Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for today's FY 2026 results presentation. I'm joined by Garrick Rollason, our CFO, as well as our investor relations team. I'd like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, traditional custodians of the land on which I'm speaking. First Nations people have taken care of our lands and waterways for the past 60,000 years. We acknowledge and pay our respects to their elders, past and present. I'll start today's presentation with a safety share on slide four. APA technology platforms in our remote sites allows our people to get on with the critical work many basis perform every day in both a safe and efficient way, which we are incredibly proud of. Free cash flow is up 3.2%, also stronger than expectations.
We've exceeded our FY 2026 cost reduction target of AUD 50 million, delivering total enterprise-wide cost reductions of AUD 80 million in the year. This includes a 20.6% reduction in corporate costs. The annualized savings we've delivered, approximately AUD 100 million. Some of the cost savings is that our growth outlook is compelling and is supported by favorable market with the capacity to fund growth, grow distributions, and maintain credit metrics. Our FY 2027 to 2029 line has increased from AUD 3 billion- AUD 3.5 billion.
We are having announced today FY 2027 underlying EBITDA guidance of between AUD 2.26 billion and AUD 2.34 billion. The midpoint of this range would represent a 5.4% increase on FY 2026, which would be another excellent result. Today, distribution guidance of AUD 0.59 per security for the year ahead. Over the past 12 months and for their continued uplift in our focus on customer experience and service delivery.
We continue to improve gender representation, increasing our representation of women to 34 and First Nations supplier engagement within a dynamic energy market. This is all in the pursuit of providing opportunities for our people, strengthening our communities, creating value for our customers, and capturing value for you, our security holders. Our organic growth pipeline for FY 2027 to FY 2029 is now AUD 3.5 billion, as outlined on slide 10.
The bulk of this is made up of projects: expansion, the South West Pipeline Expansion. To increase the capacity of the East Coast network by around 30%. This builds on the 25% increase in north to south capacity that we've already delivered. Increased north to south capacity for winter 2029, as our previous expansions along this corridor have done. The AER's recent decision to approve APA's South West Pipeline Expansion is further evidence that the demand for expansion is there.
Moving now to slide 12, East Australian pipeline would deliver gas to Australia's East Coast Gas Grid and underwrite the extension of Australia's Gladstone LNG export facilities beyond the 2030s. EAIP, as it's known, Darwin to Beetaloo pipeline which would bring additional gas from the Beetaloo up to Darwin, alongside APA's existing Amadeus Gas Pipeline. Similarly, we're also progressing pipeline. Moving to slide 13, peaking GPG capacity is essential to ensure Australia's energy system is cost-effective and reliable as we transition from base load coal to intermittent renewables. While batteries continue to play an important role to firm renewables, unlike GPG, batteries are unable to provide system strength to deal with the inertia of multiple intermittent renewable systems. In December 2025, APA was pleased to announce a partnership with CS Energy in Queensland to develop the 400 MW Brigalow Peaking Power Plant.
We are in the process of finalizing that agreement, and we are making great progress with delivery, including civil and bulk earthworks, turbine procurement, and awarding major construction contracts. The project will connect into APA's Roma-Brisbane Pipeline via a new lateral transport and storage pipeline, which is also being delivered by APA. Moving to slide 14. We have progressed our development pipeline for remote contracted power generation in multiple locations. We are pleased to announce today an agreement with Evolution Mining to develop the Sybella Solar and Battery Project in Mount Isa.
The AUD 259 million project will deliver low cost, low emissions energy to support Evolution's Ernest Henry operations and be firmed by APA's Diamantina Power Station. Sybella is a great example of how we have leveraged the skills and experience of the Pilbara energy team to bring this important project to life in Mount Isa. Our Pilbara business continues to perform strongly. We are progressing with planning and approvals for our strategic sites in the region, including the Newman Renewable Energy Hub, to support our customers who are committed to the decarbonization of their operations. I will now hand you to Garrick to take you through detail of our financial bits.
