Table of Contents
What changed
Revenue grew 4.1% to $371.7m, management's first reported revenue growth in several years, aided by stabilising Sky Box revenue and streaming revenue up 34%. Below the revenue line, the picture reversed: PBT fell 29.6% to $39.8m, NPAT fell 28.6% to $28.3m, and operating profit dropped 31.2% to $42.1m. The tax line did not distort the trend (effective tax rate 29% vs 30%), so PBT and NPAT growth move together.
Cash generation went the other way. Operating cash flow rose 46.3% to $74.9m, capex eased to $18.5m, and pre-lease free cash flow came in at $56.4m versus $31.3m. Gross borrowings were all but extinguished, falling from $102.1m to $3.4m, while cash fell from $123.3m to $73.9m. Total liabilities dropped 38.4% and equity rose 11.2% to $456.6m. No interim dividend was declared, consistent with HY21, though management flagged dividends resuming from FY22.
What matters
- Revenue inflection is real but modest. HY22 annualises to $743.3m versus FY21's $711.2m, about 4.5% above the anchor year, driven by streaming growth rather than a new price or volume step-up.
- The earnings drop is largely a comp effect, not an operating collapse. HY21 produced 83.8% of FY21 NPAT and 62.4% of FY21 EBITDA, meaning last year's first half was unusually loaded. Current EBITDA is not disclosed in the supplied excerpts, which limits how cleanly this can be pinned down.
- Balance sheet direction is the strongest signal. Debt has been almost fully retired and equity is up, consistent with management's signal that dividends resume from FY22 and that capital is now being positioned for "investment opportunities."
Expectations
No formal numeric guidance is provided in the supplied material. FY21 commentary referenced guidance for revenue growth in FY22, and the 4.1% first-half print is consistent with that directional goal. On shape, FY21 was heavily first-half weighted on earnings, so simply doubling HY22 NPAT of $28.3m will overstate the likely full-year result if the same skew applies. What the release clearly supports is revenue re-acceleration and materially better cash generation; what it does not support, on the numbers shown, is a sharp earnings expansion versus FY21.
Quality of result
The cash result looks durable rather than manufactured. Working capital was essentially flat (operating working capital $149.1m vs $149.4m; receivable days down 1.2 to 26.4; inventory days down 1.9 to 46.7), so the OCF lift is not a receivables or inventory release. Capex at roughly 5% of revenue is in line with prior. Pre-lease FCF of $56.4m covers NPAT 2.0x, underscoring that the earnings decline is not a cash decline.
Two quality caveats. First, the company-defined free cash flow of $39.7m sits below the statutory pre-lease FCF of $56.4m, and no reconciliation bridge is provided in the excerpt. Second, current-period EBITDA is not disclosed in the supplied material, so the underlying operating margin trajectory cannot be verified directly.
Unresolved
- What drove the ~30% fall in operating profit on +4.1% revenue: cost reinflation, content amortisation, depreciation step-up, or HY21 one-offs reversing out?
- Where did the ~$49m of cash go given debt was already near zero and no dividend was paid — was it contract prepayments, content rights, or earmarked for the flagged "investment opportunities"?
- What is the reconciliation between statutory pre-lease FCF of $56.4m and the disclosed $39.7m company-defined free cash flow?
- What size and timing of FY22 dividend is implied by the resumption signal, and against what payout policy?
This briefing cannot assess the underlying EBITDA trajectory, content cost pressure, or subscriber economics because those figures are not in the supplied extraction.
Key metrics
| Metric | HY22 | HY21 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $371.7m | $356.9m | +4.1% ↑ |
| EBITDA | — | $116300m | — |
| Net profit after tax | $28.3m | $39.6m | -28.6% ↓ |
| Net cash inflow from operating activities | $74.9m | $51.2m | +46.3% ↑ |
| Interim dividend per share | 0.0c | 0.0c | flat |
| Operating profit | $42.1m | $61.2m | -31.2% ↓ |
| Profit before tax | $39.8m | $56.5m | -29.6% ↓ |
| Cash and cash equivalents | $73.9m | $123.3m | -40.0% ↓ |
| Total assets | $692.7m | $793.9m | -12.7% ↓ |
Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/skt-hy22
Analytical metrics
| Metric | HY22 | HY21 | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBT growth | -29.6% | — | — |
| Effective tax rate | 29.0% | 30.0% | — |
| FCF pre-lease | $56.4m | $31.3m | +$25.1m |
| FCF post-lease | $39.7m | — | — |
| FCF / NPAT | 140.5% | — | complementary conversion metric |
| Capex % revenue | 5.0% | 5.6% | — |
| Capex | $18.5m | $19.9m | −$1.4m |
| Free cash flow | $39700.0m | — | — |
| Debtor days | 26.4 | 27.6 | -1.2 days |
| Inventory days | 46.7 | 48.6 | -1.9 days |
| Operating working capital | $149.1m | $149.4m | −$0.3m absorbed |
| Trade debtors | $53.8m | $54.1m | −$0.3m |
| Net debt | −$70.5m | −$21.2m | −$49.3m |
| Gross borrowings | $3449.0m | $102.1m | +$3346.9m |
| Payout ratio vs NPAT | 0.0% | — | — |
| Payout ratio vs FCF pre-lease | 0.0% | — | covered |
| ROE (annualised) | 6.2% | 9.6% | Weakening |
| HY21 share of FY21 revenue | 50.2% | — | Other half was 49.8% |
| HY21 share of FY21 EBITDA | 62.4% | — | Other half was 37.6% |
| HY21 share of FY21 NPAT | 83.8% | — | Other half was 16.2% |
| Profit from continuing operations | $28.3m | $39.4m | −$11.1m |
Reference: annolyse.ai/briefings/skt-hy22
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.