Perenti Stock price
Compare with Peer Group
📊 Peer Group
📈 What is it?
The peer group consists of the companies with the most similar business model. They serve as a benchmark for putting a stock into context.
🧮 How is it selected?
Based on similarity of business model, meaning companies from the same industry with comparable products and a similar customer base. That's the only way to compare apples to apples.
🏛️ Why does it matter?
Whether a stock is cheap or expensive is best judged by comparison. A P/E of 18 or an EV/FCF of 20 can look cheap or expensive depending on the yardstick. The peer group gives you the most accurate one: companies with a similar business model that operate under the same conditions.
🎯 What does it mean for investors?
When a metric sits below the peer average, the stock is valued more cheaply relative to its competitors, and above the average more expensively. A discount to the peer group can be an opportunity, but it can also have a reason (for example lower growth). The comparison is a starting point, not a verdict.
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Key metrics
📘 Market Capitalization
📈 What is it?
Market capitalization shows how much a company is currently worth on the stock market.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps classify companies by size (Large, Mid, Small Cap) and indicates their market presence and relative stability.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Large-cap companies tend to be more stable, often pay dividends, but may grow more slowly.
- Smaller firms may offer higher growth potential but come with more volatility.
- Market capitalization is a useful indicator of company size — but not a measure of whether a stock is undervalued or overvalued.
📘 Enterprise Value (EV)
📈 What is it?
Enterprise Value represents the total cost to acquire a company — including its debt and excluding its cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
(= Market Cap + Net Debt)
🏛️ Why is it important?
EV gives a more complete picture of a company's value than market cap alone and is used in key valuation ratios like EV/FCF or EV/Sales.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Enterprise Value shows the true cost of buying a company, including all financial obligations.
- It is more accurate than just looking at market cap, especially when comparing companies with different levels of debt or cash.
- Professional investors prefer EV-based multiples because they better reflect the company’s full financial footprint.
📘 Net Debt
📈 What is it?
Net Debt shows how much debt remains after subtracting a company’s available cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It indicates how dependent a company is on borrowed money and how easily it can service its debt in the short term.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low or negative net debt signals financial strength and flexibility.
- Companies with strong cash positions are better positioned in crises.
- High net debt increases financial risk — especially in environments with rising interest rates or economic downturns.
📘 Cash
📈 What is it?
Cash represents all liquid assets a company can access immediately — including cash, bank deposits, and short-term investments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It reflects a company’s financial flexibility and resilience — enabling investments, buybacks, or buffer in downturns.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A strong cash position means greater room for maneuver and crisis resistance.
- Cash-rich companies can invest, pay down debt, or repurchase shares.
- But excess idle cash might indicate a lack of growth opportunities.
📘 Shares Outstanding
📈 What is it?
Shares outstanding represent the total number of a company’s shares currently held by investors — excluding treasury stock.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s the basis for key metrics like Earnings Per Share (EPS), Market Capitalization, or the Price/Earnings ratio (P/E).
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Fewer shares in circulation typically increase earnings per share — making each share more valuable.
- Share buybacks reduce the number of shares and boost per-share metrics.
- Issuing new shares does the opposite — diluting shareholder value and lowering per-share figures.
📘 Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E)
📈 What is it?
The P/E ratio shows how many times a company's earnings per share are reflected in its current share price — in other words, how "expensive" the stock appears relative to its profits.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The P/E ratio is one of the most widely used valuation metrics. It helps investors assess whether a stock appears cheap or expensive compared to its earnings power.
🧮 Calculation
📊 P/E (TTM) = Based on earnings from the last 12 months (Trailing Twelve Months):🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/E may indicate undervaluation — or signal underlying issues.
- A high P/E may reflect strong growth expectations — or an overvalued stock.
📘 Price-to-Sales Ratio (P/S)
📈 What is it?
The P/S ratio shows how much investors are paying for $1 of the company’s revenue – regardless of profitability.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/S is especially useful for evaluating growth companies or businesses not yet profitable. It reflects how the market values the company’s sales.
🧮 Calculation
Market Cap = A$1.86b | Revenue (TTM) = A$3.34b
Market Cap = A$1.86b | Estimated Revenue = A$3.56b
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/S may indicate undervaluation — or low profitability.
- A high P/S can reflect strong growth expectations — or excessive optimism.
- Especially helpful when evaluating companies where profits are low, volatile, or negative.
📘 Enterprise Value to Sales (EV/Sales)
📈 What is it?
EV/Sales shows how much investors are paying for $1 of revenue — considering not just equity, but also debt and cash. It’s the capital structure–adjusted version of the P/S ratio.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s ideal for comparing companies with different levels of debt. It reflects a company's true cost relative to its revenue.
🧮 Calculation
Enterprise Value = A$2.11b | Revenue (TTM) = A$3.34b
Enterprise Value = A$2.11b | Forward Revenue = A$3.56b
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EV/Sales allows for capital structure–neutral company comparisons.
- A lower ratio may indicate undervaluation; a higher one may signal strong growth expectations or overvaluation.
- Especially helpful when evaluating high-growth companies with low or negative earnings.
📘 Enterprise Value to Free Cash Flow (EV/FCF) | ex SBC
📈 What is it?
EV/FCF compares a company’s enterprise value with its free cash flow. The metric therefore shows the multiple of current free cash flow at which a company is valued. EV/FCF ex SBC additionally accounts for stock-based compensation (SBC). While SBC does not represent a direct cash outflow, issuing shares as compensation can dilute existing shareholders. Therefore, SBC is deducted from free cash flow in this adjusted version.
🧮 How is it calculated?
EV/FCF ex SBC = Enterprise Value ÷ (Free Cash Flow (TTM) − SBC)
🏛️ Why is it important?
EV/FCF provides a valuation based on free cash flow and therefore complements earnings-based valuation metrics such as the P/E ratio. The ex SBC version additionally accounts for the economic impact of stock-based compensation and provides a more conservative view from a shareholder perspective.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low EV/FCF means that enterprise value is low relative to current free cash flow. The reasons should always be considered in the context of the company and its industry.
- A high EV/FCF means that enterprise value is high relative to current free cash flow. This can, for example, reflect high growth expectations or temporarily weak cash generation.
- When SBC is positive and adjusted free cash flow remains positive, EV/FCF ex SBC is generally higher than the standard EV/FCF.
- The metric is particularly useful for companies with relatively stable and predictable cash flows.
- If free cash flow is negative or very low, EV/FCF has limited usefulness and should not be interpreted like a standard valuation multiple.
📘 Price-to-Book Ratio (P/B)
📈 What is it?
The P/B ratio compares a company’s market value to its book value — showing how much investors are paying for each dollar of net assets.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/B is commonly used for asset-heavy industries like banks or industrials. It helps assess whether a stock is trading above or below its net asset value.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A P/B below 1 may signal undervaluation — or weak profitability.
- A P/B above 1 implies the market expects future value creation (e.g., brand, IP, growth).
- Best used for companies with tangible assets and strong balance sheets.
📘 Dividend per Share (DPS)
📈 What is it?
Dividend per Share shows how much cash a company pays out to shareholders for each share they own – usually on an annual or quarterly basis.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
DPS is the absolute value of the payout per share – crucial for income-focused investors and dividend strategies.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A stable or growing DPS often signals a strong, shareholder-friendly business.
- DPS alone doesn’t tell you how attractive the payout is – the stock price also matters (→ see Dividend Yield).
- Long-term dividend growth is often a hallmark of high-quality companies – like the dividend aristocrats.
📘 Dividend Yield
📈 What is it?
Dividend yield shows how large a company’s dividend is in relation to its current share price.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It allows investors to compare dividend payouts across stocks, regardless of price or payout size.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A stable yield can reflect reliable distributions.
- Comparing 1Y and 5Y yield shows whether dividend growth keeps pace with stock price appreciation.
- A low yield isn’t always negative – it can signal strong past performance or growth focus.
📘 Dividend Growth
📈 What is it?
Dividend growth shows how much a company has increased its dividend per share over time.
🧮 How is it calculated?
5Y: Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
🏛️ Why is it important?
Consistently rising dividends are often a sign of financial strength and shareholder orientation – especially relevant for long-term investors.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Stable dividend growth is a sign of sustainable earning power.
- High dividend growth can significantly boost your total return:
- If a company pays $1 in dividends and increases it by 15% annually over 5 years, you’ll receive $2 per share in year 5 – twice as much as at the start!
📘 Payout Ratio
📈 What is it?
The payout ratio shows what percentage of a company’s earnings (per share) is distributed to shareholders as dividends.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps assess whether the dividend is sustainable – especially in relation to the company’s profitability.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low payout ratio means the company retains more earnings for reinvestment – typical for growth companies.
- A moderate payout (e.g. 25–50%) indicates a healthy balance between returns and reinvestment.
- High payout ratios may seem attractive but can carry risk if earnings decline.
📘 Consecutive Dividend Increases
📈 What is it?
This metric shows how many consecutive years a company has raised its dividend per share – without any cuts or pauses.
🧮 How is it calculated?
(Special dividends are not considered.)
🏛️ Why is it important?
A long track record of increases reflects financial strength, consistency, and shareholder commitment.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A long dividend increase streak builds confidence – especially in volatile markets.
- Such companies are seen as reliable and income-friendly investments.
- The longer the streak, the stronger the company’s dividend discipline.
📘 Revenue
📈 What is it?
Revenue shows how much a company earns in total from selling its products and services – the gross income before any costs are deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Revenue is one of the key figures to assess a company’s size, market position, and growth potential.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing revenue indicates rising demand and can be an early signal of future earnings growth.
- Comparing actual and expected revenue reveals trends in the market environment and analyst sentiment.
- Note: Strong revenue alone isn’t enough – margins and profitability matter just as much.
📘 EBITDA
📈 What is it?
EBITDA stands for “Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.” It reflects a company’s operating profit before the effects of financing, taxes, and accounting depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBITDA is widely used to evaluate a company’s operating performance – especially across capital-intensive sectors or international comparisons.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high or growing EBITDA indicates strong operational profitability – independent of taxes, interest, or accounting methods.
- It’s especially useful for comparing companies across sectors or geographies.
- Important: EBITDA is not a net income figure – it excludes key costs like depreciation and interest.
📘 EBIT
📈 What is it?
EBIT stands for “Earnings Before Interest and Taxes.” It reflects a company’s operating profit after depreciation, but before interest and tax expenses.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT is a core profitability metric that shows how well the company performs in its main business operations – independent of capital structure and tax environment.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT indicates strong profitability from the company’s core business – before financial and tax effects.
- It allows better comparison between companies with different debt levels or tax structures.
- Compared to EBITDA, EBIT already accounts for depreciation and reflects capital intensity more clearly.
📘 Net Income
📈 What is it?
Net income is the company’s total profit – the amount left after all expenses, taxes, interest, and depreciation have been deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the most comprehensive measure of a company’s profitability – showing how much actual profit remains after all business and financing costs.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing net income indicates that the company is managing all of its costs efficiently.
- It directly influences valuation metrics like P/E ratio and the company’s dividend capacity.
- Over time, net income trends reveal how resilient and profitable the business model really is.
📘 Free Cash Flow (FCF) | ex SBC
📈 What is it?
Free cash flow shows how much cash remains after a company has covered its operating and capital expenditures. FCF ex SBC additionally deducts stock-based compensation (SBC) to adjust the cash flow for the effect of non-cash SBC.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Free Cash Flow ex SBC = Operating Cash Flow − SBC − Capital Expenditures (CAPEX)
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF reflects a company’s actual financial strength – independent of reported accounting earnings. It shows how much flexibility a company has for dividends, share buybacks, or debt reduction. FCF ex SBC also deducts stock-based compensation and shows how much cash generation remains after SBC.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High free cash flow indicates that a company has strong financial strength – independent of reported earnings.
- It is often a solid basis for sustainable dividends and share buybacks.
- Declining FCF can be a warning sign, even if reported earnings remain stable.
📘 Revenue Growth
📈 What is it?
Revenue growth shows how much a company’s sales have changed compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on forward projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected revenue ÷ Revenue in prior year − 1) × 100
Forward growth is based on analyst estimates for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Rising revenue signals growing demand, business expansion, and market share gains – especially important for growth-oriented companies.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growth is the engine of long-term value creation – especially in tech and growth sectors.
- What matters is not just current growth, but its sustainability.
- Forward projections reflect whether analysts expect continued momentum – or a slowdown.
📘 EBITDA Growth
📈 What is it?
EBITDA growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) has increased or decreased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBITDA ÷ EBITDA from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Growing EBITDA indicates improving operational profitability – regardless of financing or accounting effects.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Strong EBITDA growth signals operational efficiency and scalability – especially during growth phases.
- EBITDA growth can be an early indicator of margin and earnings expansion – but should be assessed alongside revenue and EBIT.
📘 EBIT Growth
📈 What is it?
EBIT growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (after depreciation, but before interest and taxes) has increased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBIT ÷ EBIT from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT growth is a direct indicator of a company’s business performance – taking into account capital intensity through depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Rising EBIT signals improving operating profitability – even after accounting for depreciation.
- It’s especially important for evaluating companies with significant capital expenditures.
- Combined with revenue and EBITDA growth, EBIT growth provides a well-rounded view of operational progress.
📘 Net Income Growth
📈 What is it?
Net income growth shows how much a company’s bottom-line profit has increased or decreased compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on analyst projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected net income ÷ Net income from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate reflects analysts’ expectations for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the ultimate measure of profitability. Growing net income signals stronger efficiency, cost control, and sustainable earnings power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Stronger net income boosts valuation, dividend potential, and investor confidence.
- If profits stall while revenue grows, it may signal margin pressure.
📘 Free Cash Flow Growth
📈 What is it?
Free cash flow (FCF) growth shows how a company’s available cash – after covering operating expenses and capital expenditures – has changed compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Free cash flow reflects real financial strength. Growing FCF indicates more flexibility for dividends, share buybacks, and reinvestment.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Declining FCF may point to rising investments, increasing costs, or weaker operating performance.
- Especially for dividend investors, FCF growth is critical – since dividends are paid from actual available cash.
- A negative trend isn't always bad, but it deserves closer attention.
📘 Gross Margin
📈 What is it?
Gross margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains after deducting the direct costs of goods sold (like materials and production). It represents the company’s “raw profit” before fixed costs, taxes, and interest.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Or simply: Gross Margin = Gross Profit ÷ Revenue × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
Gross margin indicates how efficiently a company can produce or procure what it sells. It is a key measure of product-level profitability and pricing power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high gross margin suggests strong pricing power and efficient production.
- Falling margins may signal rising input costs or competitive pressure.
- Compared to peers, gross margin offers insights into the quality of a business model.
📘 EBITDA Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBITDA margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.It reflects operating efficiency without being distorted by financing or accounting factors.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBITDA margin reveals how much operating income a company generates per dollar of revenue – independent of capital structure and tax effects.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBITDA margin reflects strong core profitability – before accounting distortions.
- It allows for effective comparisons across companies and sectors.
- A stable or growing margin signals efficient cost control and business scalability.
📘 EBIT Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBIT margin shows what percentage of revenue remains as operating profit after depreciation but before interest and taxes.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBIT margin reflects a company’s core profitability while accounting for capital intensity (e.g. machinery, infrastructure). It’s especially useful for comparing businesses with different levels of depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT margin shows that the company remains efficient even after factoring in depreciation.
- It’s especially relevant for capital-intensive industries.
- Stable or rising EBIT margins over time are a strong indicator of pricing power and business quality.
📘 Net Margin
📈 What is it?
Net margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as bottom-line profit after deducting all costs, interest, taxes, and depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net margin reflects a company’s overall efficiency – across operations, financing, and taxation. It shows how much actual profit is generated from each dollar of revenue.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high net margin means the company is not only strong operationally but also manages financing and taxes efficiently.
- Peer comparisons reveal business quality and competitiveness.
- Declining margins despite revenue growth can be a red flag for rising costs or inefficiencies.
📘 Free Cash Flow Margin | ex SBC
📈 What is it?
The Free Cash Flow Margin shows how much free cash flow a company generates relative to its revenue. In simplified terms, free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. The Free Cash Flow Margin ex SBC additionally accounts for stock-based compensation (SBC). While SBC does not represent a direct cash outflow, issuing shares as compensation can dilute existing shareholders. Therefore, SBC is deducted from free cash flow in this adjusted metric.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Free Cash Flow Margin ex SBC = (Free Cash Flow − SBC) ÷ Revenue × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
The Free Cash Flow Margin shows how efficiently a company converts its revenue into free cash flow. Strong free cash flow can provide financial flexibility for dividends, share buybacks, debt repayment, or further investments. The ex SBC version additionally accounts for the economic impact of stock-based compensation and therefore provides a more conservative view of cash generation from a shareholder perspective.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high Free Cash Flow Margin shows that a company converts a high proportion of its revenue into free cash flow.
- This can provide greater financial flexibility for dividends, share buybacks, debt repayment, or investments.
- The Free Cash Flow Margin ex SBC additionally accounts for potential shareholder dilution from stock-based compensation.
- The long-term trend is particularly important. Declining margins can, for example, result from higher investments, changes in working capital, or weaker operating performance.
📘 Equity Ratio
📈 What is it?
The equity ratio indicates what portion of a company’s total assets is financed by shareholders’ equity – in other words, how much it relies on its own capital.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
A high equity ratio reflects financial strength and stability, especially during downturns. It’s a key indicator of a company’s solvency and long-term risk profile.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Companies with high equity ratios are generally more resilient and less dependent on external debt.
- Low equity ratios can signal higher risk or aggressive financial strategies.
- Important: Always assess the equity ratio in combination with the return on equity (ROE). This shows not just how stable the company is – but also how efficiently it uses shareholder capital.
📘 Return on Equity (ROE)
📈 What is it?
Return on equity (ROE) shows how efficiently a company uses its shareholders’ equity to generate profit. In other words: how much net income is earned per dollar of equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROE is a core profitability metric. It helps investors understand whether a company delivers attractive returns on the capital provided by its shareholders.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROE indicates that the company is using its capital efficiently and profitably.
- It’s especially meaningful for capital-intensive businesses or firms with high equity bases.
- Important: A very high ROE can also result from high debt levels – always interpret it alongside the equity ratio to assess financial health.
📘 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)
📈 What is it?
ROCE measures how efficiently a company generates profits from its total capital – including both equity and interest-bearing debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It evaluates the return on all capital employed, regardless of how it’s financed.
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROCE is ideal for comparing companies with different financing structures. It shows how well management uses capital to create value for both shareholders and creditors.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROCE means the company uses its capital efficiently – regardless of whether it's funded by debt or equity.
- The higher the ROCE compared to peers, the more value the company creates with its invested capital.
- Especially relevant for capital-intensive sectors like industrials, energy, or infrastructure.
📘 Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)
📈 What is it?
ROIC measures how efficiently a company generates returns from the capital invested in its core operations – regardless of whether the capital comes from equity or debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
- NOPAT = Net Operating Profit After Taxes
- Invested Capital = Operating assets minus non-interest-bearing liabilities
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROIC is one of the most accurate indicators of capital efficiency. Unlike return on equity, it is not distorted by leverage and shows how much value is created for all capital providers.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROIC shows how effectively a company uses the capital that is truly invested in its core operations.
- Unlike ROCE, ROIC focuses only on the capital that is actively used to run the business – and that requires a return (i.e. interest-bearing).