Thanks, Adam, and good morning, everyone. FY 2026 represents a strong, clean result as we continue to execute on our growth strategy. I am particularly pleased we are able to deliver cost reductions ahead of our target and also growth in free cash flow. I will start with our headline financials on slide 16. We have delivered strong growth in underlying EBITDA, up 8.3% for the year as the benefits of inflation-linked tariffs, earnings from new assets, and cost reductions were realized. Underlying EBITDA margin increased by 370 basis points to 77.9%. Free cash flow was up broadly in line with inflation through the benefits of higher earnings and cost reductions, partially offset by increased funding costs to support growth and cash tax payments. We delivered cost reductions ahead of our target. Moving to slide 17, where I will step through drivers of our 8.3% uplift in underlying EBITDA.
The combination of inflation-linked tariff escalation and contributions from new assets increased earnings by AUD 136 million. We delivered new earnings from the Kurri Kurri Lateral and Atlas to Reedy Creek Pipelines, as well as a full year contribution from the Port Hedland Solar and Battery, alongside inflation-linked tariff escalations across the portfolio. Pleasingly, we also delivered enduring enterprise-wide cost reductions of AUD 80 million, exceeding our target of AUD 50 million and including a 20.6% reduction in corporate costs. I will have more to say on this on a subsequent slide. Offsetting these improvements was the expected loss of earnings from the sale of the non-core Networks and GDI businesses, as we simplified the business to focus on our core strategy. We also saw lower earnings from this due to milder winter conditions this year, but partially offset by strong performance from our contracted power generation assets.
Slide 18 summarizes the drivers of free cash flow, which was up 3.2% to just over AUD 1.1 billion. Consistent with our previous statements, the uplift in underlying EBITDA was partially offset by higher interest and cash tax paid. Higher interest costs reflect increases in net debt to fund growth and a marginally higher average cost of debt. Higher cash tax reflects the continuation of tax installment payments, which commenced in the second half of last year. The change in working capital recorded in our first half and primarily related to one-off timing impacts arising from the divested Networks business unwound in the second half of the year. Beyond this, we expect to see free cash flow growing broadly in line with inflation as earnings continue to increase and tax normalizes. Moving to slide 19 and an overview of CapEx.
We continue to invest in projects to support long-term growth, strengthen our foundations, and maintain safe and reliable asset operations. We invested in growth capital expenditure through early works on the East Coast Gas Grid expansion, the Sturt Plateau and Brigalow pipelines, and the Brigalow Peaking Power Plant. As Adam said previously, we have increased our organic growth CapEx pipeline from AUD 3 billion to approximately AUD 3.5 billion over the next three years. All of this capital expenditure is consistent with our capital allocation framework, which is outlined in the appendix, and is targeted to achieve returns over our hurdle rate of at least 150 basis points above our post-tax WACC. Foundational CapEx was lower than guidance, primarily due to timing of projects, which sees some expenditure move into FY 2027. Overall, our total spend on foundational CapEx remains unchanged.
Same business CapEx was in line with guidance. Moving forward, we are expecting it to grow in line with inflation. I will cover funding on the next slide. We have existing balance sheet capacity to fund our AUD 3.5 billion organic growth pipeline over FY 2027 to FY 2029. This organic growth pipeline includes in-flight and identified growth projects across gas transmission and storage, GPG, remote grid, and other on-grid contracted power generation projects. Adam showed a breakdown of the AUD 3.5 billion on a previous slide. This strong balance sheet position, combined with active capital management and the predictable capacity-based inflation-linked revenues, leaves us well-positioned to deliver on our AUD 3.5 billion of organic growth opportunities. Next, I will cover our strong progress on our cost reduction target on slide 21. The key message is we have delivered ahead of our target on our enterprise-wide cost reductions.
We have delivered cost reductions of AUD 80 million in FY 2026, exceeding our target of AUD 50 million. We achieved this by leveraging the foundational investments made into the business over the past three years. We also focused on simplifying the business through the divestment of the non-core Networks and GDI businesses, which saw 725 employees transferred to the new owner. Combined, these asset sales generate cash proceeds of AUD 101 million in FY 2026 and were value accretive for security holders. We now have the business set up to drive ongoing, enduring, sustainable cost improvements. We are expecting an annualized run rate AUD 100 million in savings in FY 2027, inclusive of the AUD 80 million delivered in FY 2026. My final slide addresses our guidance for FY 2027. Today, we are providing FY 2027 underlying EBITDA guidance of between AUD 2.26 billion and AUD 2.34 billion.
