Underlying NPAT fell 45% and $54.5M of one-offs drove a $25.8M statutory loss

Profit before tax moved to a loss of NZD 4.9m from NZD 55.2m (-109.0%). Management's underlying NPAT of NZD 28.7m was 45% below prior, and the gap to statutory is attributed to NZD 54.5m of one-off items disclosed in the release.

Revenue fell 7.0% to NZD 937.2m, while reported EBITDA was NZD 154.2m. Within that, sale-of-services revenue (primarily rentals) grew 10% to NZD 486.5m and lifted the recurring mix to 51.9% from 43.9%, so the headline decline reflects weakness in vehicle/retail sales rather than the rental fleet.

Operating cash flow collapsed 83.4% to NZD 28.6m from NZD 172.4m. Net debt fell to NZD 491.4m (3.2x EBITDA) and the final dividend was cut to 4.0 cents from 7.0 cents.

• Even excluding the disclosed NZD 54.5m of one-offs, underlying NPAT fell 45% to NZD 28.7m, which management labels "bottom-of-the-cycle". The implication is that the result is not solely an accounting clean-up; the operating base has stepped down.
• North America is the dominant drag. The segment posted a NZD 34.3m result loss on NZD 247.0m of revenue at a 7.7% gross margin. New Zealand (NZD 48.2m result, 20% margin) and Australia (NZD 17.1m, 12% margin) remained profitable, so the consolidated swing is concentrated rather than broad-based, and the recovery path depends heavily on a single geography.
• Payout ratio versus pre-lease FCF is suppressed because the source-backed cash-dividend bridge is unavailable.

The half-year split is unusually skewed: HY25 carried 73.5% of full-year EBITDA and posted a NZD 25.3m statutory profit, while the implied second half delivered only NZD 40.9m of EBITDA and a NZD 51.0m statutory loss. That second-half deterioration is the read management needs to reverse.

Because management explicitly frames FY25 as a trough, the absence of a quantified FY26 anchor matters more than usual. The release does not commit to a specific recovery shape, so investors are taking the cycle call largely on faith.

The NZD 54.5m of one-off items pushes statutory below underlying, but the underlying figure itself is down 45%, so stripping the one-offs does not produce a comfortable run-rate. Operating cash flow benefited from a NZD 21.4m operating-working-capital release, including the disclosed Australian RV inventory reduction of more than NZD 35m and a NZD 21.3m fall in trade receivables (debtor days down to 8.4 from 15.5). These are durable balance-sheet wins, but they are non-repeatable cash sources.

Capex was cut 75.6% to NZD 38.4m, or 4.1% of revenue versus 15.6% prior, which lowered the apparent capex burden but reflects deliberate fleet contraction rather than improved asset productivity. ROE moved to -4.6% from +6.4%. Net debt fell NZD 41.2m, but that was achieved partly through fleet liquidation and equity rather than operating cash generation. Investors should treat reported leverage improvement as cycle management, not earnings strength.

This briefing cannot assess forward earnings power because no FY26 guidance, forward bookings or quantified recovery target was disclosed in the supplied materials.