- Especially useful when comparing companies with large amounts of excess cash or non-interest-bearing liabilities – giving a more realistic picture of capital efficiency.
📘 Leverage Ratio (Debt-to-Equity)
📈 What is it?
The leverage ratio indicates how much a company relies on interest-bearing debt (such as loans and bonds) relative to its shareholders’ equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
This ratio helps assess a company’s financial structure and risk profile. High leverage can enhance returns – but also increases exposure to interest rate changes and financial stress.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low leverage ratio signals financial strength and independence.
- A higher ratio can improve returns in good times but increases risk during downturns or rising interest rate periods.
- 👉 Always interpret in the context of industry, capital intensity, and interest rate environment.
📘 SBC | in % Revenue
📈 What is it?
SBC (Stock-Based Compensation) refers to equity-based compensation granted by a company to its employees and executives. The percentage shows SBC relative to revenue.
🧮 How is it calculated?
SBC as % of Revenue = (SBC ÷ Revenue) × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
Stock-based compensation is a real cost factor for shareholders. It can increase the number of shares outstanding and therefore dilute existing shareholders. The percentage of revenue shows how heavily a company relies on equity-based compensation and how significant this form of compensation is relative to the size of the business.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A lower figure is generally positive: Stock-based compensation is relatively small compared with the company's revenue.
- A high figure can indicate greater reliance on stock-based compensation and a higher potential risk of dilution. However, it is also important to consider whether the company offsets dilution through share buybacks.
- The trend over time should also be considered. A high but declining percentage presents a different picture from a persistently high or increasing percentage.
- A single-digit SBC-to-revenue ratio is not unusual among many growth-oriented and technology companies.
📘 SBC as % of FCF
📈 What is it?
SBC (Stock-Based Compensation) refers to equity-based compensation granted by a company to its employees and executives. The percentage shows SBC relative to free cash flow (FCF).
🧮 How is it calculated?
SBC as % of FCF = (SBC ÷ Free Cash Flow) × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
Stock-based compensation is a real cost factor for shareholders. It can increase the number of shares outstanding and therefore dilute existing shareholders. The percentage of free cash flow shows how significant SBC is relative to the cash generated by the company. Since SBC is non-cash compensation, it is typically not deducted as a cash outflow when calculating FCF.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A lower value is generally favorable. Stock-based compensation is relatively small compared with the company's cash generation.
- A high value means that SBC represents a significant portion of the company's reported free cash flow, even though SBC itself is non-cash.
- The higher the value, the more significant SBC can be as an economic cost to shareholders, particularly when it results in share dilution.
📘 SBC Growth 1Y
📈 What is it?
SBC Growth 1Y shows how much a company's stock-based compensation has changed compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
SBC Growth shows whether stock-based compensation is becoming more or less significant for shareholders. If SBC increases significantly, it can lead to greater shareholder dilution over time. At the same time, SBC is a non-cash expense that reduces earnings on the income statement but is added back in the cash flow statement.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high positive value is generally negative, as rising SBC can increase the burden on shareholders, particularly through potential dilution.
- What matters is whether the development of SBC is sustainable over the long term. Some level of SBC is common among many growth and technology companies.
📘 Share Count Growth 1Y
📈 What is it?
Share Count Growth 1Y shows how much the number of shares outstanding has increased or decreased over a one-year period.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The number of shares determines how many shares the company's earnings and assets are distributed across. If the share count decreases, existing shareholders' relative ownership increases. If it increases, existing shareholders are diluted. The metric therefore makes dilution and share buybacks directly visible.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A negative value is generally positive, as the number of shares outstanding is decreasing.
- A positive value indicates dilution of existing shareholders.
- A declining share count is not automatically positive: It also matters at what price the shares are repurchased and how the buybacks are financed.
📘 Shareholder Yield
📈 What is it?
Shareholder Yield measures how much capital a company returns to shareholders or uses to reduce debt relative to its market capitalization. It goes beyond dividend yield by also including share buybacks and debt reduction.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Dividend yield only tells part of the story. Companies can also return capital through share buybacks, while reducing debt can strengthen the balance sheet. Shareholder Yield combines all three components into one metric, giving investors a broader view of how a company uses its capital.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A higher Shareholder Yield generally indicates more capital being returned to shareholders or used to reduce debt.
- The mix matters: dividends, buybacks, and debt reduction can affect shareholders in different ways.
- Share buybacks are most beneficial when shares are repurchased at attractive valuations.
- Investors should also consider whether dividends, buybacks, and debt reduction are sustainable over time.
📘 Earnings per share (EPS)
📈 What is it?
Earnings per Share (EPS) shows how much profit is attributable to a single share – and is one of the most important metrics for evaluating a company's performance.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The diluted share count reflects potential new shares that could be issued through options, convertible bonds, or other rights.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EPS is the basis for many key valuation metrics like P/E ratio, PEG ratio, or payout ratio. It enables comparisons of profitability across companies, regardless of their size.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EPS captures per-share profitability and is especially useful for comparisons over time or with analyst estimates.
- Rising EPS may signal consistent growth or share buybacks.
- Important: Always use diluted EPS for more realistic valuations – especially in companies with stock-based compensation.
📘 Free cash flow per share (FCF per share)
📈 What is it?
Free Cash Flow per Share shows how much free cash flow a company generates per outstanding share – after investments, but before dividends or debt repayments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures (CapEx).
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF per Share reveals how much real cash is available per share – useful for dividends, buybacks, or reducing debt. Unlike net income, free cash flow is harder to manipulate and often seen as a more reliable metric.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High FCF per share signals strong financial flexibility.
- It shows how much capital the company can effectively reinvest or return to shareholders.
- Particularly relevant for dividend payers and capital-efficient businesses.
📘 Short interest
📈 What is it?
Short interest indicates how many shares of a company are currently sold short – that is, borrowed and sold by investors who expect the price to decline.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It reflects the percentage of a company’s shares that are being shorted relative to the total shares available.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Short interest serves as a sentiment indicator: A high value may signal skepticism or bearish expectations – but also increases the potential for a short squeeze if prices rise unexpectedly.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low short interest usually indicates market confidence in the company.
- High short interest can be a warning sign – or an opportunity if sentiment shifts.
- Especially relevant in volatile markets or ahead of key earnings releases.
📘 Employees
📈 What is it?
The employee count shows how many people a company employs worldwide – offering insights into its size, structure, and business model.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps assess operational scale, labor intensity, and cost structure. Combined with revenue and profit, it enables key metrics like revenue per employee or productivity.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high headcount can signal operational complexity – but also significant growth capacity.
- Revenue per employee is a key indicator of efficiency.
- Especially useful for comparing tech, industrial, or service-heavy companies.
📘 Revenue per employee
📈 What is it?
Revenue per employee indicates how much revenue a company generates on average per employee – a key measure of efficiency and productivity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The employee count is typically taken from the most recent annual report.
🏛️ Why is it important?
This metric helps compare business models – especially between labor-intensive and technology-driven companies. A high value suggests automation, operational efficiency, or strong value creation per head.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high revenue per employee indicates a scalable and margin-strong business model.
- A low figure may reflect labor-intensive operations or lower value-add.
- Especially helpful when comparing tech companies to industrial or service sectors.
Perenti Stock Analysis
Analyst Opinions
9 Analysts have issued a Perenti forecast:
Analyst Opinions
9 Analysts have issued a Perenti forecast:
Perenti Events
Past Events
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OCT
15
Shareholder/Analyst Call - Perenti Limited
7 days ago
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AUG
23
Q4 2026 Earnings Call
2 months ago
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FEB
22
Q2 2026 Earnings Call
8 months ago
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OCT
9
Shareholder/Analyst Call - Perenti Limited
about one year ago
|
StocksGuide Free
Perenti — Shareholder/Analyst Call - Perenti Limited
1. Management Discussion
Good morning, everyone. My name is Diane Smith-Gander, and I am the Chair of Perenti. It is now 10:30 a.m. Perth time, and I welcome all shareholders to the company's 2026 Annual General Meeting, both here in person and online through the virtual meeting platform provided by our share registry, MUFG Corporate Markets Limited, who I will refer to as registry from this point on.
If we experience any technical issues today, I may take a short recess or an adjournment may be required depending on the number of shareholders affected. If it occurs, I will, of course, advise you accordingly.
We have a quorum present. I'm looking at my company's secretary, he's nodding your head. And so I now declare the Annual General Meeting open.
I acknowledge the traditional owners of the various lands from which we meet today, including the Whadjuk people of the Noongar. And we also acknowledge any aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people participating in this meeting. I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and recognize and celebrate the diversity of aboriginal peoples and their ongoing cultures and connections to the lands and waters of Australia.
Today, I am joined at the meeting by Vanessa Torres, our Managing Director and CEO by -- just move it on a bit for me, Dave. Craig Laslett, an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Safety and Sustainability Committee; Andrea Sutton, an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the People and Remuneration Committee; Greg Walker, an Independent Non-Executive Director; and Vince Nicoletti, an Independent Nonexecutive Director, who recently joined Perenti. I am passing to you an apology from Andrea Hall, who is the Chair of our Audit and Risk Committee, who is unfortunately well today and therefore unable to join us. I'm also joined by our Group Executive Committee members, Michael Ellis, Chief Financial Officer; Gabrielle Iwanow, President, Contract Mining; Ben Davis, President, Drilling Services; [indiscernible], President, Mining and Technology Services; and Cameron Bailey, our Chief Strategy Officer. Also in attendance today are Helen Bathurst, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, who is the company's external auditor; and Rachel Meadows, partner in the sustainability assurance area at PwC.
Now I ask that all shareholders who are attending the meeting in person ensure that they have registered their attendance with the registry at the entrance to the meeting. Shareholders and validly appointed proxies, corporate representatives and attorneys will have received a yellow admission card. Nonvoting shareholders will have received a blue admission card. Please note only those shareholders or proxy holders with the yellow or blue admission card will be allowed to ask questions or make comments on the company at the meeting.
For those shareholders who are attending online, please follow the virtual meeting online guide via the link on your screen to register for a voting card and cast your votes online and to ask questions and make comments on the company. You will only be able to ask questions or make comments once you have registered to vote. So I invite shareholders who are attending online to send through any questions as soon as possible after registration don't wait until the point of each resolution is read.
The notice of this meeting was released to the ASX on the 11th of September 2026 and made available to all shareholders. If there's no objection, that Notice of Meeting will be taken as read. No objections? Thank you.
So the procedure for today's meeting will be as follows. First, I will give a short address, and this will be followed by the Managing Director and CEO's address to shareholders, and then we'll move on to the formal items of business as set out in the notice of meeting. All items of business will be voted on via a poll. Instructions regarding the poll will be given prior to the commencement of the poll and the results of the poll will be tallied and announced via the ASX platform as soon as the results are available. After the poll has closed, shareholders will have an opportunity to ask questions about or make comments on the management of the company. Shareholders who are attending virtually can ask questions via the online facility either in writing or orally through the web phone facility.
So let me move to my address. Mining remains 1 of the world's most important industries supporting economic development, energy security and the supply of resources that underpin modern life. As the industry evolves and mining becomes more complex, the need of asset owners for trusted partners with the scale, expertise and capability to deliver safe, efficient and sustainable outcomes has never been greater.
Through our diversified mining services platform and market-leading underground mining and drilling capabilities, Perenti supports clients across the mining life cycle to discover, develop and extract the resources that the world depends upon.
Against this backdrop, financial year 2026 was another year of strong performance for Perenti. We delivered on our safety and market commitments continue to execute our strategy with discipline and reinforced our position as a trusted global mining services provider. Importantly, we maintained the consistency that has become a defining feature of the business, further strengthening confidence among our clients, investors and other stakeholders. None of this would be possible without our people. Across Perenti, nearly 10,000 employees bring the commitment, capability and professionalism required to operate in some of the world's most challenging environments. Their efforts enable us to deliver value for our clients safely, create opportunities in the communities in which we operate and generate returns for shareholders. So on behalf of the Board, let me thank all of our people for their outstanding contribution throughout the year. Safety remains the foundation upon which everything else is built.
While we're encouraged by the progress being made across the group, our focus remains firmly on eliminating life-changing events and harm. We continue to strengthen the systems, leadership capability and technologies that help protect our people and reduce their exposure to critical risks. Initiatives such as hands of steel, together with advances in automation, data analytics and artificial intelligence are helping improve both safety outcomes and operational performance.
Safety, of course, also extends beyond physical risk, creating workplaces that are safe respectful and inclusive remain central to our culture and the way we operate. This commitment continues to guide our actions across the organization as we work to create an environment where every person can perform at their best.
Financial year 2026 was a year of strong safety and financial performance. Consistent earnings disciplined cash generation and a strong balance sheet continue to underpin the company's success. This financial strength provides the flexibility to invest in future growth opportunities while maintaining our commitment to delivering returns to shareholders and creating long-term value. A significant milestone during the year was the successful transition of leadership following the appointment of Vanessa Torres as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Leadership succession is 1 of the most important responsibilities of any Board and I am pleased that this transition was executed in an orderly and considered manner, while maintaining business momentum and performance. Vanessa brings extensive experience across the global mining industry and a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by our clients. Her focus on people, performance, innovation and partnership aligns strongly with Perenti's principles and strategic priorities.
Since joining the company, she has engaged extensively with our workforce, clients and stakeholders and quickly developed a strong understanding of the strengths that underpin our business and the challenges we face. I'm confident she will build upon the strong foundations already in place and help lead Perenti through its next phase of growth and evolution.
We, of course, thank her predecessor, Mark Norwell for his outstanding contribution to Perenti. Under Mark's leadership, Perenti evolved into a diversified global mining services group with the scale, capability and market position it enjoys today. The strength of the business reflects his leadership in vision and he left Perenti exceptionally well positioned for continued success.
Operationally, financial year '26 included several important milestones across the business. Barminco secured significant opportunities in both Australia and North America, including the formal project in Nevada and major contract awards and extensions at Bellevue, Duketon and Dalgaranga in Australia. Our Drilling Services division also continued to perform strongly, reinforcing its position as a leading global drilling provider. And we recently announced the sale of BTP, further simplifying the group and sharpening our focus on our core mining services businesses of underground mining and drilling.
Collectively, these outcomes demonstrate the strength of our client relationships, the quality of our operational delivery and the disciplined execution of our strategy. These achievements, together with our focus on disciplined capital management and cash generation have contributed to delivering the strongest balance sheet in Perenti's history. This position provides resilience, supports investment in future growth opportunities and gives the Board greater flexibility in allocating capital to create long-term value. For shareholders, the benefit of this strength is clear. It's enabled the Board to continue returning capital through dividends and our share buyback program, while ensuring the company remains well positioned to pursue future opportunities.
Maintaining that balance between rewarding shareholders today and investing for tomorrow remains a key focus of your Board. The Board was pleased to welcome Vince Nicoletti as a nonexecutive director during the year. Vince's extensive experience across mining, energy and services sectors further strengthens our capability as we continue to support management and execute our strategy.
Tim Longstaff left the Board, and we congratulate him on assuming the chair role at Horizon and thank him for his incredibly valuable contribution to Perenti. Tim's unique blend of intellect, enthusiasm and challenged served parent well.
Looking ahead, the Board remains confident in Perenti's future. The long-term fundamentals supporting our industry remains strong. Demand for specialist mining services continues to grow, and Perenti remains well positioned to capitalize on these opportunities. Most importantly, we have talented and committed people across the business to continue to strengthen client partnerships, drive operational performance and create enduring value for all stakeholders. My fellow directors, yes, stewardship and guidance throughout the year has been a very high order. The group executive has displayed exemplary leadership during a year of successful transition, and we are delighted with Vanessa's impact today.
So to our clients. We value the trust you place in Perenti and the partnerships we have built together. To our shareholders, your ongoing confidence in our strategy and our people continues to be greatly appreciated. Most importantly, let me recognize again the contribution of every 1 of our paper their commitment, professionalism and care for 1 another foundation or parent success and remain central to the future we are building together. So thank you to you all.
It's now my pleasure to invite Perenti Managing Director and CEO, Vanessa Torres to address shareholders.
Thank you, Diane, and good morning, everyone. It is a privilege to address you today as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Perenti. I have spent the last 6 months listening, learning and meeting many of our people, clients and stakeholders. What has impressed me most is the quality of our 10,000 people, the strength of our culture the pride our team's take is supporting the success of our clients and the way safety is embedded across the organization. Every day, our people support clients across the mining life side from exploration and development to production, drawing in our mining, drilling and technology capabilities. And at the heart of this portfolio is our position as a global leader in underground mining and drilling built on decades of experience, deep technical expertise and a proven track record of delivery. These strengths make Perenti a truly exceptional company and provide a strong platform for future growth.
I am incredibly proud to lead Perenti at this point in its journey. We are a business built on strong values, enduring partnerships and a clear sense of purpose. Across the organization, there is a strong commitment to safety, while speaking with frontline employees, operational leaders of members of our executive team. There is a clear understanding that nothing is more important than ensuring our people return home safely every day. Safety always comes first, and is the foundation of our aim of being the safest and most productive in everything we do.
Throughout FY '26, we continued strengthening our safety culture through greater leadership engagement, improved critical risk management and increased accountability across the business. The result was another year without fatalities and an improvement in our total recordable injury frequency rate. And while we are encouraged by this progress. We know there's always more work to do and our focus remains firmly in preventing fatalities and life-changing events. And strong safety performance is built on more than systems and processes. It relies on open communication and the confidence to raise concerns when something does not look right. Helping to ensure risks are identified and addressed, a mindset there is evident throughout Perenti. The strength of this culture underpinned another year of strong operational and financial performance. The results delivered during the year reflect the quality of the organization I have joined and the dedication of our people around the world.
Perenti delivered market guidance for the fifth consecutive year, reporting underlying revenue of $3.5 billion and a record underlying EBITDA of $340 million. Adjusted free cash flow of $182 million supported increased returns to our shareholders and enabled continued investment in high-quality growth opportunities. while strengthening an already robust balance sheet. These outcomes were achieved despite ongoing political and market uncertainty and reflect the consistency of our delivery over many years. Importantly, these results did not occur by chance. They are built on years of disciplined execution and a clear focus on delivering value for clients. Our partnership with our customers. It's not about simply providing a service. It is about walking in their shoes to understand their challenges, help solve problems and create value together. That approach is embedded across parent and remains 1 of our greatest competitive strengths. And this commitment was reflected in a number of important achievements during the year.
In North America, Barminco secured the Four Mile project in Nevada. First, strengthening our presence in 1 of the world's premier mining regions. Swick also secured a number of underground drilling contracts in that region, including Four Mile. And in Australia, our team secured the Bellevue underground mining contract, our largest ever contract in Australia, together with important contract extensions at Duketon and Dalgaranga. We also demonstrated our ability to successfully conclude contracts safely and professionally with the completion and demobilization of projects at Colo in New Southwales, Hemlo in Ontario, Maco in Senegal, in Yaramoko in Burkina Faso. Our Drilling Services division continued to perform very strongly across multiple jurisdictions, securing new and standing contracts and reinforcing our position as a leading global business in drilling. The division was also recently recognized as the largest provider of diamond drilling worldwide by the international publication Coring magazine.
These outcomes demonstrate our ability to deliver sustainable growth. And just as importantly, we continue to take a strategic approach to managing our portfolio. We are focused on ensuring our capital resources and expertise add directly towards the areas where it can create the greatest value. The sale of BTP is a strong example of this approach. The transaction strengthens our balance sheet and enables us to focus on the businesses where we see the greatest opportunities for growth and value creation, while positioning BTP for an exciting new chapter focused on their continued growth and customer success. A key reason I am excited about Parent's future is the talent and commitment of our people from the front line to senior management.