Key drivers of the growth in earnings include inflation-linked tariff escalations and contributions from new assets, including the Sturt Plateau Pipeline and Basslink's conversion to a regulated asset. Cost reduction initiatives are expected to contribute an incremental AUD 20 million in FY 2027, representing an annualized FY 2027 run rate of AUD 100 million as we continue to drive sustainable cost and efficiency improvements. The midpoint of guidance represents a 5.4% growth year-on-year. With that, I'll hand back to Adam.
Thank you, Garrick. Moving to slide 24. In summary, we have delivered another very strong result for FY 2026. We have delivered strong financial outcomes, our growth outlook continues to strengthen, and we have a strong balance sheet with the capacity to fund growth and distributions. The guidance we have provided today for FY 2027 is further evidence of our strong momentum. That takes us to our investment thesis on slide 25. We are well-placed to capitalize on emerging opportunities within a AUD 100 billion-plus addressable market. Our AUD 3.5 billion organic growth pipeline for FY 2027 to 2029 is focused on opportunities that will create value for our security holders. We can fund this growth from our existing balance sheet. We have a strong business model with inflation-linked revenues and high margins. Our distribution yield remains attractive, and our outlook remains strong.
I would like to say thank you to the entire APA team, who have all contributed to today's fantastic results and to our exciting future. Thank you for your time. Let us now move to Q&A.
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone. Wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star two. If you are on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question. The first question will come from Tom Allen with UBS. Please go ahead.
Good morning, Adam, Garrick, and the team. Congratulations on stronger EBITDA margins year-on-year. That particularly stood out. Given APA's flag that we will build this East Coast Gas Grid Expansion without firm underwriting, we are needing to build confidence that despite all the changes in the domestic market we are seeing currently, there is no contracting pressures. Seeing the results today, there is just a number of key assets on the East Coast in particular, that delivered either flat or declining EBITDA in real terms year-on-year. Slide 29 shows that within an energy structure, I think East Coast total EBITDA, excluding the Wallumbilla Gladstone Pipeline and the new Kurri Kurri Lateral Pipeline asset, was flat. Tariffs might be adjusting higher with CPI, but when volumes are being recontracted, they just do not appear to be delivering nominal EBITDA growth.
I think we saw that in terms of the movement of Sydney, the Victorian Transmission System, the Roma Brisbane Pipeline, and the Carpentaria Gas Pipeline. The question is, can you please respond to what we are seeing there and just the key drivers of those outcomes?
Yeah, thanks, Tom. Look, obviously to your opening comments, incredibly proud of the result today, and the momentum is strong and the outlook is really positive. I think we have done a lot of the hard yards over a number of years now, and we have positioned the business really well. I think the mark that you mentioned is something we are particularly proud of. As Garrick said, the cost reductions that we have put in place are structural costs. We did not take any shorts. They are structural, they are permanent, and we think we have got the business in a really strong space. As it relates to the East Coast Gas Grid, I may get some questions on this after, but it is important that we continue to see real strength in demand along the East Coast corridor.
I think the South West Pipeline Expansion decision by the AER to invest in that project is, again, just another point of evidence that the demand in the southern markets continues to strengthen. Intraday demand is very strong and will continue to be, and we need to continue to bring supply from those northern markets. As we have done with stages one and two with previous compression, and three will be no different with compression in the Bulloo Interlink. We are very confident the demand is there.
We do not underwrite those small components of a network via individual contracts, as you know. It is all about demand and supply, and the demand is very strong. I have to say that with the Gas Market Review becoming clearer, we have seen a really positive uptick in inquiries, and the conversations have been very productive. We have got a lot of confidence in that regard. I'll hand it over to Garrick to take you through some of the detail on certain assets.
