Rakon (RAK) / FY22

Rakon FY22: PBT up 275% on chip-shortage demand, inventory swells 52%

Operating earnings nearly quadrupled and the balance sheet swung deeper into net cash, but inventory days extended and FCF-to-NPAT conversion halved.

Release date
26 May 2022
Published
21 April 2026

What changed

FY22 revenue rose 34.1% to NZ$172.0m, with the release attributing part of the uplift to chip-shortage-related demand alongside "core" growth. Operating profit jumped 265.9% to NZ$41.4m and profit before tax rose 275.2% to NZ$41.9m, driving NPAT to NZ$33.1m (+243.5%). Operating cash flow grew 50.7% to NZ$30.2m — a much slower pace than earnings. The balance sheet strengthened materially: cash climbed to NZ$39.2m from NZ$15.1m and net cash rose to NZ$23.2m from NZ$5.0m, even as gross borrowings lifted to NZ$16.0m. Inventory was the standout balance-sheet move, up 52.0% to NZ$57.3m. Segment-wise, NZ contributes ~70% of revenue at an underlying EBITDA margin near 34.9%, well above France/India (~12.5%) and HiRel (~7.3%).

What matters

  • PBT, not NPAT, is the cleaner read. The effective tax rate rose to ~21.0% from 13.7%, which mechanically widens the gap between PBT growth (+275.2%) and NPAT growth (+243.5%). The underlying operating step-up is the PBT figure.
  • Inventory build is the central earnings-quality question. Inventory days stretched to ~122 from ~107 even as receivable days improved sharply (~68 from ~89). Working capital on a receivables-plus-inventories proxy absorbed an extra NZ$20.3m year on year. Given management's own language separating "core" revenue from "chip-shortage-related" revenue, whether this inventory supports durable demand or cyclical demand matters more than the headline growth rate.
  • Leverage direction is unambiguously positive. Net cash roughly quadrupled and ROE jumped to 24.5% from 9.3%. The group is funding strong growth while still de-gearing on a net basis.

Expectations

No quantitative targets or forward-work/backlog disclosures are supplied, so this release cannot be benchmarked against management guidance. Half-year shape shows HY22 delivered 49.7% of full-year revenue and 57.2% of full-year NPAT — profit was slightly first-half weighted, so the business did not accelerate further in H2 on an earnings basis. Operating cash flow, however, was heavily second-half weighted: only NZ$4.5m in HY22 versus an implied NZ$25.7m in H2 (~85% of full-year OCF), consistent with working-capital unwind late in the year. Without a stated FY23 target, the release supports a strong exit posture but does not set a run-rate the skeptical reader can anchor to.

Quality of result

Mixed. The PBT step-up is real and the balance sheet is genuinely stronger, but the earnings-to-cash relationship weakened: free cash flow pre-lease was NZ$21.8m against NZ$33.1m NPAT, a 65.7% conversion rate versus 164.6% in FY21. Capex also stepped up to 4.9% of revenue from 3.3%. The 52.0% inventory lift and extended inventory days indicate a portion of the FY22 earnings is balance-sheet-assisted in the sense that stock has been built to service a demand environment the company itself has flagged as partly shortage-related. Cash conversion deterioration warrants explicit attention. The offsetting positive is the clean improvement in receivable days, which rules out aggressive end-of-period revenue pull-forward via debtor extension.

Unresolved

  • How much of the 34.1% revenue growth and 265.9% operating profit growth is "core" versus chip-shortage tailwind? The release references the distinction but the supplied excerpts do not quantify the split.
  • Is the NZ$57.3m inventory position supported by firm orders, or is it speculative build against shortage pricing? No forward-work or order-book figure is disclosed.
  • Why did the effective tax rate rise ~7.3pp, and is 21% the right forward assumption?
  • No group-level reconciliation from underlying EBITDA to statutory earnings is provided, leaving the non-GAAP bridge opaque.
  • No dividend disclosure is quantified in the supplied data, so payout policy and capital-return intent cannot be read.

This briefing cannot assess the durability of shortage-driven demand, the composition of the order book, or any post-balance-date trading update, as none of those are contained in the supplied extraction.

Key metrics

← Swipe to view more
Metric FY22 FY21 Change
Revenue $172.0m $128.3m +34.1% ↑
Net profit after tax $33.1m $9.6m +243.5% ↑
Net cash inflow from operating activities $30.2m $20.1m +50.7% ↑
Operating profit $41.4m $11.3m +265.9% ↑
Profit before tax $41.9m $11.2m +275.2% ↑
Cash and cash equivalents $39.2m $15.1m +160.3% ↑
Total assets $199.9m $154.4m +29.5% ↑

Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/rak-fy22

Segment breakdown

← Swipe to view more
Segment Current revenue Prior revenue Current result Mix shift
NZ $120.4m $42.0m n/a
France/India $29.9m $3.7m n/a
HiRel $18.9m $1.4m n/a
T’maker $0m $4.6m n/a
Other $2.7m $2.7m n/a

Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/rak-fy22

Analytical metrics

← Swipe to view more
Metric FY22 FY21 Context
PBT growth +275.2% cleaner earnings measure
Effective tax rate 21.0% 13.7%
FCF pre-lease $21.8m $15.9m +$5.9m
FCF / NPAT 65.7% 164.6% complementary conversion metric
Capex % revenue 4.9% 3.3%
Capex $8.5m $4.2m +$4.3m
Debtor days 68.2 89.3 -21.1 days
Inventory days 121.7 107.3 +14.4 days
Operating working capital $89.4m $69.1m +$20.3m absorbed
Trade debtors $32.1m $31.4m +$0.7m
Net debt −$23.2m −$5.0m −$18.2m
Gross borrowings $16.0m $10.0m +$5.9m
ROE (annualised) 24.5% 9.3% Strengthening
HY22 share of FY22 revenue 49.7% Other half was 50.3%
HY22 share of FY22 NPAT 57.2% Other half was 42.8%
Profit from continuing operations $33.1m $9.6m +$23.5m

Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/rak-fy22


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.

Metric context

Trajectory before this result

A compact view of the company's recent revenue and margin path, derived from the same metrics history that powers the company page.

RAK revenue trajectory

Revenue context before the current result.

RAK EBITDA margin

Earnings margin across covered periods.

Appendix

Reference material

Company materials considered in this briefing.

Current period

Rakon Annual Report 2022

FY22 / financial report

Rakon FY22 Results Announcement

FY22 / results announcement

Rakon FY22 Results Announcement

FY22 / results release

Prior comparable period

Rakon Annual Report FY2021

FY21 / financial report

Rakon FY2021 Annual Report and Review Announcement

FY21 / results release

Interim context

Rakon 1H22 Interim Report

HY22 / financial report

Rakon 1H22 Results Announcement

HY22 / results announcement

Rakon 1H22 Results Announcement

HY22 / results release

Email updates

Want briefings like this for the next reporting season?

Get the next Annolyse briefing by email when it is published.