Over the last 6 months, I have met with more than 1,000 people in their workplaces and shared conversations and meals across Australia, Africa and North America. I have been inspired by the journeys and think firsthand how our amazing people are committed to learning, improving and supporting 1 another. And we continue to invest in developing the capability through a apprenticeships, trainerships, graduate programs and leadership development initiatives. These investments are critical, not only for Perenti but the long-term sustainability of our industry.
Our people also make a meaningful contribution to the communities in which we operate. And I'm particularly proud that more than 90% of our international workforce is recruited locally. This creates employment opportunities, develop skills and leaves lasting benefits in the regions where we work. Initiatives such as our underground training center in Tanzania, demonstrating importance we place in building local capability and creating enduring value beyond the mine gate.
And looking ahead, I believe Perenti is exceptionally well positioned. As demand for specialist mining services continues to grow, we see a record pipeline valued at approximately $20 billion with a strong concentration in Australia and North America. We have also seen our copper pipeline double over the last year. Our leadership in drilling and underground mining, combined with our diversified services platform and disciplined approach to execution gives us confidence in our ability to capture these opportunities and continue delivering value for shareholders. We will continue strengthening safety performance across the business. We will deepen our partnerships with clients and focus relentlessly on operational excellence. We will invest in our people and build capability for the future. And we will pursue growth opportunities in a strategic manner, ensuring they create value for our people, clients, shareholders and our broader stakeholders.
Before I conclude, I would like to knowledge the Board for its guidance and support since I began at Perenti, and the Group Executive Committee for their leadership and professionalism. I would also like to recognize Mark Norwell, whose vision and leadership help transform Perenti into the business it is today, to our clients, communities and shareholders. Thank you for your trust, partnership and support.
And most importantly, I want to recognize our people. They are the heart of this organization. Their commitment, expertise and care for 1 another, underpin every success we achieve. I am proud to be part of Perenti, excited by the opportunities ahead. I'm confident about the future we will build together.
I will now hand back to Diane. Thank you.
Thank you, Vanessa. Now as mentioned earlier, voting on all resolutions will occur today by way of a poll. So after each item of business has been introduced, there will be an opportunity for shareholders to ask questions of the Board in relation to that item of business before casting their vote for that resolution. So I'm asking you to please limit your questions to the items of business that we are being discussed at a particular point, because there will be time for more general questions at the conclusion of the meeting.
If you're using the web phone facility, please ensure that you mute the webcast meeting before you use your web phone. And please note that voting prohibitions apply to Resolutions 1, 4 and 5 under the Corporations Act and voting exclusion apply to resolutions 4 and 5 under the ASX listing rules.
Now if you're in any doubt as to whether a voting exclusion or voting prohibition applies to you, please refer to that Notice of Meeting or speak with the registry at the registration desk outside the physical meeting here. A representative of the company's share register, MUFG, will be conducting the poll as returning officer. So as Chair of the meeting, I still retain the right to make all final decisions as to who may vote, the votes cast and the declaration of the results of the poll.
I'd like now to call on Catherine Noon from the registry to advise shareholders on the procedure for conducting a poll in the meeting and via the online platform. Thanks, Kate.
Today, we will be conducting a poll on all resolutions. The persons entitled to vote on this poll are all shareholders, representatives of shareholders and proxy holders. Only those who are entitled to vote at this meeting may cast to vote on a resolution. For those attending the meeting in person, you can cast your vote by filling out the yellow voting card. Please vote for, against or abstain on your voting card for each of the resolutions. If you have any questions, please see 1 of the MUFG team members at the registration desk outside this room.
For those shareholders participating in the meeting via the online platform, you can cast your vote by using the electronic voting card that you received on your validation of registration. If you have any questions about casting your vote online, please refer to the virtual meeting guide or call the numbers set out in the guide or on the screen in front of you.
If you are in attendance today as a proxy holder and hold open votes, those votes are yours to cast at your discretion, and you can do so by voting on each resolution accordingly.
I now hand back to the Chair.
Thank you, Catherine. So I now declare the poll open, and we will move on to the formal business of the meeting. The first item of business is the financial report and accounts. Under the Corporations Act, the company is obliged to lay before this meeting, the last audited financial statements, the Sustainability Report, climate-related financial disclosures and the related reports which were dated the 21st of August 2026. No resolution is required but I now invite shareholders to comment or ask questions on the financial reports and accounts of the company. Questions may also be asked of the auditors in relation to the conduct of the audit, the content of the audit report, accounting policies adopted by the company and the independence of the auditor in carrying out the audit.
For those attending the meeting in person, please address all questions to me as a chair. If you wish to speak, please speak clearly into the microphone provided so that all shareholders can hear your comment or question. And when I direct, please state your name before speaking and hold your yellow or blue admission card so that I can see that you are indeed a shareholder or proxy holder.
For those who are participating via our online platform, you'll be able to submit questions by registering as a shareholder or proxy holder and selecting the Ask a Question tab or by utilizing the web phone facility. I will consider the questions submitted online after I've taken questions from the floor and from shareholders using the web phone facility. And out of fairness to everyone, I ask that you limit your questions to 1 at a time. And I will only accept questions and comments on the resolution that's being considered.
So are there any questions or comments from shareholders who are in attendance today on the reports and accounts? Okay. Seeing no questions. Are there any questions from web phone participants?
There are no questions from shareholders participating by web phone.
Thank you. And do we have anything writing?
Yes, we do, madam Chair.
Thank you, Jono, and you will read that out for me.
I will. This 1 is from Stephen Mayne, and please bear with me, it is a little bit lengthy. It's directed towards our auditors and the relationship that we've had with PwC. He's looked up and noted that Perenti has had PwC auditing our accounts for 37 years back to 1989 and queried how many times we've gone to competitive tender. And so, when was the last tender and when we are next likely to run at tender?
Thank you. I would normally have asked Andrew Hall, our Chair of Audit and Risk, but she is an apology today. I'll handle that question. and thank you for Stephen. And the fact outlined in the question are indeed correct, PwC has been auditing the precursor companies of Perenti since 1989. I think the point that I would raise is that in 2019, Perenti is currently structured with Astro and Barminco came together and then later in 2023, DDH joined the group. So the group has evolved, and it's that period from 2019 that I think is most relevant to consider why we would not have made a change of auditor during that period. PwC has particular expertise in African jurisdictions. And that's been a very relevant part of our consideration to not make a change from that time from 2019.
What we have done is at each auditor rotation when the partner comes to the end of their term to look closely and test market, we have not gone to formal tender during that period. Current external audit partner, Helen Bathurst, here with us today is completing her third year in post and when that comes to its inevitable change, and we consider rotation, the Audit and Risk Committee is tasked with considering whether it would be appropriate at that point to proceed to tender. We have not made a decision at this point and Audit and Risk will consider the matter within the company's context at that point in time.
So thank you for the question. I think it's highly relevant in today's environment, something that the Board is very comfortable has been handled extremely well by Audit and Risk, and we have been well served. So thank you to our auditors.
No questions.
Okay. We are not seeing any further questions, so we'll now move to the next item of business. Under the Corporations Act, listed companies are required to include as part of their directors' report a Remuneration Report, which includes very specific information. The directors have prepared that Remuneration Report to the 30th of June 2026, and is included in the annual report Pages 96 to 113. The Corporations Act also requires that companies put to shareholders a resolution that the Remuneration Report be adopted. The Board believes that the current remuneration arrangements are fair and reasonable and that the 2026 Remuneration Report demonstrates alignment of remuneration outcomes with the company's performance and delivery of value to our shareholders. I now move that the Remuneration Report of the company for the financial year ended 30 June 2026 be adopted.
Under the Corporations Act, the vote is advisory only and it doesn't bind the directors or the company. However, we take shareholder feedback very seriously, and we'll continue to review our remuneration framework to ensure that it remains appropriate. Voting exclusions apply to this resolution as described in the notice of meeting and the proxy votes that have been received in relation to this resolution are displayed on Slide 13. Any open and usable proxies held by me as Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution.
At the company's last AGM, the votes cast against the Remuneration Report represented less than 25% of the total votes cast and a spill resolution will therefore not be required for this AGM.
Are there any comments or questions in respect of Resolution 1 from shareholders in attendance here today? Let me acknowledge Bob Kelliher from the Australian Shareholders Association, welcome Bob. You are the monitor for the ASA, and we very much appreciate the engagement of the ASA with Perenti specifically, but with the practice of shareholding more broadly, and thank you for waiving your yellow voting card at me. If there's a microphone just behind you.
Thank you, Chair. As you say, I'm Bob Kelliher from the Australian Shareholders Association. I'm representing 16 other small shareholders with about 200,000-odd shares. Can I thank you for facilitating the pre-AGM meeting, where we went through most of the items and sort of most of the questions. But on the remuneration report, as we noted, the short-term incentive has the short-term incentive is paid on annual achievements in cash. So it starts to look like annual remuneration rather than an at-risk part of the remuneration. So that also the long-term incentive in Table 5 has a confusing meaning of performance and outcome which makes that table very difficult for shareholders to understand. And in fact, there's some -- well, errors, typographical errors or just errors in setting out that makes it difficult to understand. As a result, we're unable to support this resolution.
Well, thank you so much. And as you pointed out, we did go through this in a bit of detail. I might ask Andrea Sutton, if we can maybe get a microphone to Andrea as our Chair of the Rem Committee to make a couple of comments about the matters. We have made quite some changes in our remuneration arrangements to consider what is the appropriate deferral percentages and also minimum shareholding requirements. So we are very focused on making sure that at risk remuneration is actually that at-risk remuneration. But Andrea, I'll hand over to you for some additional comments.
Thanks, Diane, and thanks, Bob, for your comments. We appreciate the feedback on the table. And as we discussed, in our meeting, and we'll certainly be looking to ensure that we're clearer in the future, including some -- ensuring some of the language we use is understood by all of our shareholders. I think with regards to the STI deferral, as we noted in the annual report, we're actually moving the STI deferral component for the Managing Director from 1/3 to 50% for 2027, and hopefully, that will get more in line. As you can appreciate, STI deferral is about providing some short-term incentive, and we need to consider when we do benchmark it, we do need to consider the fact that our executives have things like tax implications for managing STI and LTI. And so we try and look for a balance with regards to STI to get a good longer-term engagement with the organization and deferral, but also giving them some support in terms of meeting some of their personal obligations. So we'll continue to benchmark that as we go. We've got a really fabulous Rem team at Perenti, and we do check on an annual basis. And we believe with the benchmarking work that we did, we're reasonably well aligned. So thanks for the feedback.
Any other questions in the room? Okay. Seeing no more. Are there any questions from web phone participants on this item?
There are no questions from shareholders participating by web phone.
And any questions from shareholders watching online?
Yes, there is another question from Stephen Mayne, who I should have pointed out before is a shareholder. He's asked which of the proxy advisers cover us this year? And did any of them vote against the remuneration resolution? I can tell you that Glass Lewis, ISS, OEM, ACA, SI all recommended for.
Thank you. That's Jono van Hazel, our Head of Investor Relations, making sure that the Chair didn't forget all of the proxy advisers that cover us. So I thank you so much for that support. But we did offer engagement with all of those property advisers. Not all of them took us up on the offer. But we did have engagement. And as Jono has pointed out, everybody did vote they gave a volume recommendation of for to the people that take their service. So we were well pleased with that.
Any other questions? All right. Thank you. So given there's no further discussion, I'll now invite you all to vote on this resolution, and I'll pause momentarily for that to happen.
[Voting]
All right. We'll now move to the next item of business, which is reelection of directors. So as stated in the notice of meeting, certain directors retire at the AGM and being eligible each offer themselves for reelection as directors at the meeting. All directors' details are set out in the directors' report on Pages 89 to 95 of the annual report. So Resolution 2 is the reelection of Mr. Vince Nicoletti, and details regarding Vince, 1 of the 2 directors seeking reelection are displayed on Slide 15. Vince is an independent Non-Executive Director and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee, the People and Remuneration Committee and the Nomination Committee.
Before putting the resolution to shareholders, I'll invite Vince to address the meeting and make few remarks in support of his reelection.
Thank you, Chair. After a long executive career, I'm now transitioning to a nonexecutive Board career, and I'm very pleased that Perenti appeared as an opportunity. This is a great fit for us, both are and me. The majority of my career has been spent in mining, minerals processing, energy and most importantly, in contracting. I've worked in finance, strategy, M&A, commercial, risk and operations. I bring this to the table and I believe that as a company pivots towards diversification and growth I can add constructively and significantly. I've got cross-sector experience, international exposure and importantly, a long track record as an operating CFO. My commitment to shareholders is to always keep shareholder interest front of mind and to support the company and its management on the journey of strategy execution, growth and operating discipline.
Lastly, I thank shareholders for their support. Thank you.
Thank you, Vince. So I move that Mr. Vince Nicoletti, who retires in accordance with Article 59.2 of the company's constitution and being eligible, offers himself for reelection, be reelected as a Director of the company. the Board, other than Vince Nicoletti, who abstained, unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of Resolution 2. The proxy votes received in relation to this resolution are displayed on Slide 17. Open and usable proxies held by me as Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution. Are there any comments or questions from shareholders in attendance today? No, I think. Are there any questions from web phone participants on this item?
There are no questions from shareholders participating by web phone.
Are there any questions from shareholders who's sending their questions online? No? Okay. So as there are no questions, I'll invite everyone to vote on this resolution, and we will take a brief pause.
[Voting]
So we'll move to Resolution 3, the reelection of Andrea Sutton. Details regarding Andrea, the second director seeking reelection this year are shown on Slide 18. She is an independent Nonexecutive Director and Chair of the People and Remuneration Committee, as you've just heard. She's also a member of the Safety and Sustainability Committee and in fact, past Chair of that committee and a member of the Nomination Committee. Before putting the resolution to shareholders, I'll invite Andrea to address the meeting and make a few remarks in support of her reelection.
Thank you, Diane, and good morning. I am seeking your endorsement for my reelection as an independent nonexecutive director to the Board of Perenti, and I appreciate the opportunity to address you today. I bring to Perenti Board experience of over a 30-year career in the resources sector with the executive experience across a range of functions, including operational leadership, health, safety and environment and corporate activities. As part of the Perenti Board, I look to support the creation of shareholder value and bring by technical and executive experience to discussions to support key business decisions. I also have the privilege to Chair the People and Performance Remuneration Committee working with the executive to ensure robust and fair remuneration outcomes for the business and the overview of organizational culture. As noted on the screen, I am a Board member of the Australian Naval Infrastructure and Chair of Water Corporation. I'm a Non-Executive Director of Luca Resources and a Board member of Perth Airport and the Australian Red Cross Society. I look forward to the continued opportunity to contribute to the success of Perenti, and thank you for your support in my election.
Thank you, Andrea. So I now move that Ms. Andrea Sutton, who retires in accordance with Article 60.4 of the company's constitution and being eligible, offers herself for reelection be reelected as a director of the company. The Board, other than Andrea Sutton, who abstains, unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of Resolution 3. The proxy votes that we've received in relation to the resolution are displayed on Slide 20 and any open and usable proxies held by the Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution. Does anyone have any comments or questions from those shareholders who are in attendance today? Bob Kelliher from the Australian Shareholders Association.
Yes. Thank you, Chair. At the ASA, we have a policy of maximum number of director positions just in because of workload. And so Andrea has got a range of different directorship continuing Chair of the Water Corporation, a statewide organization can Andrea, just give us an idea that she has enough time to devote to Perenti with all her other commitments?
Yes, Thanks, Bob, and I'll handle that question. Because as the Chair of the Board, 1 of my responsibilities is to ensure that the Board functions effectively. And if you have a director who is not diligent in their approach is not well prepared and not across the break, the Board is not going to function effectively. One of the techniques that we use to ensure that we're getting good feedback is we conduct a board performance review on an annual basis. And every 3 years, we get an independent external party to be part of that review process. We're using a technology tool to facilitate our performance surveys, and we've been using the same tool for a couple of years now. So it gives us the ability to have a longitudinal look and see how the Board is performing. So we have those opportunities to have the conversation. In that same 3-year cycle, we will also provide direct to 360 feedback where we are each director to give individual feedback on their peers. So I think I've got a really good basis to see if people are bringing what they are expected to bring to that board table. And I'm very confident across all of our directors and I have observed absolutely no red flags to suggest to me that Andrea Sutton isn't completely across her brief. So hopefully, that answers your question.
Although mind you, when you look at the set of things I'm doing, you might as well just have asked the same question. And I will say that we do give the opportunity for feedback on the Chair's performance as well. And also, actually, I should have mentioned that I forgot when we do the performance review, it's not just the directors sort of marking their own homework as a Board. We ask those members of the Group Executive Committee and people like our Head of Investor Relations and our company's Secretary, to also participate in that survey feedback, so we're giving a real good opportunity for management to also say if they believe that the directors are potentially too busy very happy with the way things are going at the minute. But it is the right question to ask. So thank you for it.
Anything else in the room? Any questions from web phone participants on this item?
There are no questions from shareholders participating by web phone.
Anything online? No. All right. So given that there are no further questions, I now invite you to vote on the resolution. And I will take the brief pause. I know it's a very brief pause, but I think it's going okay.
[Voting]
So we will now move on to special business. Under Resolution 4, the company is seeking shareholder approval for the proposed grant of performance rights under the company's incentive rights plan to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Vanessa Torres; or her nominee, as a long-term incentive for financial year 2027. So I now move that Resolution 4 as follows and as set out in the notice of meeting be passed as an ordinary resolution. That for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 10.14, Sections 200B and 200E of the Corporations Act and for all other purposes, approval is given to issue 651,580 performance rights under the incentive rights plan to the MD and CEO of the company, Dr. Vanessa Torres or her nominee as a long-term incentive for the financial year ending the 30th of June 2027, as described in the explanatory memorandum. Now the Board other than Vanessa Torres, who have stained, unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of Resolution 4. A voting exclusion applies to this resolution as described in the notice. The proxy votes received in relation to the resolution are displayed on Slide 23 and open and usable proxies held by me as Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution. Do we have any comments or questions from shareholders in attendance today? Seeing no questions, I'll ask are there any questions from the web phone participants on this item?
There are no questions from shareholders participating by web phone.
Do we have any questions sent in online? Thank you. So as there are no questions, I will now invite you to vote on this resolution.
[Voting]
Thank you. We'll move to Resolution 5, where the company seeks shareholder approval for the proposed grant of STI rights under the company's incentive rights plan to the former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Norwell, or his nominee, as part of the short-term incentive earned for financial year 2026. I now move that Resolution 5 as follows and as set out in the Notice of Meeting be passed as an ordinary resolution. That for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 10.11 and for all other purposes, approval is given to issue up to a maximum of 144,604 STI rights under the incentive rights plan to the former MD and CEO of the company, Mr. Mark Norwell or his nominee as part of Mr. Norwell's short-term incentive for the financial year ended the 30th of June 2026, as described in the explanatory memorandum. The Board unanimously recommends that shareholders load in favor of Resolution 5. A voting exclusion also applies to this resolution as described in the Notice of Meeting and the proxy votes that we received in relation to the resolution are displayed on Slide 25. Open and usable proxies held by me as Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution. Are there any comments or questions from shareholders in attendance today? Seeing none in the room, I ask are there any questions from web phone participants on this item?
There are no questions from shareholders participating by web phone.