Thanks, Adam. Excuse me. Thanks, Tom, for the question and also the recognition of the great outcome from an underlying EBITDA margin perspective. It is something we are proud of over the last couple of years. I will touch on a couple of the assets you mentioned, and it is probably worth just a reminder that in FY 2025, for the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline, we did benefit from a one-off insurance proceeds of AUD 13 million MSEP. So once you normalize that, we have actually seen a strong performance in Moomba to Sydney Pipeline in the year.
As you say, VTS was probably the one asset that did perform weaker than we had expected through the course of the year. That was predominantly driven by two things. Firstly, the milder winter. Secondly, also very stable electricity markets, particularly with high coal availability. I suppose the benefit from an APA perspective is that we operate a portfolio of really strong operating assets. So when you look as the board on, at times you do have market events which drives positive earnings outcomes, and it was probably a year where we did not see many of those. So assets performed generally in line with our expectations, probably with the exception of VTS.
G reat color, Garrick and Adam. Just a second question then. The growth potential in the Northern Territory is really interesting, but if upstream success in the Beetaloo is a bit of a binary outcome, can you comment on the scale potential of other sources of medium-term EBITDA in the event that Beetaloo does not deliver the biggest upstream onshore development in Australia since Queensland CSG? So you have called out opportunities here to support remote power and data centers and gas-fired power gen. Just keen to understand the scale of those particularly, and whether or not there is enough capacity if Beetaloo does not come through to deliver around AUD 500 million of EBITDA growth over the next five years.
Yeah, thanks. I think first to say is that when you look at, and you take the AEMO 2026 GSOO, 2C, 2P reserves and resources, there is a significant amount of existing capacity to support the East Coast absent Beetaloo. We feel very confident that Beetaloo is continuing to progress really well. But you are right, there is a need to be able to continue along that positive trajectory, see that continuing over the next, call it 12 months, and then bring that to life. We think Beetaloo is going to be fantastic for the domestic market. It is going to be critically important for Australia's LNG export market, which is why the demand for that asset to perform well or for that basin, I should say, to perform well is there.
But you look at the Surat, it has got plenty of capacity in the market, and you have got other new basins like the Taroom Trough, which are being explored as well. So, yeah, we do not have any concerns about gas supply coming over time. We have always operated in a market for decades where you need to continue to bring gas supply to meet demand, and we do not see that slowing down.
Okay, thanks folks.
Your next question will come from Uwan Minogue with Barrenjoey. Please go ahead.
Yeah, good morning, Adam and Garrick, and congratulations on another strong result. Firstly, following the divestment of Networks and GDI, are there any other non-core assets across the portfolio that could free up further balance sheet capacity?
Oh, thanks, Uwan. Look, firstly, really pleased with the way that we've delivered a fantastic outcome for APA security holders and also just the way that we transitioned the people from the Networks GDI operations across to the new owner. We're incredibly proud of doing that in a very measured and very respectful way, and that's been positive, a real win-win for everyone. So that's the first point. That suite of assets were clearly non-core to us, and we were very deliberate in simplifying our business as part of the initiatives that we undertook during the year, including the cost reduction initiative. So, that made obvious sense.
When you look at the rest of the portfolio, we typically develop works and the East Coast Gas Grid that we've just been speaking about as an example of that, and work that we're doing in the Pilbara, the announcement just today with Sybella and Mount Isa. It's all about creating a starting position and then building out network, working with our customers, and creating more value over time. We will continue to look at assets and look at our portfolio over time. It's certainly one of the levers we have to be able to fund growth beyond the AUD 3.5 billion organic growth pipeline. That pipeline is fully funded and shored up, but beyond that, obviously, that's a potential lever for us.
But look, we're not in a position at the moment to divest anything, but we'll always monitor and consider that in a way that if it creates value in the hands of more value for our security holders in the hands of somebody else and there's limited strategic upside, we'll consider it.
Thanks. That is clear. You made a few comments just then on the domestic gas reservation policy. Can you just talk us through the latest on that, and maybe remind us of the sensitivities both under, I suppose, best case and worst case scenario on volumes and earnings through the East Coast Gas Grid?
Yeah, look, firstly, absent gas reservation policy, the demand for gas will continue to be there and supply will naturally always meet demand. What we always advocate for, though, is a market dynamic where there is a high level of certainty to enable the producers to contract with the demand centers, which ultimately are our customers, and it just makes a more, creates a more structured environment for the energy market to trade.
