Reporting Season Round-Up: BHP profits slide, Tabcorp earnings beat, Judo shares rally

Seek (ASX: SEK): Abrupt volume drop in Q2, market conditions generally positive

Reports first-half FY23 results (continuing operations):

• Revenue of $626.7m, up 21%

• EBITDA of $283.4m , up 13%

• Revenue was in-line with expectations, EBITDA below the $287.4m expected

• Reported net profit of $135m, up 7%

• Interim dividend of 24 cents per share (ex-dividend on March 23rd)

• “Across our Asia Pacific markets, demand for labour remained high during H1 23 which led to increased job ad volumes. In the second quarter, volumes reduced moderately across all markets, and had the unusual seasonal variation.” - CEO Ian Narev.

Outlook and guidance:

• Low unemployment and high candidate engagement continue to provide generally positive market conditions for Seek

• Revenue of approximately $1.26bn 

• EBITDA of approximately $560m

• NPAT of approximately $250m

Shaver Shop (ASX: SSG): Trading remains softer than expected

Reports first-half FY23 results:

• Total sales of $131.9m, up 3.8%

• Net profit of $13.7m, up 4.5%

• Interim dividend of 4.7 cents per share, up 4.4% (ex-dividend on March 2nd)

• “While trading in November and December came in a bit softer than we expected, we consciously chose not to chase sales at low margins, leading to a very pleasing gross profit margin of 44.3% for the half and a strong bottom line result.” - CEO Cameron Fox

Outlook and trading update:

• From 1 January to 18 February, total sales fell -2.1% on the comparative period in FY22

• “While trading has remained softer than expected at the start of the second half, our strategy to focus on driving profitable sales has continued to achieve its objectives with gross profit dollars increasing across the first seven weeks versus the prior comparative period.”

Iluka Resources (ASX: ILU) 20c dividend, production costs surprise on downside, capex far higher YoY

Reports 1HFY23:

• NPAT OF $597M vs. expectations of $591.9m

• Minerals sands revenue $1.73bn in line with expectation of $1.72bn

• EBITDA of $946.4m vs. expectation of $918.2m

• Cost of production $650.1m beats guidance of $660m

• Dividend of 20c (100% franked) payable 30 March

Outlook:

• Total FY23 production costs of $625m

• Unit cash costs expectations of $930/t of Zircon / Rutile

• Total production of 660,000 tonnes

• Capex of $550m vs. $142m YoY

Coles Group (ASX: COL) raises dividend and appoints new CEO

Reports H1:

• H1 EBIT (cont ops) $1.06bn versus expectations of $1.01bn

• Revenue $21.63bn vs expectations of A$21.37bn

• NPAT $616m against last year’s $553m

• Interim fully franked DPS 36c, up 9% from last year’s 33c; record 3-Mar, payable 30-Mar

Coles has delivered strong results, raised its dividend and appointed Leah Weckert as CEO effective 1-May, upon the retirement of Steven Cain.

Iluka Resources (ASX: ILU) beats earnings estimates, 20c dividend, production cost downside surprise, capex far higher YoY

Reports 1HFY23:

• NPAT OF $597M vs. expectations of $591.9m

• Minerals sands revenue $1.73bn in line with expectation of $1.72bn

• EBITDA of $946.4m vs. expectation of $918.2m

• Cost of production $650.1m beats guidance of $660m

• Dividend of 20c (100% franked) payable 30 March

Outlook:

• Total FY23 production costs of $625m

• Unit cash costs expectations of $930/t of Zircon / Rutile

• Total production of 660,000 tonnes

• Capex of $550m vs. $142m YoY

Costa Group (ASX: CGC): A return to form

Reports full-year 2022 results:

• Revenue of $1.36bn, up 11.2%

• EBITDA-S of $214.8m, down 1.6%

• Net profit-S of $30.2m, down 52%

• Statutory net profit of $47m, down 10%

• Revenue was in-line, EBITDA missed expectations of $222m and net profit was a slight miss

Current trading and 2023 outlook:

• No guidance

•  “Improved weather outlook indicates more favourable growing conditions across our farming portfolio in CY23.”

• “Anticipate a recovery in Citrus category performance this year, which will also be enhanced by maturing orchards in Central QLD and Sunraysia (Vic).”

• “International season including new China plantings has started positively.”

• “Focus on yield, quality and further premium product roll out to offset input cost inflation.”

Hub24 (ASX: HUB): Double beat

Reports first-half FY23 results:

• Revenue of $137.7m, up 69%

• Platform funds under management of $55.8bn, up 12%

• Underlying EBITDA of $49.9m, up 68%

• Revenue and EBITDA well-ahead of analyst expectations of $128m and $45.6m respectively

• Underlying net profit of $26.6m, up 87%

• Interim dividend of 14 cents per share, up 87% 

  • Ex-dividend on March 20th

Outlook:

• “As a result of our strong relationships and solid pipeline of opportunities, including 58 new distribution agreements signed and 206 new advisers using the platform in 1HFY23, we expect the growth momentum to continue and reaffirm the Platform FUA target of $80-89 billion for FY24.”