Thank you. I'll now take any questions from shareholders who have sent in their questions online in writing. Do we have any? No. All right. So as there are no questions, I'll now invite you to vote on this resolution.
[Voting]
Now all resolutions have now been put to the meeting. So please ensure that you complete your vote now. If attending the meeting in person, please remain seated. The registry staff will collect the voting papers from you once you have completed voting if you need any more time, just raise your hand, and we'll give you more time or assist with any questions that you've got.
Now for those of you who are online, you will have 5 minutes after the poll has been closed to complete your votes. If you've got any questions, please refer to that virtual meeting online guide or call the registry on the number that's in the guide or on the screen in front of you. I'm now going to pause for a moment for the collection of the yellow voting papers.
So all of the yellow voting covers have been collected. Thanks, MUFG for your confirmation. And so I now declare the poll closed. Online participants have a 5-minute countdown appearing on the screen to complete your votes. The votes will then be counted by the registry and the results of the poll will be announced to ASX shortly. In the meantime, we'll move on to other business.
So as I mentioned before, my address at an Annual General Meeting, shareholders are entitled to ask questions about or make comments on the management of the company. So before calling this meeting to a close, I'd like to provide shareholders with that opportunity to ask any questions that you may not have been able to ask earlier. For the online shareholders, as usual, follow the steps in the virtual meeting online guide to ask a question or make a comment. And for shareholders who are attending in person, please state your name, and please confirm you are a shareholder or proxy holder before speaking because your yellow voting cards have all been collected.
So are there any questions or comments from shareholders who are here in attendance today? No. Okay. I'm glad you had an opportunity to get all your questions out. Are there any questions or comments from shareholders on the web phone?
There are no questions from shareholders participating by web phone.
Thank you. Are there any questions online?
Yes, we've got a couple to get through, both from Stephen Mayne. The first, I'll start with actually a complement. He said Perenti is very close to running a best practice hybrid AGM. But he's again, like last year, requested that we disclosed the proxy vote early to the ASX and release the head count data with the poll results, something that some other companies do, is listed on here.
Okay. All right. Thank you for that had this question from Stephen before in this forum, and also as Chair of another listed company had that question in another place. And Stephen, thank you so much for the compliment. I hope we do use this hybrid format to good effect. But I have said to you, Stephen, and I will say it again, when we're going to have a cup of tea and talk about this in person? I do get to the East Coast every now and then. My Visa is still valid. And so it would be great to meet in person again and talk this through.
I find it a bit of a tricky question. Everyone in the meeting today will have noticed the really strong for vote, the positive reinforcement that we received from shareholders about the resolutions that we put before you. And I have found in other settings that there is a suggestion that if those are released, it is almost as if the Board is saying, well, why do we have to all turn up because the vote is already in. And so that's what's driven me to believe that market practice of not releasing the numbers apart from actually at the meeting when they are firm and final is the right way to go. So like I said, Stephen, very happy to sit down and have a chat about what I might be missing in that equation.
And the second question, and you might want to throw to newly appointed MD.
A lot a bit of coaching before the question turns out.
But SP1 It's quite a long 1 again, apologies. It's actually regarding the appointment of Vanessa and the fact that mining is historically a male-dominated industry. He's queried the response from Perenti's trailblazing move into appointing a female Chair/CEO leadership combination and is it changing the culture.
That's a very good question, Stephen, thank you so much. And there's a number of people in this room that have got quite a bit to say on this topic because as those people will have noted who are alert, not only do we have a female Chair and a female CEO, but our largest business, contract mining is very ably led by Gabrielle Iwanow, who has got multi-decade career in the industry as well. And we also have Andrea Sutton, our resource industry veteran leading our Remuneration Committee. And so is this a change in culture? I do not believe that there is a difference in the culture that a female leader brings versus what a male leader brings. The culture of Perenti stand on a foundation of safety. Safety is first always in this company, and there is absolutely no difference between our previous CEO and MD, Mark Norwell, and our current CEO, Managing Director. And as the culture evolves, we've talked about psychosocial safety and how we want people to be comfortable to speak up and empowered. That's a cultural journey that I think we will always be on, given the number of people we have. But I think it will be really interesting, Vanessa to hear your reflections as well. So I'll hand the microphone over to you.
Thank you. I have been in the resources industry for a little bit more than 3 decades. And what I think happened in terms of inclusion and diversity that the culture did change in the whole industry over the last 3 decades. Fortunately, today, it is about making sure everyone can come to work and bring their full selves. And that's something that I've seen markedly as I interacted with many employees at Perenti. And I do think, inclusion and diversity is actually a mark of our culture. We operate in Africa. We operate in North America. We operate in Australia. And what we can see is the diversity of people from different backgrounds, people from both genders in various leadership positions and at the front line. And I do think this is 1 that -- 1 thing that makes Perenti really well positioned for the future. Mining well beyond borders. And as I mentioned in my address, we actually operate internationally with 90% of workforce recruited locally. So our ability to blend people from different backgrounds and genders makes, I would say, my transition to the company very seamless. And I'm very privileged to continue that trend and continue to have Perenti as a very strong company that can operate basically anywhere in the globe to provide the critical minerals the world needs in the future.
Thank you, Vanessa. We've got a bit of an open mic going. Anyone else want to lean in on this one? Okay. All right. Thank you, Stephen. I hope that addresses the question and thanks for the opportunity to talk to it, that's obviously something that's very close to the hearts of many people in the room.
Do we have any further questions? So thank you very much for your questions and comments. As mentioned earlier, the results of the poll will be available shortly and will be announced by the ASX platform. For those who have attended in person, thanks very much for your attendance and your interest and to those shareholders and visitors participating online, we are pleased that our technology worked all the way through today and enabled your attendance and thanks Stephen for saying that he thinks we do the hybrid model well. So thank you all for joining us remotely. We look forward to your continued support in the coming year.
That ends the meeting, which I now declared closed. And for those attending in person, please join us for some light refreshments next door. Thank you all.
Perenti — Q4 2026 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Perenti FY '26 Results Presentation. [Operator Instructions] Finally, I would like to advise all participants that this call is being recorded. I'd now like to welcome Vanessa Torres, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, to begin the presentation. Vanessa, over to you.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining the Perenti FY '26 Results Call. My name is Vanessa Torres, and presenting with me today is Mike Ellis, our CFO. Today, we will outline our full year performance, the outlook for our business and how we plan to maximize returns for our shareholders. As this is my first reporting period as CEO for Perenti, I am very pleased to be announcing another year that Perenti has delivered to our guidance, marking our fifth consecutive year.
For those who are new to the Perenti story, we illustrate on Slide 3, our diversified portfolio of businesses spanning across the mining life cycle. Our businesses offer a broad suite of services, spreading across 12 different countries. We have world-leading expertise in underground mining and drilling. 66% of our revenue in FY '26 was generated from underground operations, and this was mostly from gold and copper projects. We operate 20 mines around the world. And collectively, we employ around 10,000 people to service more than 160 different clients. We aim to be the safest and most productive in industry, which unlocks enduring value and certainty for our people, our clients, our communities and ultimately deliver sustainable returns for our shareholders.
As announced on Friday, we have agreed to sell the BTP Group for AUD 100 million. The accounting standards require BTP to be reported in our annual report as a discontinued operation in our financial results. In order to allow comparison between FY '26 and FY '25 in a like-for-like manner, the results presented here represent the division as it was on 30th of June 2026, which is inclusive of the BTP Group. Mike will step through a reconciliation to statutory numbers later.
Before I get into the financial performance, I want to highlight our focus on safety. At Perenti, we are committed to ensure that everyone comes home safe and well. This mindset shapes how we operate our business and the decisions we make. In FY '26, we continue to strengthen our safety system in four key areas. Our critical risk management systems have strengthened the identification of hazards.
Safety leadership training is building our safety culture across all of our workforce -- direct workforce engagement. It's also simplifying our systems, making them more accessible and practical for our workforce and technology and engineering solutions are prioritized to reduce exposure to hazards where possible. We are proud to report 0 fatalities in FY '26 and improvements in both total recordable injury frequency rate, which is down to 6.0 and significant potential incident frequency rate down to 2.8. Whilst these results are encouraging, a safety culture requires continued focus and an enduring commitment from everyone in our organization.
Turning to our FY '26 financial results on Slide 5. As guided to the market, FY '26 has been a transitional year that sets up our company for future growth. A shift in revenue mix from Africa towards Australia and North America has been underway for some time, and the success of this strategy is now building momentum. EBIT(A) margin increased to 9.8%, delivering a record EBIT(A) result, even with revenue holding steady from FY '25. At the same time, -- the balance sheet has continued to benefit from the strong free cash generation.
Leverage at 0.4x and gearing at 12.8% is the strongest position our balance sheet has ever been in. This provides significant capacity to pursue growth options that I will unpack later in this presentation. On an adjusted basis, free cash flow of $182 million exceeded our guidance, which was upgraded during our first half results. Underlying NPAT(A) grew 8% compared to FY '25, benefiting from the lower finance costs. The strength of these results has allowed our Board to declare a final dividend of $0.045 per share, which lifts the total dividend for FY '26 to $0.0775 per share. Underlying EPS increased to $0.205 per share compared to $0.191 in FY '25, a 7% improvement year-on-year.
On Slide 6, we show our performance against guidance for the past five years. This is the fifth consecutive year that guidance has been met, which has also occurred in parallel with the portfolio transition, shifting the concentration of revenue in West Africa towards Australia and North America. The consistent free cash generation has enabled the balance sheet to be fundamentally transformed and now provides the group with significant funding capacity to pursue growth options aimed to maximize shareholder return.
Operationally, FY '26 included several important highlights. In Australia, we won the Bellevue contract worth approximately $850 million, which is the largest Australian contract in the history of Barminco. Our drilling businesses continue to build momentum with rising utilization, which is encouraging for FY '27. In North America, development at Goldrush has maintained a high operating standard that has been helpful to showcase the productivity advantages that Barminco's high-speed development can deliver for clients to maximize value. The award of the neighboring Fourmile contract is an important step to build regional scale in the U.S.A. and the recently announced addition of the Fourmile project to the Nevada Gold Mines JV between Newmont and Barrick enables us to unlock the benefits of working on these neighboring mines.
I recently had the opportunity to visit our operations in Ghana, and I was pleased to see our underground mining operations continue to deliver strong results. The culture amongst our Ghanaian workforce is excellent and the flow-on impact on the communities is immense. As we will be shortly exiting surface mine in Ghana, the recent agreement to sell the Iduapriem fleet as part of this transition will allow the recycling of capital toward new high-performing opportunities elsewhere in the portfolio.
The numbers at the base of this slide provide a glimpse of the size of our operations. Over 120 kilometers of development advance and more than 14 million tonnes of ore was delivered by Contract Mining in FY '26. The total drilling meters in the lower right includes everything drilled by drilling services and also the contribution of the drillers who work as part of the Contract Mining operations. And to give context to the 13,000 kilometers of drilling, it is more than the diameter of Planet Earth. So effectively, in a single year, our teams have drilled the equivalent distance from one side to the planet to the other.
Turning to Slide 8. Perenti delivered record EBIT(A) of $340 million, up 2% on FY '25 on a broadly flat revenue of around $3.5 billion. The key feature of this result was the improvement in EBIT(A) margin, which increased to 9.8%, supported by improved operational performance from Contract Mining. As highlighted during our first half results and consistent with prior years, earnings were heavily weighted to the second half. This is typical of the nature of our business, and we anticipate a similar first half and second half profile in FY '27 as new projects ramp up. Looking ahead, the sale of the AMS fleet and the divestment of BTP are expected to recycle approximately $150 million towards higher return opportunities.
Moving to Contract Mining, our largest division, which generated revenue of $2.4 billion and EBIT(A) of $291 million. As I mentioned previously, the pivot from Africa towards Australia and North America has shifted the revenue mix within this division. Our long-term contracts are advantageous for many reasons, but it does take time to shift the portfolio. This is evident in these results. But pleasingly, we are still delivering very strong margins. The EBIT(A) result from Contract Mining was a key driver of the Group's EBIT(A) results. This is not surprising when you consider that Contract Mining represents approximately 75% of underlying group EBIT(A) before corporate costs.
Recent project wins at Bellevue, Fourmile and Dalgaranga continue to move the portfolio mix towards a high-quality, long-life projects in both Australia and North America. While the proportion of revenue from Africa is changing, our clients in Africa remain an important part of the portfolio. AUMS has recently commenced some early works at Sabodala in Senegal for Endeavour Mining with a longer-term agreement under negotiation. I will discuss later our work in hand and pipeline, but the outlook for underground operations is particularly bright in North America, where there's visibility of $6.4 billion of potential work.
Turning to Drilling Services. The division has grown revenue to $843 million and set a new record EBIT(A) of $85 million. Drilling Services now represents 22% of underlying EBIT(A) before corporate costs. Utilization across the fleet continues to trend upwards and positions the division for further earnings and margins growth with mobilization costs and some fuel-sensitive inputs expected to normalize in FY '27. Swick has delivered an outstanding year in Australia and continues to see strong opportunities emerging in North America, particularly across gold and copper projects. A recent highlight subsequent to the end of the financial year was the award of a 5-year $92 million contract for Ausdrill for drilling and blasting services at Vault Minerals' King of the Hills mine.
On Slide 11, Mining and Technology Services delivered revenue of $190 million and EBIT(A) of $11 million. As announced, an agreement to sell the BTP Group has been reached. So BTP has been reported as a discontinued operation in our financial results. The results presented in this slide represent the division as it was on 30th of June 2026, inclusive of the BTP Group. The proposed sale of BTP is a pivotal move that will transform this division, leaving Supply Direct, Logistics Direct and idoba focused on lower capital-intensive services. This year, Supply Direct and Logistics Direct performed in line with expectations, and both have opportunities to grow in FY '27, idoba product development costs reduced in FY '26 and reduced again in FY '27.
And moving forward, they will be included in our underlying results. As announced, the divestment of BTP will unlock $100 million that will be recycled into higher return investments. In addition, the sale of the Iduapriem fleet that is part of the conclusion of the contract as announced in 20th of July 2026 is expected to generate a further $30 million to $40 million. There's also some further AMS idle surface fleet that is currently in Ghana and expected to be sold in FY '27, realizing an additional $10 million to $15 million. In total, these initiatives are expected to return between $140 million and $155 million to the Group, funding near-term opportunities that meet our investment criteria and support EPS growth.
It is important to note the timing associated with these sales. The first tranche of the BTP sale, $80 million, is due to arrive towards the end of October 2026, with the final $20 million due 12 months later. The $30 million to $40 million sale of the Iduapriem fleet is due to arrive at contract conclusion in December 2026. The final $10 million to $15 million for the remainder of the idle AMS fleet in Ghana will be collected as and when the fleet is sold and several buyers have expressed interest already. I will now pass on to Mike, who will take you through the financials.
Thank you, Vanessa, and good morning to everyone on the call today. I'll now walk you through the underlying profit and loss on Slide 13. Revenue in FY '26 was $3.46 billion, broadly flat year-on-year, a solid result given the changes in the portfolio. The completion of various projects impacted our revenue growth in FY '26 with the Botswana underground project finishing at the end of FY '25, accounting for circa $250 million of revenue. This was offset by increased drilling services revenue on rising utilization and several contract wins in Contract Mining, further highlighting the benefits of scale.
Our revenue and earnings quality has continued to improve in FY '26 with now over 62% of our revenue derived from Australia and North America. This further diversification into Tier 1 jurisdictions highlights the execution of our strategy. With the transitioning portfolio mix, our depreciation expense decreased by $23 million in FY '26 to 9% of revenue. This was a result of the higher depreciation last year for some large projects such as the Botswana underground project and 2 African surface projects, Mako and Sanbrado. All 3 of these projects had large fleets and have now been completed. Record EBIT(A) of $340 million, an increase of 2%, meeting our guidance for the fifth consecutive year. EBIT(A) margin improved to 9.8%, an outstanding result and underpinned by a strong contribution from Contract Mining, steady margin performance from both Drilling Services and Mining and Technology Services and an ongoing focus on corporate overheads.
Interest expense reduced by 23% to $54 million, benefiting from the significant reduction in gross debt over recent years and reduced leverage. Our effective underlying tax rate was 32.8% in FY '26. It is worthwhile noting that we do expect this to increase slightly into FY '27 to circa 34% as we repatriate cash from the AMS asset sales. Underlying NPAT(A) increased 8% to $192 million and underlying earnings per share increased 7% to $0.205 per share. Our reported statutory NPAT significantly reduced in FY '26 as a result of non-underlying adjustments of $148 million included in the statutory results. Accordingly, this has had a corresponding impact to our reported statutory earnings per share for the year. I'll provide further detail of these adjustments on the next slide.
Slide 14, the statutory to underlying reconciliation, which has more substantive adjustments than in FY '25. Looking backwards from our statutory results at the top, the amortization of customer-related intangibles has reduced further to $28.2 million in FY '26. This reduction was mainly due to several African contracts concluding during the year. To assist with anyone who needs to update their models, our CRI amortization will further reduce to approximately $15 million in FY '27. Net foreign exchange losses and other one-off costs were $8 million, predominantly due to unrealized FX losses, noting that last year, we did have an FX gain of $12.4 million. idoba product-related costs reduced further to $7.6 million during the year.
As a part of our year-end impairment procedures, we incurred noncash asset impairments totaling $54.3 million in FY '26. To break this down further, firstly, a $25.1 million impairment on idle AMS surface fleet due to localization changes in West Africa impacting surface mining contractors. Accordingly, this changed our valuation methodology for these assets and resulted in an impairment. As Vanessa mentioned, we plan to liberate a minimum of $10 million to $15 million of cash in FY '27 in relation to these idle assets that are currently not deriving any returns. It is important to note that this is separate to the $30 million to $40 million of surface equipment scheduled for sale that is currently operating at the Iduapriem contract.
So realizing redeploying this capital to higher returning projects will be beneficial for our shareholders. Secondly, we incurred a $29.2 million impairment on idoba-related goodwill and intangibles. In FY '27, idoba will see a further reduction in development expenditure and an increased focus on internal project application within Perenti. This accordingly changed the assumptions and the recoverable value of idoba at year-end. Going forward, idoba will be included in our underlying results and is included in our FY '27 guidance. Discontinued operations relates to the BTP divestment as announced on Friday last week.
The full year BTP revenue, EBITDA, EBIT contribution is included in the underlying result for FY '26 that shifted to discontinued operations in line with the accounting standards. The transaction is scheduled to return $100 million and as a result, booked a non-cash loss on the revaluation of the BTP Group of $64.4 million. For clarity, the EBITDA result shown in the reconciliation table is after corporate overheads charged to the business for support services. Finally, after the net tax effect of $14.4 million results in an underlying NPATA of $192.1 million.
Turning to the cash flow. At the half year result, we lifted our free cash flow guidance to greater than $170 million. After adjusting for 2 client receipts totaling $50.9 million received on the 1st and 2nd of July, we delivered a free cash flow of $181.6 million, up on the FY '26 guidance. Operating cash conversion was 97% after adjusting for the same 2 late receipts and our seventh year above 95% cash conversion. Net interest paid reduced to $52.8 million, following the early and final repayment of the 2025 Senior Unsecured Notes in July '25. Cash tax was steady year-on-year, and we do expect that to increase into FY '27 with the increased effective tax rate. Net capital expenditure was $321 million, slightly under our guidance of approximately $325 million. Dividends paid to shareholders have increased for the third consecutive year to $70.4 million and $13.1 million was utilized by the on-market share buyback.
