PBT growth of n/m reflects a one-off-depressed FY25 base

This matters because release commentary on the prior year attributes that loss largely to roughly $54.5M NZD of one-off non-cash impairments, so the headline growth rates measure recovery against an unusually weak base rather than pure operating momentum.

Revenue fell 9.0% to $852.9M NZD. Segment mix shifted meaningfully: North America Rentals & Sales swung from a $34.3M NZD segment loss to an $8.5M NZD profit, while New Zealand Rentals & Sales lifted margin to 22.5% from 20.0%. A UK/Ireland Rentals & Sales exit was reported as a discontinued operation, contributing a $1.5M NZD after-tax loss beneath the $39.9M NZD continuing-operations profit line, which is why statutory NPAT of $38.4M NZD sits below the continuing-operations figure.

Second, leverage has genuinely eased — net debt fell to $434.9M NZD from $491.4M NZD and net debt/EBITDA improved to 1.99x from 3.19x — but net debt remains above thl's own stated sub-$400M target for 30 June 2026, and Group ROFE of 8.7% (up from 7.6%) still trails the 15% through-cycle target management has set, which means balance-sheet flexibility has improved faster than capital returns. Third, operating cash flow rose to 30.8% of EBITDA from 18.5%, aided by a $29.6M NZD inventory reduction; this ratio has an insufficient same-basis history for a normal-range comparison, so it should be treated as a single-period reading rather than a confirmed trend. Separately, capex fell 76.3% to $9.1M NZD from $38.4M NZD, which supported free cash flow but does not itself explain the operating cash flow/EBITDA movement, and it raises the question of whether fleet reinvestment has been deferred rather than structurally reduced.

On that basis, the 8.7% ROFE and $434.9M NZD net debt both fall short of the respective 15% and sub-$400M goals, meaning the improvement shown this year still leaves distance to close. The interim-period context also shows first-half NPAT of $29.6M NZD represented 76.9% of the full-year $38.4M NZD, implying a materially weaker second half of roughly $8.9M NZD; this front-loading matters because any forward commentary about continued growth needs to explain why the second half was so much softer than the first.

But a meaningful share of the cash-flow and balance-sheet gain is timing- and asset-driven: the $29.6M NZD inventory release and the 76.3% drop in capex both flatter free cash flow (FCF/NPAT rose to 151.3% from 38.2%) without necessarily reflecting a lower ongoing capital intensity for a rental-fleet business. The 1,079.2 percentage-point gap between PBT growth and NPAT growth is explained by the current 34.4% effective tax rate replacing a prior-year rate of -420.8% generated by a pre-tax loss, so the tax line is a mechanical effect of profitability returning rather than a distortion of the operating result itself.

This briefing cannot assess the specific composition or verification of the FY25 one-off impairment charge referenced in prior-period commentary, as it falls outside the current period's disclosed figures.