Revenue up 13.9% but EBITDA margin fell to -10.4%, PBT down 149.7%

That combination means the top-line recovery did not translate into profit, and profit before tax fell 149.7% to -$82.7m while net profit after tax fell 151.1% to -$61.2m. Half-year shape data show first-half EBITDA of $1.24m against a full-year figure of -$45.8m, implying roughly -$47.1m of EBITDA loss in the second half alone, despite management commentary describing an emerging recovery. Net debt rose to $48.0m from $36.3m and gross borrowings rose to $60.0m from $50.0m, while total equity fell 33.2% to $121.8m.

Second, the loss is concentrated in the second half, which sits in tension with release commentary citing a 40% increase in "normalised" EBIT in the second half versus the first — no disclosed one-off items reconcile that gap in the extraction data, so the divergence between the normalised narrative and the reported loss remains unexplained. Third, the balance sheet has weakened materially: equity fell 33.2% to $121.8m, net debt rose to $48.0m, and ROE fell to -50.2% from -13.4%, which reduces financial flexibility for further investment or a swift deleveraging.

Commentary describes a cautious outlook with signs of improving demand and highlights operating leverage from a modest revenue recovery, but the fact that the bulk of the year's loss materialised in the second half — the period management describes as improving — means the release does not yet support a reliable guide to a near-term earnings recovery.

However, the cash balance still fell 12.3% to $12.0m, and debtor days rose to 49.8 days, at the upper edge of the historical range (mean 45.5 days), pointing to some receivables build against a deteriorating profit base. A reliable cash-conversion ratio (operating cash flow versus EBITDA) cannot be computed meaningfully this period because EBITDA is negative, distorting the denominator; that ratio should not be treated as a normal analytical signal here. Inventory days fell to 92.3 from 107.6, which is a genuine working-capital improvement, but overall the cash performance looks more like balance-sheet management around a large operating loss than evidence of durable earnings quality.

This briefing cannot assess the segment-level profitability drivers behind the reported loss, since current-period segment results were not disclosed, nor can it verify cash-conversion quality given the negative-EBITDA denominator distortion.