Slide 16 shows the further strengthening of the balance sheet that occurred during FY '26. Consistent real free cash flow generation over the past 4 years has transformed our balance sheet position to the strongest in Perenti history. With the BTP Group being classified as held for sale, you will notice some changes on the face of the balance sheet with a held-for-sale asset and corresponding liability. This reclassification also has impacted the year-on-year comparatives for inventory and PPE on a like-for-like basis. Gross debt has reduced to $594 million and net debt reduced to $271 million. This has brought leverage to 0.4x, which now puts us under the previously advised targeted range of 0.5x to 1x.
While this is below our targeted range, we will continue to be very disciplined in deploying this capacity. Liquidity increased to $911 million, comprising of $323 million of cash and $589 million of undrawn syndicated facilities. In October '25, the new $650 million syndicated debt facility was completed on better terms and rates. The book was well oversubscribed and attracted several new domestic and international lenders to the syndicate. With several organic or inorganic growth opportunities ahead, the balance sheet provides substantial capacity for us to move quickly when the right opportunity presents. This will also be further bolstered upon the receipt of the first tranche of the BTP proceeds on completion of $80 million expected to be received around October '26.
Turning to Slide 17, highlighting our disciplined approach to capital allocation and free cash flow generation. Over the past several years, revenue and EBIT(A) have grown materially. Strong free cash flow has funded growth projects, allowed repayment of gross debt, dividends to be resumed and increased and 80 million shares have been bought back on the market and canceled. We believe this balanced approach to capital allocation allows flexibility to capture opportunities and drive sustainable returns to shareholders. We continually assess the relative returns available from growth, dividends, buybacks and debt reduction. Thank you. I'll now hand back to Vanessa.
Thank you, Mike. Slide 18 illustrates how our strategy is contributing to reach our long-term financial targets. We have several strategic levers that are being used to drive performance and deliver long-term value. As Mike mentioned, our balance sheet has never been stronger in the history of Perenti. This position of strength gives us significant optionality. The earnings quality and stronger margins give us confidence that the business can continue to deliver consistent returns.
In turn, the optionality provided by the balance sheet and the stability of the underlying business provides a platform to confidently pursue organic opportunities, particularly in Australia and North America. The decision regarding BTP demonstrates our active approach to inorganic opportunities and portfolio quality. We continue to assess acquisitions to add scale and capability to our group. And finally, we continue to prioritize delivery of free cash flow from operations because we appreciate the flexibility that this provides across the portfolio.
Over time, we continue to target revenue growth of 5% to 10% EPS growth above revenue growth with each project generating returns on invested capital above our risk-weighted cost of capital. Additionally, we target return on equity above 10% and free cash flow above 5% of the revenue. Whilst free cash flow generated by our operations provides us the optionality to invest, we aim to strategically allocate this cash in a way that we optimize our long-term TSR for our shareholders. In this way, we start with our dividend policy that has a range of underlying 30% to 40% of NPAT(A). We then assess between growth options, share buybacks and debt reduction, depending on the availability of options and the best return for shareholders.
A quality growth opportunity, either organic or inorganic, will usually outrank buybacks or further debt reduction, but the timing of when to invest in growth opportunities is important. Over time, countercyclical capital allocation maximizes TSR. And in this context, a strong balance sheet is key to enable transformational growth. Additionally, strategically timed buybacks are also attractive on an EPS basis and an important way to reward our long-term shareholders.
Turning to the outlook to give some color on the opportunity ahead. Work in hand at 30 June 2026 was $6.2 billion, and the tender pipeline has grown to $20 billion. Our work in hand number has been pushed up slightly during the second half following wins at Bellevue, Duketon and Fourmile, together with smaller contract wins and extensions across all divisions. The pipeline remains incredibly strong across all regions, with Australia representing $8.6 billion and North America, $6.4 billion. Gold remains the largest commodity exposure, whilst importantly, our copper pipeline has almost doubled in value from $3.5 billion at the beginning of 2026 to $6.6 billion. A number of near-term extensions provide further opportunity to increase contracted work for FY '27 and beyond.
Slide 21 highlights the strength and longevity of our client relationships. Our clients are extremely important to our business, and our many long-term relationships are one of our best indicators of our performance. This slide shows the current longest project for several clients. And importantly, our relationships with these clients often extend across multiple projects and are generally aligned with the life of the mine rather than a single contract term. For more than a decade, the renewal rate for our long-term contracts has exceeded 90% and when deciding which opportunities to pursue, we prioritize projects with long mine lives, lower unit costs, aligned values and financially stable owners. This has led to us working with many of the world's leading mining companies, including Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti, Barrick and Gold Fields as well as with the most significant and high-quality Australian mines.
Turning to FY '27 guidance. We expect revenue of $3.45 billion to $3.65 billion and EBIT(A) of $335 million to $355 million. This guidance takes into account the sale of the BTP business as announced. Net capital expenditure is expected to be approximately $370 million, which includes the previously announced requirements in FY '27 for Bellevue and Fourmile and an allowance for growth capital, net of the proceeds from the AMS fleet sales. Earnings are expected to remain weighted to the second half, consistent with prior years and the characteristics of our business.
The portfolio management related to BTP and AMS is expected to unlock approximately $150 million over the next 12 months. As outlined earlier, this capital will be allocated strategically to improve total shareholder returns. Several near-term options for capital exist within the $20 billion pipeline. A number of projects our team is already working on are scheduled to ramp up in FY '27, making successful execution of these projects, a key driver for FY '27. Our drilling team client engagements and internal data indicate that drilling utilization is gaining momentum, which bodes well for further growth in FY '27 and beyond.
Finally, our strategic and disciplined approach to capital allocation will continue, balancing growing dividends, EPS accretive organic and inorganic growth opportunities and the buyback to drive total shareholder returns. And in summary, FY '26 was another year of consistent delivery with record EBIT(A), strong margins, stronger cash generation and a further reduction in leverage. In this context, we are also rewarding our shareholders with record dividends since the inception of Perenti.
The portfolio is increasingly weighted towards high-quality opportunities in Australia and North America, while our long-standing African operations continue to deliver strong results. With a strong pipeline, a healthy balance sheet, combined with strategic and disciplined capital allocation, Perenti is well positioned to deliver enduring value and certainty for our people, clients, communities and shareholders. Thank you for your time. Mike and I will now take your questions.
[Operator Instructions]
And your first question comes from the line of John Campbell at Jefferies.
2. Question Answer
Firstly, just a couple of questions. Firstly, in terms of Contract Mining, with your pivot out of Africa, West Africa into North America and Australia, what are you expecting in terms of margins, EBIT(A) margins from '26 to '27 within your guidance for Contract Mining? Are you expecting a decline in margin?
Thank you.
So what we see today, and I think you've seen already that Contract Mining overall margins actually increased. So what we are doing is that with a very strong pipeline, we are definitely being focused on capturing synergies between projects and also ensuring that we are using well the opportunities. So -- as we go and get more and more in Australia and North America, we might see a slight decrease of margins, but I wouldn't expect that to affect anything materially.
And in the end of the day, we will have revenue growth, especially from the second half of this financial year growing into '28. So -- but the focus that we have today, for instance, is to ensure that we're capturing a lot of synergies between projects. So for instance, Goldrush and Fourmile, the 2 projects now being owned by the same entity, which is Nevada Gold Mines will definitely help us to keep our margins as high as we can.
Sorry, John, I'll add there is we still remain very committed to Africa. We've been saying that for a while for the right projects. So I just want to be clear on that as well.
Yes. Not [indiscernible] America.
Yes. I understand that. And just since you raised it, obviously, there's that nationalization movement afoot in Africa or at least in West Africa and it's impacted surface mining. Do you see any risks at all for underground mining?
I recently actually went to Ghana to see our operations there. Underground mining is very different than surface mining. Surface mining today, I think it is -- there is a lot of players there. There is a lot of incentives from, for instance, equipment suppliers. I think that some of that hits firsthand. But underground mining in terms of the -- what we really bring is the productivity and the techniques. And those are very difficult to localize. Of course, there's a pressure to work in joint ventures.
But so far, using -- managing those joint ventures haven't reduced our margins overall. So I'll say with underground mining, I'm still very, very confident we have some very good opportunities ahead. But also, I think we have longstanding in Africa. So we do have a lot of work with communities, a lot of work with government. So we're well positioned there to continue.
Look, last question. You pointed towards drill rig utilization going up in '26 and looking good for '27. Are there any numbers you can put on that, roughly how much of the fleet is utilized, that sort of thing?
Yes. Thanks, John. Average utilization across the 5 brands in FY '26 was approximately 70%. Our expectation into FY '27 that will get into the mid-70s. And there's obviously different utilization within the 5 brands, but I mean that's the benefit of scale and having sort of a market-leading drilling division like we do. So we are seeing some pretty good utilization is looking pretty good in July as well. So all things are looking okay at this point in time.
And your next question comes from the line of Mitch Sonogan of Macquarie.
Maybe just a really quick one maybe just following on from the drilling question. Can you maybe just talk to some of those headwinds that you saw in the second half? And obviously, Mike, you talked to utilization getting towards mid-70s. But yes, from a margin perspective, like how should we be thinking about that segment with what you can see at the moment?
Thanks, Mitch. In relation to the margin, so we delivered 10% in FY '26. We did have a lot of mobilizations in the second half of FY '26, which did create a drag on the margin. Secondly, we did see some cost increases off the back of the Middle East situation. So as we look forward, our expectation is that the cost pressure will stabilize and slightly improve, and we are expecting a slight EBIT(A) margin increase into FY '27 in drilling with increased revenue as well. And just to be clear, as I said to John just before, utilization is expected across -- in aggregate across the 5 brands to get into the mid-70% is what we're feeling like an appropriate assumption at this point in time.
Great. And just on the outlook, obviously, you've mentioned the idoba product development costs will be captured in the underlying. And I think that was at the EBIT line, $7.6 million in FY '26. What's expected in terms of that being absorbed in underlying in FY '27.
Thanks. With idoba, we're really focusing on now going forward with the product that's already gone into beta rather than spending too much in other projects in the pipeline. So we expect to be less than $5 million. And I think there's a big, I think, focus into really making sure idoba turns into profit.
Okay. Great. And just final one, Vanessa, just in terms of that pipeline, $20 billion. Can you maybe just talk to some of the bigger opportunities that are, I guess, due for award over the first half FY '27? And yes, just in terms of, I guess, a brief comment on the competitive landscape and our margins or bids being at margins pretty similar in line with current segment margins?
Yes. I think when you look at the pipeline near term, we have -- we are doing some negotiations for instance for our expansion with Geita in Tanzania. We're working with Newmont on Red Chris. And also, we expect to see some other players, other, I would say, greenfield opportunities coming to the market as well. So the focus is ensuring we get all the renewals in line with our plus 90% renewal rate and capture projects, especially in North America starting to move from early stage into production like Red Chris.
[Operator Instructions]
And your next question is from the line of Cameron Bell of Canaccord Genuity.
Just hoping you could flesh out the, I guess, the guidance impact from BTP. I saw the $3 million EBIT number, but you also mentioned that's after corporate overheads and presumably BTP is still growing. So could you flesh out the -- I guess, what kind of drag that is on the FY '27 guidance and therefore, we can make our own estimates on the underlying business is doing?
Thanks, Cam. Yes, so you are right. In the discontinued note shows a $3 million EBIT impact for BTP in FY '26. However, that is after the divisional overheads and the corporate overheads as well. So like-for-like, it's a little bit above $5 million impact in the FY '27 guidance for BTP.
And this concludes our Q&A session for today. I would like to turn the call back over to Vanessa for closing remarks.
Thank you. So in summary, FY '26 was another year of constant delivery. We had record EBIT(A), strong margins, strong cash generation, and we further reduced our leverage. So rewarding shareholders with record dividends and in particular, looking for growth. With a strong pipeline, a very healthy balance sheet, we are really well positioned to deliver value for all of our shareholders and in particular, to our clients. So we aim to be the safest, the most productive in the industry, and that's something that we are delivering, and we will continue to deliver in the years ahead. So thank you very much for listening to us today.
This concludes today's conference call. Thank you all for joining us. Enjoy the rest of your day. You may now disconnect.
Perenti — Q4 2026 Earnings Call
Perenti — Q2 2026 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining the Perenti FY '26 First Half Results Call. My name is Mark Norwell. And presenting alongside me today is Mike Ellis, our CFO. Today, we'll take you through our first half performance and outlook for the remainder of FY '26. Overall, Perenti has delivered as per expectations and remains well-positioned to continue delivering strong earnings and cash flow for the year.
Starting on Slide 3, our diversified portfolio. For those who haven't been following Perenti closely, we are a diversified global mining services group with leading positions in contract mining, drilling services and mining and technology services. For example, our underground mining business, Barminco, is a top 2 global underground hard rock mining contractor. And our drilling division, comprising 5 specialist brands, is a top 3 global drilling business.
We believe that a sustainable business is one that consistently delivers for its people, its clients, the communities in which it operates and ultimately delivers enduring value for shareholders. To achieve this purpose, we have built a diverse company with 13 brands operating across 12 countries. Approximately 2/3 of our revenue is generated from underground mines, and currently, our work in hand is strongly weighted to gold projects. Our diversified portfolio, scale and market share creates a resilient business that can deliver consistent performance through market cycles.
Turning to the first half financial results on Slide 4. The first half of FY '26 reflects consistent delivery as we continue to evolve our portfolio and strengthen our balance sheet. Revenue was similar to the first half of FY '25 and EBITDA slightly lower, following the conclusion of the Botswana underground project at the end of FY '25.
As communicated in our FY '25 results, we successfully sold the fleet in Botswana, delivering a decrease in depreciation, supporting a new half EBITA record of $160 million. EBITA margin improved to 9.3% compared to 9.0% in the first half of '25, demonstrating the improving quality of earnings. Underlying NPATA increased 12.4% compared to the first half of '25 supported by lower net finance costs and improved operating performance. Underlying EPS increased to $0.098 per share, also up 12% from the corresponding period.
Normalized free cash flow of $33 million, adjusted for delayed debtor receipts collected in January, also improved on the first half last year. Net leverage reduced to 0.6x compared to 0.9x 12 months earlier. And our gross debt reduced to the lowest point since the acquisition of Barminco in 2018, following the repayment of the remaining 2025 senior unsecured notes in July 2025. As a result, the Board has declared an interim dividend of $0.0325 per share, an 8% increase on the $0.03 dividend in the first half of 2025.
On to Slide 5. And as always, the safety of our people remains our first priority. The continuous learning approach that we have adopted requires us to constantly seek ways to improve our safety systems, and ultimately, performance.
During the half, we continued to invest in frontline safety leadership and strengthened our company-wide safety leadership framework, which includes clear expectations for what safe work looks like. Divisional critical risk frameworks and verification tools have been updated, and we continue to focus on creating a safe and respectful workplace.
We also implemented practical safety enhancements across the business, including in-vehicle monitoring systems, improved operator visibility, upgraded gas monitoring and smart camera exclusion zones and standardized controls for working at height across the drilling fleet. While we continue to make positive progress as a business and as an industry, we need to maintain an unwavering focus on improvement to keep our people safe.
Moving to Slide 6, group performance. As mentioned earlier, EBITA increased 3% to a new first half record of $160 million, despite the strength in the Australian dollar at the end of the half, which has continued into the start of the second half. Our EBITA margin improved to 9.3%, driven predominantly by the transition away from the underperforming underground contract in Botswana.
As we've outlined previously and as demonstrated in the half-on-half comparisons, earnings and cash flow are weighted to the second half of the year. Contract mining will benefit from several contractual elements flowing through in the second half, and drilling services continues to see demand increasing with margin growth expected in the second half.
Turning to our divisions, starting on Slide 7. Contract mining contributed around 70% of group revenue and 74% of underlying EBITA before corporate costs. The significant transition in revenue mix continues in line with our strategy with new and existing projects substituting for projects that have concluded in Burkina Faso and Senegal. As mentioned, the conclusion of the underground contract in Botswana has helped to improve first half EBITA margin to 11.1%.
Work in hand remains strong in projects such as Great Fingall in Australia, Goldrush in the U.S.A. and Mana in Africa ramping up. The award of the Dalgaranga contract in July 2025 will also have a greater contribution in the second half.
As outlined on Slide 8, Drilling Services delivered revenue of $422 million, up 9% on the first half of '25 with utilization continuing to improve across the division. With drilling demand remaining strong, particularly in gold and copper projects, the division is positioned to benefit from margin expansion as market capacity tightens.
Swick, in particular, has seen strong demand, recently winning and mobilizing 3 new projects in North America. The multiple mobilizations temporarily impacted margins during the half. However, margins are expected to improve in the second half and into FY '27 as the new projects move to steady state and the benefit of improving market conditions are realized.
On to Slide 9. Mining and technology services has delivered improved performance compared to the first half of '25. The BTP rental fleet saw higher utilization with idle fleet returning to work, although still below historical levels. BTP parts continue to deliver below expectations, presenting an opportunity for improvement in the second half. idoba continued to focus on its underground simulation tool with costs reducing as planned with further reductions forecast in the second half of '26. Overall, our first half results met expectations with our balance sheet continuing to strengthen.
I'll now hand to Mike, who will provide more detail on our financial results.
Thanks, Mark, and good morning to those on the call. Thank you for joining us today. I'll now step through the financials in more detail, starting at Slide 10 at the underlying profit and loss for the half. Our revenue has stayed consistent on the prior corresponding period at $1.73 billion for the half.
As you're aware, the underground project in Botswana, which was our largest by revenue contribution in the prior half, at circa $120 million, completed at the end of FY '25. The collective team has done a great job to offset this during the first half of FY '26, driven by new work and scope increases in contract mining at the Great Fingall, Dalgaranga, Goldrush and Mana projects, together with increased revenue within our Drilling Services brands due to improved utilization.
Our depreciation has reduced from $168 million in the first half of FY '25 to $157 million or 9% of revenue this recent half. The primary driver was the transitioning portfolio in contract mining. 2 main points on this, selling the large underground fleet to the client in Botswana, which had significant depreciation in the prior corresponding period. Secondly, we had the conclusion of 2 surface mining contracts, Sanbrado and Mako that had higher depreciation compared to underground and drilling projects on a like-for-like basis. Looking forward, all things equal, group depreciation will normalize at low to mid-9%.
On to earnings. The EBITA result of $160 million with EBITA margin improvement to 9.3% was a strong result for our first half. It was underpinned by improved performance in contract mining, driven by the portfolio mix and operational delivery, consistent delivery from drilling services and a stronger result from mining and technology services compared to the first half of '25.
Interest expense was $28 million for the half, substantially down 20% compared to the first half of FY '25. This was due to the early repayment of the 2025 senior unsecured notes, further lowering our gross debt, providing us balance sheet capacity, but also ongoing earnings per share improvements.
Income tax increased marginally by 6% with increased earnings this half, representing an effective tax rate of 30.2% in the half. It should be noted that our effective tax rate for FY '26 is still expected to be 32% for the full year. Our underlying NPATA of $92 million is up 12% with an improved NPATA margin of 5.3%. Lastly and importantly, our underlying earnings per share increased 12% on the prior corresponding period, a great result for the half, driven by the EBIT margin improvements and reduced interest costs.