G8 Education (ASX: GEM): Big earnings miss, mixed outlook

Reports full-year 2022 results:

• Revenue of $901.3m, up 4%

• Operating EBIT of $80.3m, unchanged on the pcp

• Revenue was in-line but consensus expected EBIT of $114m

• Statutory net profit of $36.6m, down 19.9%

• Net debt of $90.1m compared to $22.0 a year ago

• Average core occupancy of 71.0% compared to 70.9% a year ago

• Final dividend of 2 cents per share (ex-dividend on March 10th)

• “After a challenging first half disrupted by COVID-19 and flooding, the second half delivered a strong recovery in occupancy that narrowed the gap to pre-COVID levels and translated into an improved earnings performance.” - CEO Pejman Okhovat 

Outlook and trading update:

• “Fee increase of c. 6% implemented in January in response to the current inflationary environment.”

• “Further wage inflation is expected in CY23 due to agency usage remaining as one of the staffing shortage solutions combined with general increases to sector wages.”

• Demand outlook is improving and expected to be further simulated by the “Cheaper Childcare Bill” scheduled for July 2023

Tabcorp (ASX: TAH): Earnings beat, TAB25 released

Reports first-half FY23 results:

• Revenue of $1.28bn, up 11%

• Adjusted EBITDA of $201.6m, up 18.2%

• Net profit of $51.7m

• Revenue in-line, adjusted EBITDA beat vs. expectations of $198.1m

• Interim dividend of 1.3 cents per share (ex-dividend on February 27th)

FY23 guidance:

• “Historically the wagering market has been resilient during periods of economic uncertainty.”

• “The wagering market is changing due to increased government and community expectations, higher costs of funding and higher costs to compete.”

• FY23 opex guidance upgraded to +2-3% growth on FY22

• Reaffirmed FY23 capex guidance of $150m and D&A guidance of $250-260m

ARB Corp (ASX: ARB): Profit down sharply from a year ago

Reports H1:

• Reports H1 PBT A$64.6m, in line with preliminary guidance ($64.0-64.6m) but down 30% from last year’s $92m

• NPAT $47.4m, down 31% from last year’s $68.9m

• Sales revenue $340.8m, down 5% from last year’s $359.2m

• Interim dividend 32cps (fully franked) vs last year’s 39cps; record 6-Apr, payment 21-Apr

Outlook:

ARB management notes a continuing strong customer order book which is in-line with order levels over 2022, and has a positive short-term outlook.

The fall in revenue and profit was attributed to supply chain pressures, cost inflation and economic uncertainty.

Monadelphous Group (ASX: MND): revenue down, 24c dividend, sticky labour shortage 

Reports 1HFY23:

• Revenue of $953m vs. $1.06bn YoY (-10%)

• EBITDA of $58.2m vs. $60.9m YoY (-4%)

• Interim dividend of 24cps (100% franked) flat YoY

• Div record date 10th March Payment 31st March

Outlook:

• MND expects up to a -10% reduction in revenue over FY

• Reflects approximately $1.8bn in sales

• FY23 engineering construction revenue to remain down before FY24 return

• Iron ore industry "expected to remain buoyant"

• "Labour shortage remains most significant challenge"

• Expects delays in timing of projects and commencement

BHP Group (ASX: BHP): cuts div by 40%, misses expectations

• Reports H1 underlying EPS $1.30 vs company consensus of $1.35

• Revenue from cont ops $25.71bn vs consensus $25.58bn

• Underlying EBITDA $13.23bn vs company consensus $13.92bn

• Capital expenditures $3.03bn

• Underlying attributable profit - Continuing operations $6.6bn last year’s $9.72bn

• Interim dividend 90cps, fully franked, vs year-ago 150cps – down 40%

Judo Capital Holdings (ASX: JDO): NPAT up 122% YoY but CET1 down

Reports 1HFY23:

• NPAT of $36.1m vs. $0.7m in 1HFY22

• Net interest income of $163m vs. 73$.5m in 1HFY22 (+122%)

• Underlying net interest margin of 3.56% vs. 2.73% in 1HFY22

• CET1 calculated at 17.3% vs. 23.3% in 1HFY22

Outlook:

• On track to achieve guidance

• Targeting net interest margin (NIM) greater than 3%

• H2 underlying NIM 3.1-3.3% with term deposit margins increasing to approx. 85bps

• CTI below 60%

• Cost of risk $50m-$60m

Perenti (ASX: PRN): net profits outperform YoY, raises guidance

Reports 1HFY23:

• NPATA $61m vs. $34.9m YoY

• Revenue of $1.44bn vs. $1.19bn YoY (+21%)

• Revenue beat consensus expectations of $1.39bn

• EBITA of $134.6m beat expectations of $107.6m

Outlook

• Boosted FY23 revenue guidance to $2.7bn-$2.9bn from $2.6bn-$2.7bn

• Revenue guidance beats expectations of $2.08bn

• EBITDA guidance boosted $250m-$265m from $230m-$250m

• CAPEX $320m vs. $340m YoY

• FY23 secured revenue approx. $2.5bn from $5.4bn work in hand