDA | $16.5m | $15.1m | +9.5% ↑ |
| Net profit after tax | −$9200m | $600m | -1633.3% ↓ |
| Net cash inflow from operating activities | $13.4m | $1.8m | +659.8% ↑ |
| Operating profit | −$3.8m | $5.6m | -168.0% ↓ |
| Cash and cash equivalents | $6.7m | $12.0m | -44.2% ↓ |
| Total assets | $235.9m | $285.7m | -17.4% ↓ |
Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/mpg-hy24
Segment breakdown
| Segment | Current revenue | Prior revenue | Current result | Mix shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | $87.0m | $100.0m | $3.2m | -5.5pp |
| Australia | $43.2m | $38.2m | $4.6m | +5.5pp |
Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/mpg-hy24
Analytical metrics
| Metric | HY24 | HY23 | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective tax rate | n/a | 0.0% | — |
| OCF / EBITDA (cash conversion) | 81.2% | 11.7% | stable |
| Debtor days | 51.9 | 56.5 | -4.6 days |
| Inventory days | 40.2 | 43.1 | -2.9 days |
| Operating working capital | $65.9m | $75.5m | −$9.7m absorbed |
| Trade debtors | $37.1m | $42.8m | −$5.7m |
| Net debt | $52.8m | $59.1m | −$6.3m |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.20x | 3.90x | Strengthening |
| Gross borrowings | $59.5m | $71.1m | −$11.6m |
| ROE (annualised) | -11.8% | 0.7% | Weakening |
| HY23 share of FY23 revenue | 52.4% | — | Other half was 47.6% |
| HY23 share of FY23 NPAT | -5.7% | — | Other half was 105.7% |
Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/mpg-hy24
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.