On to Slide 11, the reconciliation of our statutory results to the underlying results. Although pretty straightforward this half, I will provide some further color. Amortization of the customer-related intangibles was $19.6 million during the first half, but is expected to reduce significantly in the second half due to the completion of the Yaramoko underground contract in Burkina Faso in December. This contract formed part of the original Barminco acquisition accounting in 2018.
Looking forward, the amortization of customer-related intangibles will be circa $30 million for the full year FY '26 and will further reduce to circa $14 million in FY '27. idoba development costs of $4.7 million were down 30% on the first half of FY '25 following last year's review. They will further reduce in the second half to circa $4 million as the development spend for our simulation product reduces in line with the development milestones.
In FY '27, we will account for the development costs in our underlying earnings as the product moves into commercialization and development expenditure is further reduced. Net foreign exchange losses amounted to $4 million and predominantly related to non-cash movements of intercompany loans and tax balances, noting that the first half of FY '25 was an FX gain of $5.3 million.
Turning to the cash flow on Slide 12. Operating cash flow before interest and tax was $193 million, lower than the prior period, predominantly due to the timing of debtor receipts and creditor payments upon the completion of various projects in the half. We received $50.3 million of overdue debtor receipts in January, impacting reported free cash flow at period end.
As noted in prior calls, our cash conversion at the first half is generally impacted by short delays in client receipts and other temporary working capital movements. This has no impact to our overall liquidity profile. After adjusting for these late receipts, normalized free cash flow was $33.1 million, up 8% on the first half on a like-for-like basis and represented cash conversion of 77%.
As flagged in our FY '26 guidance, our free cash flow will be second half weighted in FY '26, which is consistent with the last 3 years of solid free cash flow delivery in the second half of the year. We are confident on delivering cash flow conversion in line with historical averages of greater than 95% for the year.
Net interest reduced in line with gross debt reductions and cash tax was down during the period due to the timing of tax payments. Our gross capital expenditure remained in line with the first half of FY '25 at $170.7 million with continued investment into our fleet. We also realized $21.4 million from the sale of assets and investments. This predominantly related to the sale of assets to clients that completed projects, including Yaramoko, Sanbrado and the Mako project. Lastly, you will notice the cash outflow of $135.4 million to repayments of debt as a result of the gross debt reductions previously mentioned.
That is a good segue to Slide 13, the balance sheet. As a result of the debt repayments, our cash balances reduced during the half to $275 million and back to normal operating levels, noting that it was elevated at 30 June, 2025 due to the sale of assets at the completed underground project in Botswana, which was received in late June '25.
Liquidity remains very strong at $818 million, supported by $543 million of undrawn committed facilities and $275 million of cash, providing significant optionality to pursue growth opportunities that meet our hurdle rates and deliver into the execution of our strategy.
During the half, we successfully completed a heavily oversubscribed refinancing of the syndicated debt facility, increasing the facility capacity to $650 million on improved pricing and extending maturities. As part of the process, we also welcomed several new domestic and international lenders to the facility, highlighting the positive support from the debt markets for the scale and the consistency that has been built over the years.
The balance sheet remains very strong and robust, offering good flexibility and our disciplined approach to balance sheet management positions Perenti to continue to pursue both organic and inorganic growth into the future.
On to Slide 14. Disciplined capital allocation remains our key focus to generate sustainable long-term returns for our shareholders. Since FY '19, we have invested to grow revenue and EBITA, both organically and inorganically, resulting in strong sustainable free cash flow over the past three years. This has enabled us to reduce net debt and leverage from 1.3x in FY '21 to a very comfortable 0.6x at reporting date.
With debt well managed, we resumed dividends in FY '24. And during periods of undervalued share price, we have bought back shares, increasing EPS. This balanced approach will continue supporting growth opportunities that meet our investment criteria, consistent sustainable free cash flow generation, regular dividends, share buybacks when suitable and maintaining a robust balance sheet.
In closing, earnings remained strong in the first half of FY '26 in a transitional year for contract mining, highlighting the scale that has been built in Perenti over the years. Our balance sheet continues to strengthen with significant available liquidity, creating capacity to continue to execute on our strategy.
Thank you. I will now hand back to Mark.
Thank you, Mike. As detailed on Slide 15, the outlook remains bright for Perenti. Secured work in hand at 31 December, 2025 was $5.8 billion, reflecting a normal drawdown of work executed during the half and partial replacement through some new and expanded projects.
The pipeline remains strong at $18.6 billion with North America representing a growing component of that pipeline. This month, Barminco received a letter of intent from Barrick for its Fourmile project in Nevada U.S.A. to undertake limited early work readiness activities. The letter of intent reflects Barrick's continued confidence in Barminco's technical capability and underground development expertise and represents an important step toward progressing the Fourmile project.
We'll continue to work together with Barrick toward finalizing scope and contractual arrangements with earnings anticipated to commence mid-FY '27 post formal award in the coming months. This is excellent news and demonstrates ongoing execution of our strategy to grow in North America.
With the neighboring Goldrush project also ramping up and the Red Chris mine in Canada currently in the process of finalizing mine expansion plans, North America work in hand could be significantly larger in a short period of time. Overall, the sheer number of opportunities provides confidence in the outlook beyond FY '26, although we will remain disciplined, patient and focused to ensure projects we secure support sustainable delivery of TSR rather than just short-term revenue growth.
Building on Slide 14, where Mike outlined our significant earnings growth and net leverage reduction as a result of consistent cash generation, Slide 16 illustrates how we have also evolved our portfolio since 2019. Firstly, the revenue of the business has more than doubled. All divisions have grown while also increasing regional diversification. The Australian portion of revenue has overtaken Africa as the largest contributor to the business, and the growth in the North American market is now gaining momentum for both Barminco and Swick.
In 2019, Perenti had no projects in North America. Now we have 8 projects underway today with an ever-increasing pipeline and positive outlook. A glimpse of the future for Perenti can be seen in the relative makeup of the pipeline. In FY '19, the opportunities were predominantly in Africa with the remainder in Australia. Now the opportunities are dominated by Australia first and North America second with new opportunities starting to emerge in the Middle East. Africa will remain a strong region for Perenti, but as always, projects must meet our risk and return hurdles. Overall, we have significant organic growth opportunities across our operating regions and services.
Slide 17, outlook and revised FY '26 guidance. The portfolio continues to deliver strong and reliable free cash flow, supported by the scale of the group and the improving quality of earnings. The recent strengthening of the Australian dollar has tempered expectations for the top end of our revenue and EBITA guidance.
Conversely, we have increased our free cash flow guidance to greater than $170 million with capital expenditure guidance reduced to $325 million. To achieve these targets, earnings and cash flow will be weighted to the second half of the year, consistent with the performance of FY '25 and prior years.
EBITA growth in the second half is anticipated to be bridged in a similar fashion to FY '25. A $10 million to $15 million step-up in contract mining is expected, $5 million to $10 million from Drilling Services and the balance from Mining and Technology Services. In addition, we will continue to see the benefit of our gross debt reduction in the second half in the form of reduced interest payments.
To deliver our full year guidance, the priority remains the focus on the safe delivery of services, continued investment in the development and capability of our people and supportive market conditions. Additional focus will remain on winning and extending projects that deliver sustainable value-accretive growth. Revenue growth alone is not the objective. Projects must be secured on terms that support profitability and free cash flow for the long-term success of our business.
With several projects ramping up, particularly in Australia and North America, discipline and consistent operational execution will be critical. Activity in the exploration drilling market continues to build, consistent with the early stages of a longer term trend. Consequently, drilling utilization is expected to lift during the remainder of FY '26 and into FY '27.
Finally, by maintaining a disciplined and balanced approach to capital allocation to organic and inorganic growth opportunities, Perenti is well positioned to continue delivery of enduring value to our people, clients, communities and shareholders.
On to Slide 18. In summary, Perenti has delivered a consistent first half with a new record first half EBITA, EPS growth of 12% and strengthened the balance sheet, positioning the group well for the remainder of FY '26 and beyond.
As announced at our AGM last year, this will be my final year with Perenti. While the Board is well progressed in the search for a new MD and CEO, my focus remains on supporting our people to safely deliver FY '26 and in time supporting the Board and the new MD and CEO to transition to new leadership. Details of the transition will be shared when the new MD and CEO is announced. In the meantime, it is business as usual.
Thank you all for your time today, and we'll now move to Q&A.
[Operator Instructions] And today's first question will come from Sumeet Ozarde with Citigroup Global Markets.
2. Question Answer
The first one, just could you talk about some of the contract mining opportunities, new and renewals that we should be thinking about in the next 12 to 18 months?
Yes. Thanks, Sumeet. Audio is a bit challenged, but I think you're asking me about contract mining, pipeline. So I guess, firstly, I'd say that the pipeline is significant and certainly very strongly weighted to North America and also Australia and still some very good opportunities in Africa. So the outlook is extremely positive. We know that the [Technical Difficulty]
Thank you. That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. [Technical Difficulty] Pardon me, this is the operator. We would like to resume the question and answer session. [Operator Instructions]
Well, it's Mark Norwell. I might pick up on Sumeet's question that I was midway through answering. Firstly, apologies for the technical challenges that we've been experiencing this morning. So hopefully. we've still got a few folk on the line. Sumeet's question was regarding the outlook for contract mining, and I'm not sure when it dropped off, so I may repeat some items that we already covered off.
Certainly the pipeline is extremely strong in terms of the outlook. The thematics of underground mining, very strong, and obviously, commodity price is very strong as well. In the near term and as announced in our results to date, we are working with Barrick for their Fourmile project in Nevada. We've had a limited notice to proceed for early works there. Expectation for that to come online in FY '27. So we're very excited about the Fourmile opportunity.
I visited Nevada a couple of weeks ago and visited the Goldrush project for Nevada Gold Mines. We see some potential expansion there. So really the Nevada region looking strong. Red Chris project with Newmont up in British Columbia. We've been there for several years. Newmont are working through expansion plans currently. And subject to that continuing and getting approval from Newmont, we're well positioned to hopefully secure more work there.
We're also in discussions with another client in North America that we're sort of hopeful of for an outcome into FY '27. So very strong there. In Australia, we got a couple of active tenders at the moment for Barminco that we're working through and we still have a number of projects in the pipeline for Africa as well.
And finally, with a number of existing clients we've worked with for many, many years, supporting them on expansion plans as well. So in summary, a very strong outlook for contract mining and also a strong outlook for drilling services into FY'27.
[Operator Instructions] There are no questions at this time. I'll now hand back for any closing remarks.
All right. So maybe due to the technical difficulties, got off easy today. But look, thanks for people bearing with us with the technical challenges, but importantly, thank you for joining the call.
Look, we delivered a strong result with our earnings continuing to improve. We are well positioned to deliver another full strong year ahead and we do have a very good line of sight to opportunities across our divisions into the back half of '26 and into '27, particularly with North America. We're getting some really good momentum into North America at the moment. And our collective earnings between North America and Australia have really shifted over the last several years as we've been growing the business and obviously improving the balance sheet.
So not only does the outlook look positive, but we also have the strong balance sheet in place to be able to support significant growth in the future. We will maintain discipline with that growth obviously and look for the long term, not just sort of one year, it's sort of many years ahead. So thanks for taking the time to join the call. Enjoy the remainder of your day. Thank you.
That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.
Perenti — Shareholder/Analyst Call - Perenti Limited
1. Management Discussion
Good morning, everyone. My name is Diane Smith-Gander, and I'm the Chair of Perenti. It's now 10:30 a.m. Perth time, and I welcome all shareholders to the company's 2025 Annual General Meeting, both here in person and online through the virtual meeting platform provided by our share registry, MUFG Corporate Markets Limited.
If we experience any technical issues today, a short recess or an adjournment may be required, depending on the number of shareholders affected. If this occurs, I'll advise you accordingly. As we have a quorum present, I now declare the Annual General Meeting open.
I acknowledge the traditional owners of the various lands from which we meet today, including the Whadjuk people of the Nunga Nation. We also acknowledge any aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people participating in this meeting. I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging and recognize and celebrate the diversity of Aboriginal peoples and their ongoing cultures and connections to the lands and waters of Australia.
I'm joined at this meeting by Mark Norwell, our Managing Director and CEO; Alex Atkins, an Independent Non-Executive Director; Andrea Hall, an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee; Tim Longstaff, an independent Nonexecutive Director and Chair of the People and Remuneration Committee; Craig Laslett, an independent Non-Executive Director; Andrea Sutton, an independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Safety and Sustainability Committee; and Greg Walker, an Independent Non-Executive Director who recently joined the Perenti Board.
I'm also joined by our group Executive Committee members, Michael Ellis, our Chief Financial Officer; Gabrielle Iwanow, President, Contract Mining; Ben Davis, President, Drilling Service; Raj Ratneser, President, Mining and Technology Services; Paul Muller, Chief Corporate Services Officer; and Cameron Bailey, our Chief Strategy Officer. Helen Bathurst, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the company's auditor, is also present.
I ask that all shareholders attending the meeting in person ensure that they've registered their attendance with the registry at the entrance of the meeting. Shareholders and validly appointed proxies, corporate representatives and attorneys will have received a yellow admission card. Nonvoting shareholders will have received a blue admission card. Please note, only those shareholders with a yellow or blue admission card will be allowed to ask questions or make comments on the company at the meeting.
For those shareholders attending the meeting online, please follow the virtual meeting online guide via the link on your screen to register for a voting card and cast your votes online and ask questions or make comments on the company. You will only be able to ask questions or make comments once you have registered to vote.
I invite shareholders attending online to send through any questions as soon as possible after registration rather than waiting until each resolution is read. The Notice of Meeting was released to the ASX on the 8th of September 2025 and made available to all shareholders. If there is no objection, the notice of meeting will be taken as read.
The procedure for today's meeting will be as follows. First, I will give a short address. This will be followed by the Managing Director and CEO's address to shareholders. We'll then move on to the formal items of business as set out in the Notice of Meeting. All items of business will be voted on via a poll.
Instructions regarding the poll will be given prior to the commencement of the poll. The results of the poll will be tallied and announced via the ASX platform as soon as the results are available. After the poll has closed, shareholders will have an opportunity to ask questions about or make comments on the management of the company. Shareholders attending virtually can ask questions via the online facility either in writing or orally through the web phone facility.
So to my address. Many of you would have seen this morning's Australian Securities Exchange announcement advising that Perenti has started a Managing Director and CEO succession process. Our Managing Director and CEO, Mark Norwell, will step down from his role in 2026.
I'll provide further comments and explain the implications of this morning's announcement on the proposed resolutions for today's AGM later in this address. I am confident the succession process will be orderly. And I am equally confident Mark will remain focused on the business until the transition to his successor has been made.
Perenti is in a strong and robust position served by an excellent leadership team with considerable momentum in the business. This transition now becomes a key part of shaping the next phase of our growth. Confidence in our future is underpinned by our performance today.
At Perenti, we are focused on consistently delivering on our commitments. FY '25 has been a year where we have done exactly that. We continue to strengthen our position as a trusted partner to clients, shareholders and stakeholders, built on a foundation of safety, reliability, performance and care.
Our success is made possible by the expertise, resilience and dedication of our over 10,000 people working across 4 continents often in some of the world's most remote and challenging environments. To each of them, thank you for your contribution to the business.
This year marks my first full year as Chair of Perenti, and I'm immensely proud to report that our company has delivered exceptional financial and operational performance while making significant progress against our strategic goals. This achievement reflects the collective efforts of our entire organization and reinforces our position as a global leader in mining services.
Safety remains our absolute priority and the foundation upon which everything else is built. Our goal remains unchanged. No adverse physical or psychological life-changing events. Significant progress has been made on this journey with further improvements planned in FY '26 and beyond.
Our safety culture continues to mature with a sharp focus on engineering solutions that remove people from high-risk tasks. We're enhancing the leadership, systems and technology that keep everyone in our operations safe and well. While we continue to drive improvements across all our operations, we know that our commitment to safety must be relentlessly focused. It is fundamental to our success and to our people coming home safely every day.
In FY '25, Perenti delivered another record financial result. We achieved EBIT(A) of $333.5 million on revenue of $3.49 billion, a fourth consecutive year of meeting or exceeding our guidance. This consistent year-on-year performance reflects focused execution and clear communication. It highlights the strength of leadership and the depth of talent that exists across Perenti.
Our disciplined approach has enabled the Board to deliver direct value to shareholders. In FY '25, your Board increased the dividend to $0.0725, representing a 21% increase on FY '24, and we continued our share buyback program. This was underpinned by the record free cash flow, demonstrating the strength of our business model.
That sound cash flow allowed us to further reduce debt, positioning our balance sheet at a comfortable 0.5x leverage ratio and provides capacity for future growth. This performance reflects 6 years of strategic evolution since launching our 2025 strategy in 2019.
Under the leadership of Managing Director and CEO, Mark Norwell, and his executive team, this strategy has been executed with clarity and consistency, guided by a strong focus on long-term value creation. Our decision to conclude underground operations in Botswana at that contract exemplifies this.
While our Contract Mining team delivered strong operational outcomes, the commercial performance there didn't meet our own internal thresholds. Sustainable profitable growth demands a commitment to prudent allocation. Geographic expansion, however, remains a key strategic priority.
A major milestone saw Barminco securing its first underground mining contract in the U.S.A. at Barrick's Nevada Gold Mines, marking our entry into the world's largest gold complex and reinforcing our focus on North American growth. This contract formed part of the $4 billion in new or extended awards secured by our Contract Mining division, while our Drilling Services division also delivered a strong performance in its first full year of operation.
People are critical to our access and to thrive in a challenging world, we must foster a workplace where everyone feels safe, respected and empowered to speak up. This is central to our safety journey and our broader sustainability agenda which includes supporting host communities, increasing female leadership participation and advancing decarbonization in partnership with clients.
Perenti will continue to explore opportunities for growth and value creation. We have a very promising growth pipeline, allowing us to navigate both challenges and opportunities in a disciplined, strategic way.
Our diversified platform across multiple commodities and geographies positions us well to support global development and the essential role mining plays in driving progress across industries and economies. As we reflect on the strength and continuity of our governance, I would like to acknowledge an important change to our Board.
Today, we farewell Non-Executive Director, Alex Atkins, who is retiring from the Board at the conclusion of this AGM. Since joining the Board in July 2018, Alex has made a significant contribution through her work on the Safety and Sustainability Committee, and the People and Remuneration Committee. On behalf of the Board, I thank Alex for sharing her dedication, passion and expertise over more than 7 years of service.
Greg Walker joins as our new Independent Non-Executive Director. Greg brings more than 45 years of mining experience, including leadership roles at Nevada Gold Mines and Barrick. His global perspective, operational expertise and strong community engagement across multiple regions will further strengthen our Board and support our strategic priorities.
Greg's appointment reflects Perenti's ongoing commitment to Board renewal ensuring we maintain the right mix of skills, experience and diversity to support our business now and into the future. I'm grateful to my fellow Board members for their support and strategic guidance throughout the year.
I also extend my appreciation to Mark and to the group executive committee for their leadership, commitment and resilience in shaping and executing our strategy. To our clients, thank you for your continued trust and partnership. Your collaboration is vital to our achievements. To our shareholders, your support and investment are greatly appreciated.
Our achievements over the past year reflect the solid foundation we have built through consistent execution of our strategic plan. Thank you to everyone who contributed to Perenti's success.
Now as I mentioned at the beginning of my address, we announced this morning the commencement of a CEO succession process, which will see Mark step down from his role in 2026. The Board has initiated a comprehensive search for his successor considering both internal and external candidates to ensure we appoint the right leader to guide the business through the next phase of growth.