We have certainly seen with the announcement some time ago there will be a national Gas Market Review that the producers and the customers were very, if you put yourself in their shoes, sitting back and waiting to see how that would play out. With the federal government's announcements recently about the frameworks in terms of how they see this progressing, and again, they have provided notification that they are looking to complete this by the end of the year.
It seems to be heading in the right direction. So for us, the most important thing is making sure it does provide that level of certainty. The one that we have been focused on is ensuring there are not any opportunities to effectively be able to move the goalposts in the future and one of those has been around ministerial interference. We are concerned by that. But I think the market has spoken up heavily about that, and what we have summoned to do in a positive light is listen as they have been talking with the various stakeholders over the recent months. Yeah, we feel like it is heading in the right direction and we are seeing that with the positive uplift in the interactions we are having with our customers.
That is clear. Thanks, Adam. If I can just quickly sneak one more in, maybe for Garrick. You guys have obviously done a great job on the costs over FY 2026 into FY 2027. Are there any costs that need to come back into the business, probably in FY 2028 and beyond, as you position for the next phase of growth? Or should we continue to think about annual savings on a longer-term basis?
Yeah. Thanks. A great question, and as you say, a fantastic outcome from across the business to deliver the AUD 80 million in savings in full year, AUD 100 million in FY 2027. Probably the one thing we did call out on page 22 was that we are continuing to make a larger investment in our growth operating expenditure or our growth expenditure in total. That means that naturally some of it will flow through to our OpEx. We probably see about a AUD 10 million increase in growth operating expenditure in FY 2027, and that's partially offset some of the things we would have seen through the course of FY 2027.
In terms of broader savings, look, we continually are looking at opportunities to become more efficient on the cost side of things, and we continue to develop, particularly around AI data process and systems, a way in which we can deliver our outcomes for customers more efficiently. We will continue to do that, and we'll certainly update the market if and when there's further cost outs that we're ready to announce.
Thanks, guys. Congrats again.
Thanks.
Your next question will come from Nik Burns with Jarden Australia. Go ahead.
Hi everyone, and congratulations on the result, particularly the strong free cash flow growth coming through. This question just around your updated and expanded three-year organic growth outlook. Thanks for the details, by the way, just around the composition of that growth on slide 10. As you know, Adam, when you put out in a chart without a y-axis, we all get our virtual rulers out and try and infer what we can from it. I might be misreading it, but the size of the Brigalow Peaking Power Plant bar is around six times that of the Sybella Creek Solar and Battery Project above it, and you said Sybella Creek is around AUD 259 million. So using that as a benchmark, you end up with a Brigalow number of around 1.5 to 1.6 in APA share.
I am just wondering if I am reading that correctly or if I am maybe reading too much into that. Thank you.
Yeah, thanks for the question. Look, I will be really clear about the composition of that 3.5, and look, I might just start off one of the questions I am sure we will get, which is why did it go from 3 to 3.5? At a macro level, we just continue to see demand for infrastructure continuing to increase and accelerate. I called that out in terms of the broader opportunities we have got in the longer- term, we feel very comfortable that there is a significant amount of growth for us there. We have been, as I am sure you appreciate, very disciplined over the last few years in making sure that we are choosing projects that exceed our hurdle rates and our other financial commitments, and we have been doing that and incredibly proud of that.
If I just go through the makeup of the 3.5, it effectively includes the Brigalow Pipeline, which we announced previously to the market, called AUD 150 million. The Brigalow Peaking Power Plant, being precise on what that number is because we have not reached FID. But what we have said is that it is around about AUD 1 billion for that project. But again, there is a big caveat on that because it is subject to final negotiations, and obviously that has been progressing as we have been working through finalization of construction contracts and other civil works. East Coast Gas Grid Stage 3A was AUD 260 million, East Coast Gas Grid Expansion 3B, about AUD 800 million. As you said today, we announced Sybella, AUD 260 million, and South West Pipeline, AUD 213 million.