Throughout this process, Mark will remain fully engaged with the business. Once a new CEO has been appointed, he'll work closely with that individual to ensure a seamless leadership transition, maintaining continuity across the organization.
As we begin the search for a new CEO, I thank Mark and acknowledge his outstanding contribution since joining Perenti in 2018. His leadership has embedded a strong purpose-led culture, build a high-performing team and delivered a focused strategy that's driven significant growth and success.
Under Mark's guidance, Perenti has quadrupled its revenue, doubled its workforce and increased market capitalization from $900 million in September 2018 to over $2.7 billion today, transforming the business into a leader in global mining services. As he prepares to hand over next year, the business is stronger than ever with a solid foundation in place for future success.
The announcement this morning that we have begun the start of the CEO succession process does impact the business of this meeting today. As a result of the transition of the CEO role, the Board considers it's no longer appropriate to proceed to issue new long-term incentives to Mark. As such, Resolution 6 will be withdrawn from today's agenda and will not be put to a vote. However, I note the overwhelming proxy support received for this proposed resolution, and we thank shareholders for this.
Thank you once again. I will now hand over to Mark before returning to conduct the business of the meeting.
Thank you, Diane, and thank you for those kind words following this morning's announcement. Like Diane, I will provide further comments regarding CEO succession at the end of my address.
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Perenti's 2025 Annual General Meeting. I, too, would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Whadjuk people, and pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. Today, I want to share with you our journey through FY '25 with a focus on our people, our performance and our clients, and then importantly, our refreshed strategy that will guide us through FY '26 and beyond.
Let me begin with what drives our business success, our people. Across four continents, our 10,000 dedicated team members show up every day focused on creating enduring value for our clients and the communities where we operate and ultimately for our shareholders. I'm especially proud of the work we have done and the progress we've made in pursuit of our goal of no adverse physical and psychological life-changing events.
It's a reflection of the care, commitment and focus our people bring to safety every day. But we know that safety is never something we can take for granted. It requires constant attention and a shared commitment to always seeking to improve.
During the year, we embedded divisional safety transformation plans, enhanced leadership engagement, and we introduced and explored technological solutions to keep our people safe. From aerial denial systems on our jumbo fleet to collaborating with an Australian University to develop inherently safe hydraulic tools, we're not just talking about safety, we're engineering it into our everyday work to fundamentally improve the safety of our people.
We are focusing on solutions that remove people from high-risk tasks, while empowering every individual to speak up and contribute to a safer workplace. This year, we increased critical control verifications by 19% and expanded our leadership training programs to build environments so our people can feel psychologically safe. Leadership plays a critical role, not only in safety, but across every aspect of our business.
We understand the influence leaders have across the business and their vital role in delivering our strategy. That's why we run bespoke leadership programs designed to build capability and strengthen technical, operational and cultural leadership attributes that drive performance and shape our culture to be a source of competitive advantage.
Beyond leadership, we're also investing in the future of our industry. We have 189 apprentices and 712 trainees that are developing critical skills to deliver today and enable tomorrow. Our Contract Mining division employs over 150 engineers globally, more than most mining companies, demonstrating our deep technical and operational expertise. And to support our focus on technical excellence, our graduate program gives young engineers and other professionals exposure to all aspects of our global operations.
I'm particularly proud that more than 90% of our international workforce is local to each operation, directly supporting community development and economic growth. This reflects our principle to walk in their shoes, understanding that our success is directly linked to ensuring benefit to the communities where we work.
We've also advanced our commitment to creating safe and respectful workplaces, introducing new reporting mechanisms and expanding leadership training internationally. Our work towards achieving gender balance continues with division-wide action plans already driving meaningful change. our people's dedication has translated into exceptional performance that speaks to both our operational excellence and financial discipline.
FY '25 marked another year of record financial achievement. We delivered record revenue of $3.49 billion, record underlying EBIT(A) of $333 million and record free cash flow of $195 million excluding the $92 million we received from exiting our underground project in Botswana. For the fourth consecutive year, we met our earnings guidance, a clear signal of our disciplined execution and consistency of delivery.
But these numbers tell only part of our story. Our strengthened EBIT(A) margin again increased year-on-year to 9.6%, demonstrating our commitment to continual improvement in our operations. We transformed our balance sheet, achieving a conservative leverage ratio of below 0.5x, down from 1.3x just 3 years ago. This positions us with significant capacity for future growth opportunities while maintaining financial resilience.
The strength of our cash generation allowed us to declare a final dividend of $0.0425 per share, bringing our total FY '25 dividend to $0.0725 per share, a 21% increase from FY '24. We also completed the early redemption of our remaining 2025 senior unsecured notes, further optimizing our balance sheet to support future growth.
Our Contract Mining division, representing 72% of group revenue, demonstrated the advantage of scale through consistent performance. Despite significant project transitions, including the disciplined conclusion of our underground operation in Botswana, our diversified portfolio delivered reliable earnings.
Our Drilling Services division in its first full year following the DDH1 acquisition generated approximately $780 million in revenue with a 65% increase in EBIT. This integration showcases our ability to create value through strategic acquisitions while maintaining operational focus.
Pleasingly, our improved operational and financial performance has been recognized by the market with our share price growing approximately 60% during FY '25 and a further 80% from the 1st of July 2025 to close of trade yesterday. Our performance is ultimately measured by our ability to serve our clients in pursuit of their objectives.
This year, we secured more than $4 billion in new and extended contracts in our Contract Mining division, the largest volume of new work in our history. And we also had significant contract wins in our Drilling Services division. These wins aren't just contracts. They're partnerships built on trust, collaboration and operational excellence.
Alongside significant contracts in Australia and Africa, a standout during the year was Barminco securing their first underground mining contract in the United States at Nevada Gold Mines' Goldrush Project. The Goldrush Project represents a particularly significant milestone in our North American growth strategy. This 36-month contract with Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture between Barrick and Newmont operating the world's largest gold producing complex, demonstrates our capability to compete and win in new and established markets globally.
Our work in hand at the end of FY '25 of $6.5 billion provides visibility and certainty while our pipeline of potential work totaling $17.4 billion positions us well for continued growth.
What sets us apart is our integrated approach. Whether delivering high-speed development at Goldrush, providing underground mining services at Obuasi or supporting exploration activities through our Drilling Services division, we combine technical expertise with operational excellence to support our clients in solving complex problems.
Our clients choose Perenti not just for what we do, but for how we do it. We bring a culture of safety, a commitment to continuous improvement and the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions while maintaining unwavering focus on results.
As our successful 2025 strategy has come to a natural conclusion, I'm especially proud of the progress our people have made in delivering against it. Their efforts have driven strong improvements in both business performance and our balance sheet.
Moving forward, we've taken the opportunity to introduce a refresh (sic) [ refreshed ] strategy, a strategy that builds on the great work by our people and positions us for sustainable performance. Our refreshed strategy will be outlined in more detail during FY '26, but I want to share a few key highlights starting with our fundamental objective, that being to deliver superior returns to our shareholders. And we do this through managing a portfolio of businesses that support our clients, generating strong and consistent cash flows through all economic conditions.
Our refreshed strategy adopts an evergreen approach that maintains our focus on what we really value, the safety and engagement of our people, enduring client relationships and ongoing sustainability improvements along with clear aspirational financial targets to drive superior performance, namely revenue growth of 5% to 10% per annum, EPS growth exceeding revenue growth, return on invested capital above our weighted average cost of capital, return on equity greater than 10% and free cash flow as a percentage of revenue greater than 5%.
To deliver on what we value and our financial targets, we've built our strategy around five key areas of competitive advantage; People and culture, safety and sustainability, operating excellence, capital allocation and portfolio management. Bringing our strategy to life is the Perenti way, our operating model. It integrates our purpose, principles and competitive advantage to drive performance and create value.
What excites me most is its flexibility. It allows us to adapt and evolve without losing sight of the fundamentals that have made us successful. At Perenti, we are focused on FY '26 being another successful year as we execute on our refreshed strategy.
Our FY '26 guidance reflects both our disciplined financial approach and growth ambitions. Revenue between $3.45 billion and $3.65 billion, EBIT(A) of $335 million to $355 million, net capital expenditure of approximately $340 million and free cash flow greater than $160 million.
But our vision extends beyond FY '26. We're investing in technologies that will shape the future mining from autonomous systems to emissions reduction technologies. We're expanding our presence in key growth markets while maintaining our leadership position in established regions.
We're also deepening our commitment to sustainability across all dimensions: environmental, social, and governance. This includes our continued focus on investing in the health, safety and well-being of our people, advancing gender balance and strengthening our partnerships with local communities.
As I reflect on FY '25 and look toward the future, I'm struck by the remarkable resilience and capability of our organization. We've navigated complex market conditions, successfully integrated major acquisitions, expanded into new markets and delivered record performance, all while maintaining our focus on continuously improving safety and operational excellence.
This success belongs to every member of our team from our frontline operators working in challenging conditions across the globe to our engineers developing innovative solutions and from our managers building client relationships to our support teams who enable delivery for clients.
I'd like to thank my fellow Board and group executive members for their ongoing support and particularly Diane for her personal support, thoughtful challenge and collaborative approach.
I also want to take a moment to recognize Alex Atkins, who retires from the Board today. Alex's contribution to Perenti goes far beyond what any formal record could capture. Her wisdom, integrity and unwavering commitment to doing what's right have shaped our thinking, strengthened our decisions and helped build the culture we're proud of today. On behalf of Perenti, thank you, Alex, for your principled leadership, your friendship and contribution to our journey.
To our shareholders, thank you for your continued confidence in our strategy and leadership. This support enables us to invest in our people, our technology and our future growth. To our clients, thank you for choosing Perenti businesses as your partner. We don't take this trust lightly, and we remain committed to delivering safe, productive services that support your long-term objectives.
To the communities where we operate, thank you for welcoming us and allowing us to contribute to local economic development. We're committed to being respectful partners in your success.
And to our people, the heart of everything we do, thank you for your dedication, your professionalism and your commitment to our shared purpose and principles. You make Perenti what it is today, and you're building what it will become tomorrow.
Finally, in time, I look forward to welcoming Perenti's new Managing Director and CEO. Once that person is appointed, I'll work closely with them to ensure a smooth transition that maintains continuity and the momentum of this great business.
Until that time, it remains business as usual for me. I'll continue to be focused on leading the company, maintaining disciplined execution of our strategy and ensuring the safe and reliable delivery of our operations globally. I'm committed to the continued success of this business.
This will likely be my final Annual General Meeting as Managing Director and CEO of Perenti. It's been an honor and a privilege to lead this business over the past 7 years. Since joining in 2018, I've had the opportunity to work alongside an exceptional team, and I'm incredibly proud of what we've achieved together.
From establishing our purpose and principles to shaping and executing a focused strategy and repositioning our portfolio, we've built a strong, resilient business that is well placed for continued success. The future of mining services is bright, and Perenti is well positioned to create enduring value tomorrow and beyond.
Thank you for your time today, and I'll now hand back to Diane.
Thank you, Mark. As mentioned earlier, voting on all resolutions today will occur by way of a poll. So after each item of business has been introduced, there will be an opportunity for shareholders to ask questions of the Board in relation to that item of business before shareholders cast their vote for that resolution.
So I'm asking you to please limit your questions to the item of business that's being discussed. There will be time for general questions at the conclusion of the meeting. If you're using the web phone facility, please ensure you mute the webcast meeting before using the web phone.
And please note that voting prohibitions apply to Resolutions 1, 5 and 7 under the Corporations Act and voting exclusions apply to Resolution 7 under the ASX listing rules. If you're in doubt as to whether a voting exclusion or voting prohibition applies to you, please refer to the Notice of Meeting or speak with the registry at the registration desk outside.
A representative of the company's share register, MUFG, will be conducting the poll as returning officer. As Chair of the meeting, I still retain the right to make all final decisions as to who may vote, the votes cast and the declaration of the result of the poll. I now call on [ Katherine Noon ] from the registry to advise shareholders on the procedure for conducting a poll in the meeting and via the online platform. Thanks, Katherine.
Today, we will be conducting a poll on all resolutions. The persons entitled to vote on this poll are all shareholders, representatives of shareholders and proxy holders. Only those who are entitled to vote at this meeting may cast a vote on a resolution.
For those attending the meeting in person, you can cast your vote by filling out your yellow voting card. Please vote for, against or abstain on your voting card for each of the resolutions. If you have any questions, please see a registry team member at the registration desk outside this room. For those shareholders participating in the meeting via the online platform, you can cast your vote using the electronic voting card that you received when you validated the registration.
If you have any questions about casting your vote online, please refer to the virtual meeting online guide or call us on the numbers set out in the guide on the screen in front of you. If you're in attendance today as a proxy holder and you hold open votes, those votes are yours to cast at your discretion, and you can do so by voting on each resolution accordingly.
I will now hand back to the Chair.
Thank you, Katherine. I now declare the poll open and we'll move on to the formal business of the meeting. The first item of business is the financial report and accounts. Under the Corporations Act, the company is obliged to lay before this meeting the last audited financial statements and reports, which were dated the 22nd of August 2025.
No resolution is required but I now invite shareholders to comment or ask questions on the financial reports and accounts of the company. Questions may also be asked of the auditors in relation to the conduct of the audit, the content of the audit report, accounting policies adopted by the company and the independence of the auditor in carrying out the audit.
For those attending the meeting in person, please address all of your questions to me as the Chair. When I direct, can you please state your name before speaking and hold your yellow or blue admission card so that I can see that you are a shareholder or proxy holder?
For those who are participating via our online platform, you'll be able to submit questions by registering as a shareholder or proxy holder and selecting the Ask a Question tab or by utilizing the web phone facility. I will consider the questions submitted online after I've taken questions from the floor and from shareholders using the web phone facility.
At a fairness to everyone, I ask you limit your questions to one at a time. I'll only accept questions and comments on the resolution being considered. So are there any comments or questions from shareholders in attendance today? Are there any questions from web phone participants on this item?
There are no questions via the phone.
Thank you. I'll now take questions from shareholders watching online who've sent in their questions in writing. None on this item. Okay. Thank you. As there are no further questions or indeed, no questions, we'll now move to the next item of business.
Under the Corporations Act, listed companies are required to include as part of their directors' report a remuneration report, which includes specified information. The directors have prepared a remuneration report to the 30th of June 2025, and it is included in the annual report on Pages 75 to 94. The Corporations Act also requires that companies put to shareholders a resolution that the remuneration report be adopted.
The Board believes that the current remuneration arrangements are fair and reasonable and that the 2025 remuneration report demonstrates alignment of remuneration outcomes with the company's performance and delivery of value to our shareholders.
So I now move that the remuneration report of the company for the financial year ended the 30th of June 2025 be adopted. Under the Corporations Act, the vote is advisory only and does not bind the directors or the company. However, we take shareholder feedback very seriously, and we'll continue to review our remuneration framework to ensure that it remains appropriate.
Voting exclusions apply to this resolution as described in the Notice of Meeting. The proxy votes received in relation to this resolution are displayed on your screen. Any open and usable proxies held by me as Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution.
Are there any comments or questions in respect of Resolution 1 from shareholders in attendance today? Seeing no questions in the room, I ask are there any questions from web phone participants on this item.
There are no questions via the phone lines.
Thank you. Are there any questions from shareholders online?
Yes. One question from [ Stephen Mayne ] regarding which of the five main proxy advisors, ACSI, Ownership Matters, Glass Lewis, ISS and ASA covered Perenti this year and did any recommend a vote against any of today's resolutions, including RIM, noting that Glass Lewis we don't have access because they don't publicly release their report.
Thank you. I'm going to consult with my Company Secretary. I don't think we have any issue in advising this material. And we can advise that we are covered by all of those and that there were no votes against any of our resolutions.
Thank you, Stephen, for that question. Are there any other questions on the remuneration report? So if there's no further discussion, I'll now invite you to vote on this resolution.
[Voting]
We'll now move to the next item of business. As stated in the Notice of Meeting, certain directors will retire at the AGM and being eligible, each offer themselves for reelection as directors at the meeting. All directors' details are set out in the directors' report on Pages 69 to 74 of the annual report.
Details regarding Andrea Hall, one of the three directors up for reelection this year, are displayed on the screen. Andrea is an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. She's also a member of the People and Remuneration Committee and the Nomination Committee.
Before I move that Andrea be reelected, I will ask her to say a few words about her background and experience.
Thank you, Diane, and good morning, everyone. My name is Andrea Hall, and I'm a chartered accountant with over 30 years' experience in the financial services industry. Throughout my career, I've conducted engagements across, and this sounds really exciting, internal audit, risk management, corporate and operational governance, external audit, financial management and strategic planning.
I began my professional career at KPMG in 1987 and retired the firm in 2012 as a KPMG partner of risk consulting. During that time, I worked across a diverse number of industries, including mining, infrastructure, government, financial services and transport.
Given that diverse background and a strong understanding of both financial and nonfinancial risks, I transitioned to a Nonexecutive Director career and unsurprisingly typically chair the Audit and Risk Committee. I now currently serve as a Nonexecutive Director of Evolution Mining, Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation and its subsidiary, ARIA Co, Australian Naval Infrastructure and Western Power.
I hold a degree in commerce from UWA, and I'm a fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. And given the importance of capital management, I've also studied a Masters of Applied Finance majoring in corporate finance.
I'll now hand back to the Chair.
So I now move that Andrea Hall, who retires in accordance with Article 60.4 of the company's constitution and being eligible, offers herself for reelection, be reelected as a director of the company. The Board, other than Andrea Hall, unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of Resolution 2.
The proxy votes received in relation to this resolution are displayed on your screen. Open and usable proxies held by me as chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution. Are there any comments or questions from shareholders in attendance today?
I see no questions in the room. I ask are there any questions from web phone participants on this item.
There are no questions via the phone lines.
Are there any questions from shareholders online? Thank you. So as there are no questions, I'll invite you to vote on this resolution.
[Voting]
Details regarding Craig Laslett, the second director up for reelection this year are shown on the screen. Craig is an Independent Nonexecutive Director. He's also a member of the Audit and Risk Committee, the Safety and Sustainability Committee and the Nomination Committee. Before I move that Craig be reelected, I'll ask him to say a few words about his background and experience.
Thank you, Diane, and good morning, everybody. I'm Craig Laslett, I'm an engineer with 40 years contracting experience, I hold a bachelor of engineering, I'm a fellow of the Institution of Engineers and a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
I welcome the opportunity to be part of the Perenti team. I've led some of Australia's largest infrastructure and mining services companies. This included serving as Managing Director of Leighton Contractors, where I was responsible for a broad portfolio of operations, and a workforce, both direct and indirect, of about 20,000 people.
My leadership journey at Leighton also extended to accountability for HWE Mining and Leighton Mining based from WA, I delivered -- delivering open cut and underground mining services, material processing, operating across sites in Australia and internationally.
What do I bring to the Perenti team? A lifetime of contracting experience, progression from the ground up to MD and CEO. I've led large teams. I have a passion for providing people opportunities and keeping them safe. I've a passion for personal, organizational and industry learning and are always striving to do things better.
Thank you for your support, and I'll hand back to the Chair.
So I will now move that Mr. Craig Laslett, who retires in accordance with Article 60.4 of the company's constitution and being eligible, offers himself for reelection, be reelected as a director of the company. The Board, other than Craig Laslett, unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of resolution 3.
The proxy votes received in relation to this resolution are displayed on the screen. Open and usable proxies held by the Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution.
Are there any questions or comments from shareholders who are here today? Seeing nothing in the room, I ask are there any questions from web phone participants on this item?
There are no questions via the phone lines.
Are there any online questions? Thank you. As there are no questions, I'll now invite you to vote on the resolution.
[Voting]
Details regarding Greg Walker, the third director up for reelection this year are shown on the screen. Article 59.2 of the company's constitution provides that any person appointed as a director by the directors to fill a casual vacancy or as an additional director holds office only until the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting of the company and is eligible for reelection at that meeting.
Greg was appointed as an Independent Nonexecutive Director with effect from the 25th of August 2025. Before I move that Greg be reelected, I'll ask Greg to say a few words about his background and experience, and particularly given this is the first time he is before you.
Thank you, Diane, and welcome, everybody. As Diane mentioned, my name is Greg Walker. I'm an international mining professional with over 45 years experience operating complex mining operations and delivering sustainable results. Throughout my career, I've had the privilege to lead teams across Australia, the United States into Canada, Tanzania, Dominican Republic as well as in Papua New Guinea.
My expertise expands to mineral processing, open cut mining, underground mining, safety and environmental stewardship, corporate governance, along with government and corporate -- sorry, government and community liaison, strategic executive leadership.
I've held senior leadership roles, including Executive Managing Director of Nevada Gold Mines, Senior Vice President of Operations and Operational Excellence for Barrick Gold, Executive General Manager for Barrick Gold's Pueblo Viejo operation down in the Dominican Republic.
I have a post-grad diploma of extractive metallurgy through Western Australian School of Mines associated with Curtin University. I'm proud to have been recently appointed to Perenti Board, and I look forward to contributing greatly to the continued success and growth of the operations.
Thank you very much. And with that, I'll hand back to the Chair.
So at this point, I will now move that Mr. Gregory Walker, who retires in accordance with Article 59.2 of the company's constitution and being eligible, offers himself for reelection, be reelected as a director of the company. The Board, other than Greg Walker, unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of Resolution 4.
The proxy votes received in relation to this resolution are on the screen in the room behind me and on your screens online. Any open and usable proxies held by me as chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of this resolution. Are there any comments or questions from shareholders in attendance today? One at the back here.
I'd just like to say, I think it's good that you've got two professional people from the relevant industry instead of the usual lineup of lawyers and accountants.
I think that was a wonderful comment. And just in case anybody missed it, I think we've been congratulated on the approach that we have taken to identifying the skills that are necessary for a company of the complexity and reach of Perenti. And all our directors are doing a fabulous job.
Anything else in the room? Seeing nothing further. Any questions from web phone participants on this item?
There are no questions via the phone lines.
Thank you, and online?
Yes, we do have one. Could new Director Greg Walker and the Chair comment on the recruitment process that led to his appointment to the Board? Was a headhunter involved? Did the full Board interview other candidates and did Greg know any of the existing directors or executives before engaging in the recruitment process?
Who's the question from?
Sorry, that's from Stephen Mayne, again.
Okay. Thank you, Stephen, for the question. The Board conducted a comprehensive process initially mapping the market. We did use independent third-party. We moved from the long list that was provided to us and some names that were known to some of our directors as appropriate people, Greg Walker was not one of those names that we communicated to our third party.
We then progressed through the normal process of moving from a long list to a short list. And we interviewed a number of candidates, the interviewing conducted across the entire Board. I will say if I had a potential nonexecutive director who didn't want to meet every single one of their colleagues, I would be a bit startled by that turn of events, but it certainly didn't happen in this case.
To the final part of the question as it relates to relationships that Greg Walker had. I do not believe there are any at all, and I'm looking down the row of directors and everyone is shaking their heads.
So I think I got all the parts of that question. Stephen, comfortable with that? Great. Thank you. And thank you for the question. Are there any further questions? No.
As there are no further questions, let me invite you to vote on this resolution.
[Voting]
We'll now move on to special business. Under resolution 5, the company is seeking a refreshed shareholder approval of the incentive rights plan for the purposes of the financial assistance provisions of the Corporations Act in order to facilitate the ongoing use of an employee share trust as outlined in the explanatory memorandum.
The incentive rights plan was previously approved by shareholders for this purpose in 2019 when the plan was established. However, the incentive rights plan has recently been updated, and the company is seeking fresh shareholder approval this year as a matter of good corporate governance.
I now move that resolution 5 as follows and as set out in the Notice of Meeting be passed as an ordinary resolution. That for the purposes of Section 260C #4 of the Corporations Act and for all other purposes, the incentive rights plan as described in the explanatory memorandum be approved.
The Board unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. The proxy votes received in relation to the resolution are shown on your screens. And any open and usable proxies held by me as Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution.
Do we have any comments or questions from shareholders in attendance today? Seeing no questions in the room, I'll ask if there's any questions from our web phone participants on this item.
There are no questions via the phone lines.
Thank you. Are there any online questions? No. As there are no questions on this item, I'll now invite you to vote on this resolution.
[Voting]
Now as mentioned earlier, the Board has decided to withdraw resolution 6 in light of the proposed transition of the MD and CEO role in due course. As a result, no FY '26 long-term incentive performance rights will be issued to Mark this year. But let me thank again those who voted by proxy for your overwhelming support for this proposed resolution.
So let's move on to resolution 7. Under resolution 7, the company is seeking shareholder approval for the proposed grant of STI rights under the company's incentive rights plan to Mark Norwell or his nominee as part of the short-term incentive earned for FY 2025. These short-term incentive rights represent 1/3 of Mark's short-term incentive award to the last financial year, which ended on the 30th of June 2025.
As Mark has already satisfied the performance hurdles relating to the short-term incentive, we'll proceed to a vote on resolution 7, which simply provides for 1/3 of his short-term incentive to be paid in the form of deferred equity rather than in cash.
So I now move that resolution 7 as follows and as set out in the Notice of Meeting be passed as an ordinary resolution. That for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 10.14 and for all other purposes, approval is given to issue up to a maximum of 212,526 STI rights under the incentive rights plan to the MD and CEO of the company, Mr. Mark Norwell, or his nominee, as part of Mr. Norwell's short-term incentive for the financial year ended 30th of June 2025, as described in the explanatory memorandum.
The Board, other than Mark Norwell who abstains, unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favor of resolution 7. Voting exclusions apply to this resolution, and that's described in the Notice of Meeting. The proxies that we've received are displayed on your screens. Open and usable proxies held by me as Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution.
Are there any comments or questions from shareholders who are here today? Seeing no questions, I'll ask are there any questions from web phone participants on this item.
There are no questions via the phone lines.
Thank you. Are there any online questions?
There is one from Stephen Mayne. Effectively, it's quite a long question, but he's asking for a summary of past STI and LTI grants that have been -- that are vested with the MD? And have you ever sold any ordinary shares in the company or bought any?
I'm assuming when he's asking you, he's relating to Mark, and I will note that this information, I think, is well available in our annual reporting, and we can refer you to those pages.
Page 90, I believe.
Thank you, Page 90 of the annual report. And Perenti obviously follows all of our disclosure obligations. And any trading by our KMP is reported to the exchange. And I will note that on the 18th of September, make sure I get the date right, Mark did make a sale of shares, which was in the more than 7 years that he's been at the organization, the first time he had traded Perenti shares. And it was conducted in accordance with Perenti's securities trading policy.
And just for the ease of reference, Stephen, following that sale, Mark retains a holding of 2,928,676 shares and 2,665,896 performance rights, but someone needs to inform me whether this total needs to be added on to by the STI rights should shareholders approve this today once the poll is concluded. So I'm assuming those shares would be additive to the number that I have just provided.
Mark, do you want to add anything on to this, just to confirm what I've provided?
I think the other part...
It looks like we have a microphone swap.
The other part of the question is whether I have bought any shares on market over my tenure. The answer is yes, three different parcels, 50,000 shares back in 2020. 100,000 shares in 2021 and then another 50,000 shares in 2023, which went in family trust, the first two were in my personal name.
Okay. Thank you, Mark. And I'm looking at my Chair, Rem Committee, Mr. Longstaff, to see if there's anything that we would like to add on to this.
Look, I'll just add what I've got here. Percentage of Mark's STI as a percentage of maximum, it range between 29% in 2020 to around 94.2% in 2023 as a range. So there's been a balance of alignment between shareholders and performance of the company and the remuneration of the Chief Executive. And in the FY '25 year, as disclosed in the annual report, 74.9% of the maximum STI was paid to Mark in short-term incentive.
Thanks very much, Tim. I think taken all of that together, you can see that the company is following the processes for disclosure and has a remuneration system around the short-term incentive that's working as intended. That said, as I said earlier, we take these matters very seriously and continue to look at our remuneration framework on a regular basis to ensure that it remains fit for purpose. Is it possible to check with Stephen that we've got the answer that he is looking for? Or shall I move on?
I think we can move on.
Okay. Thank you. As there are no further questions, then I will invite you to vote on this resolution. We'll take a slight pause for that voting.
[Voting]
So under resolution 8, the company seeks shareholder approval to renew the proportional takeover provisions contained in Article 101 of the company's constitution. So I now move that Resolution 8 as follows and as set out in the Notice of Meeting be passed as a special resolution, that with effect from the close of the meeting for the purposes of Sections 136 and 648G of the Corporations Act and for all other purposes, the proportional takeover provisions contained in Annexure B of the Notice of Meeting being Article 101 of the constitution of the company be renewed.
The Board unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of resolution 8. The proxies that we've received are displayed on your screen. And any open and usable proxies that I am holding as Chair of the meeting will be voted in favor of the resolution.
Are there any comments or questions from shareholders in attendance today? Seeing no questions, I ask are there any questions from web phone participants on this item.
There are no questions via the phone lines.
Thank you. Any questions online?
There is one. It's not necessarily a question. It's probably more of a statement, but it's a thank you from Stephen, again, for a best practice hybrid AGM. One particular request he has is for disclosure of proxies to be made to the ASX along with formal addresses which -- and I've -- we've received an answer to this from our lawyer.
The exact number of shareholders who voted in favor and against is not typically market practice or legally required. But we do obviously release all of the votes after the meeting, and we do release the addresses as we have done this morning as the meeting started.
Thanks very much, and thank you to our [indiscernible] for the response, which I support. It hasn't been our practice to do this typically. But I will say to Stephen, I'm very happy to have a cup of coffee next time we find ourselves in the same geography so that we can have a chat about the pros and cons of that process.
But as there are no further questions, I'll now invite you to vote on the resolution.
[Voting]
So all resolutions have now been put to the meeting. So please ensure that you complete your vote now. If you're attending the meeting in person, please remain seated and the registry staff will collect the voting papers from you once you've completed voting. If after they've walked around you requiring more time to complete and lodge your voting paper, please raise your hand, and we'll give you more time or will assist with any questions you may have. Mark, would you mind putting mine in the bucket? Thank you.
For those online, you've got 5 minutes after the poll has been closed to complete your votes. If you've got any questions, having any trouble, please refer to the virtual meeting online guide or call the registry number on -- that is set out in your guide or on the screen in front of you. So I'll just pause while we get all of those yellow voting papers in.
Okay. It looks like all the yellow voting papers have been collected. Everyone good? All right. Thank you. Justin, am I able to declare the poll closed? Yes, I will now declare the poll closed, but online participants will have that 5-minute count down, and it will appear on your screen counting down to 5 minutes to complete your votes. The votes are going to be counted by the registry and the results of the poll will be announced to the ASX shortly.
Now in the meantime, let's move on to other business. So as I mentioned before in my address, at our Annual General Meeting, shareholders are entitled as they are at every Annual General Meeting to ask questions about or make comments on the management of the company. And then so before calling this meeting to a close, I would like to provide shareholders with the opportunity to ask any questions that you haven't had an opportunity to ask earlier.
For online shareholders, please follow the steps in the virtual meeting online guide to ask a question or make a comment. And for shareholders attending in person, just please state your name and confirm that you're a shareholder or proxy holder because, of course, your voting paper has gone in the box.
So are there any questions or comments from shareholders in attendance today? We've got one towards the back of the room.
[ Craig Morris ] is my name. I'm very happy with the performance of the company. Two quick questions. Progress on franking credits. And the second one is that outline your contingency plans if there's a downturn, which inevitably will be in the economy or in mining.
Thanks very much for those questions. On franking credits, this is not something we're expecting to be able to add to our dividend in the short to medium term. Mark, do you want to make a few comments in addition to just add a bit of color to that?
Thanks, Diane. Yes, we've got $450 million of Australian gross tax losses. So the short to medium term will be more than 3 years.
Thanks very much, Mark. And on the downturn question, obviously, Perenti is very keen to have consistency in the way we deliver to our shareholders. And the strategy has been very much to provide a diversification of our activities so that if one division in the business is going through a particular point in the cycle, we have other divisions that are able to continue to provide our growth and returns.
And I think you've seen this operating over the last little while. And this was behind the acquisition of DDH1 to create the Drilling Services division as a critical mass and scale business. It's been going through some interesting time, shall we say, with real focus on production drilling, a bit harder in exploration, which has intrigued us given the current commodity cycle, but I think I might hand over to Mark for a few additional comments.
Thanks, Diane. Yes, just to add in a couple of points to Diane's commentary there, if I think about the Contract Mining division, when we look at what mines to tender on, we also look at where they sit on the cost curve. So to the point that you raised inevitably, we go through the commodity cycle.
And so as we go down into a dip subject to what the commodity is, then ideally, we're working at mines at the lower end of the cost curve. So they continue to operate through the down cycle. So that's certainly a focus when we're prioritizing projects that we target, particularly within Contract Mining.
The other item that when we do go through the down cycle, which is inevitable in addition to Diane's point about the diversification of the portfolio, we do see a reduction in capital allocation. So we have our stay-in business capital. We actually generate pretty good cash through a down cycle because we're using any other fleet to deploy into existing mines and displacing new capital.
So -- and that's something that's particularly with the debt markets, they've been very positive about over the last sort of 20-odd years of, I guess, operating in that debt cycle. So a number of areas we focus on, ready for the downturn.
Thanks very much, Mark. Any other questions in the room? Seeing no more, do we have any questions or comments from shareholders on web phone?
There are no questions by the phone lines.
Any questions online?
Yes. One question, again from Stephen Mayne. How many full-time equivalent staff do we currently have, which is the easy part of the question. And is this likely to fall over in the coming 12 months with the rapid rollout of AI? Which parts of our business and operations are the most prospective for AI productivity gains? And how energetically are we embracing those opportunities?
Right. Thank you. Thanks, Stephen. That's a great question. Actually, exactly how many FTE staff, Mark, do you want to go at that?
Look, I'm just going to go with about 10,000.
About 10,000. Yes. And it's slightly less, I think, at this point than it would have been last year because of the roll-off of that contract that I mentioned earlier in Botswana. I think Perenti has done a very good job of leaning into automation and considering AI in a thoughtful way. Obviously, we're very keen on automation as a safety angle and to be able to ensure that we engineer our high-risk tasks for our people.
And we're also deeply interested and well engaged in electrification as this is going to be a very important theme for the industry and needs to be solved, not just for Perenti but for the industry as a whole because we're in this interesting dynamic where the resources that are necessary for electrification are the ones that we deliver to -- through our clients' mine ownership to the world. So we've got quite a lot of activity there.
When it comes to AI, we are seeing the opportunity to use some of this in our simulation tools that the idoba business used. The [ MineSim ] will have an AI evolution pathway. But in terms of the numbers of our roles that are likely to be disrupted by AI in the short term, it will only be when automation comes first. So I think we have quite a distance to go before we see a real impact on the number of people that we have in the business.
Mark, do you want to add on to that?
So completely agree with Diane's points that she's raised. We are definitely looking at applications for AI in all parts of our business, certainly with idoba for the simulation tool that Diane spoke about, that's a key focus, but also in all other aspects of our organization. In terms of in 12 months' time, do we see an impact on workforce from, I guess, a reduction due to AI, the short answer is no.
In terms of the business, we're looking to continue to grow the business, we might see in time, and I'd be surprised if it's within 12 months time where roles change and evolve with the application via AI, but given our growth plans and where we want to take the business, it would be redeployment of roles and new skill development within the organization as opposed to a reduction in personnel. But I think we've got a way to go down the AI path, but we're certainly looking at it.
Thanks very much, Mark. Anything further online? So thanks, everyone, for questions and comments. As I mentioned earlier, the results of the poll will be available shortly and they'll be announced via the ASX platform.
Thanks for those that have come along in person for your attendance and your interest and to the shareholders and visitors who participated online, we are pleased that the technology worked today and enabled your attendance, and we thank you for joining us remotely. We look forward to your continued support in the coming year.
That ends the meeting, which I now declare closed. And for those who have attended in person, please join us outside for some light refreshments. Thank you all. Thanks to the team.
Financial data from Perenti
Revenue
Revenue is the sum of all sales generated by a company, e.g. for its products or services.
Revenue (TTM) metric explainedDirect Costs
Direct costs are the costs incurred directly in connection with the manufacture of the product or service.
Gross Profit
Gross Profit indicates how much of the revenue remains in the company after deducting direct production costs. If the percentage share of sales is calculated, this is referred to as the gross margin.
Gross Profit metric explainedSelling and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) include all expenses for marketing and sales as well as the general administration of the company.
Research and Development Expense
Research and development costs (R&D) provide information on how much the company invests in the research and development of its products. The costs are particularly interesting as a percentage of revenue and in comparison to direct competitors.
EBITDA
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) is the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The EBITDA margin is calculated as a percentage of sales.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation represents reductions in the value of the company's assets (e.g. due to wear and tear on machinery).
EBIT (Operating Income)
EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) is the company's profit before interest and taxes, also known as the operating income. The EBIT Margin is calculated as a percentage of sales at
.
Net Profit
Net Profit represents the profit or loss after deduction of all costs.
Net Profit metric explainedStocksGuide Premium
| Jun '26 |
+/-
%
|
||
| Revenue | 3,338 3,338 |
0%
0%
100%
|
|
| - Direct Costs | 2,354 2,354 |
1%
1%
71%
|
|
| Gross Profit | 984 984 |
2%
2%
29%
|
|
| - Selling and Administrative Expenses | 350 350 |
1%
1%
10%
|
|
| - Research and Development Expense | - - |
-
-
|
|
| EBITDA | 607 607 |
2%
2%
18%
|
|
| - Depreciation and Amortization | 319 319 |
12%
12%
10%
|
|
| EBIT (Operating Income) EBIT | 288 288 |
24%
24%
9%
|
|
| Net Profit | 19 19 |
84%
84%
1%
|
|
In millions AUD.
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Perenti Stock News
Company Profile
Perenti Ltd. is a mining and energy services company, which engages in the provision of exploration, mine development, surfacing and underground mining, and energy and infrastructure services. The company is headquartered in Perth, Western Australia and currently employs 10,500 full-time employees. The Company’s segments include Contract Mining, Drilling Services and Mining Services and idoba. Its Contract Mining segment is engaged in the provision of underground and surface contract mining services in Australia, Africa and North America. Its Drilling Services is engaged in the provision of drilling services across all stages of the mine life cycle, including specialized deep hole multi-intersectional directional diamond core drilling, underground diamond core drilling, drilling and blasting and in-pit grade control in Australia, Europe and North America. Its Mining Services and idoba segment provides mining support services including equipment hire, equipment parts and sales, supply of equipment, logistics services and technology driven products and services.
StocksGuide Premium
| Head office | Australia |
| CEO | Mr. Norwell |
| Employees | 10,290 |
| Website | www.perenti.com |