Yeah, one of the things that we're really pleased with just generally, if you take a step back, if you think about where we were, say, three years ago, we had a AUD 1.4 billion pipeline, which to be fair, there was work going on in the background and there was evidence there behind the scene, but you hadn't really reached FID on any of those projects. That's now increased by 150% over the last three years, and we've got a AUD 3.5 billion pipeline that I've been able to tell you 80%, 90% of what's involved. We're feeling very positive about that, and it's all fully funded.
That's clear. Thanks for that, Adam. Just on Brigalow, as you said, you're awarding major construction contracts at the moment. Sounds like you're pretty close to final investment decision there. Can you just walk through what needs to occur between now and FID? You've got a comment about targeting operations from CY 2028, but is there a risk here that it could slip further if you don't achieve FID in the next few months? Thank you.
Yeah. Thanks for the question. The way that we work through these big projects with our customers is you enter into early works, or in this case, a joint development agreement where you effectively set the parameters and you agree terms, major commercial terms, to be able to move forward. You've got a strong level of commitment and conviction that you will see it through to FID. That's exactly what we did with Brigalow. We committed to a joint development agreement so that we could work in lockstep with our customer, with CS Energy, to be able to cure turbines, to progress site works, civil works, bridges, platforms, bulk moving, all those sorts of things. At the same time, work through the various contracts for construction delivery as well. As you can appreciate, that always takes time.
But importantly, you do it in a way where your commitment is strong and you're working in partnership. We're incredibly pleased with the Queensland Government's approach to partnering with the private sector. It's been part of the Queensland Energy Roadmap, and I think what we've announced today in Sybella is another excellent example of how the private sector can deliver on what the Queensland Government is setting out to achieve. So, bringing it back to Brigalow, we continue to work through that with our customer and we'd like to get to FID very shortly.
Got it. Thanks, Adam.
Your next question will come from Gordon Ramsay with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Well, congratulations, Adam, Garrick, on a solid result today. My question relates to the Beetaloo, and well, congratulations on completing the Sturt Plateau Pipeline phase one pipeline. You've mentioned that compression could take that pipeline from 40 TJ a day up to 100 TJ a day. What's needed to commit to that? Can you give us a broad idea on cost?
Yeah, thanks, Gordon. We've always been an organization that knows the role that we play in bringing certain upstream basins to life, and Beetaloo is no different. We all know that Beetaloo, one of its great strengths is that it is in a location where we can be very sensitive to community requests and work with traditional owners and government to be able to bring that to life. One of the challenges with it being so remote is that it needs significant infrastructure to make it all real, and we know that we've got an important role to play there. It's a bit like what I just said before on projects like with Brigalow and working in lockstep with your customer.
One of the things that we do is obviously, with a strong risk lens, but we are willing to, with enough evidence, back ourselves and back our customers to continue to move. We are really, really proud of the Sturt Plateau Pipeline to be able to enable our customers to commercialize that, to be able to support Darwin and Darwin customers with gas, to avoid the need to flare and do those sorts of things to bring it to life. Stage 2 is really just about expanding that and enabling more production as there are more wells being drilled to be able to bring that to life. But you do get to a certain point, as you know better than anyone, Gordon, where you have got scale that is required.
That is why we are doing a lot of work, and we have been for a number of years, bringing things such as the North to East Australia Pipeline to life and going north from the Beetaloo to Darwin as well and making sure we deliver our customers with options. But equally, infrastructure is a funny thing. They take a long time, and then all of a sudden, once the projects become real, it is like, how quickly can we deliver this? We think we have got the balance right, and well results continue to be really good. We keep backing it until they are not. But we do not think that is the case. We think the outlook is very, very strong and multiple players, big players, I think, are confirming the attractiveness and willingness to back the basin.
Again, just on the Beetaloo, I was very interested in comments that I picked up in Adelaide from the Ichthys CEO, INPEX CEO on Ichthys Train 3, where he said he could see Beetaloo supporting a future potential development for an Ichthys Train 3 expansion. When you are talking about the indicative pipeline to Darwin, is that the thing, would it possibly include volumes for Ichthys LNG or even Darwin LNG expansion? Is that the kind of thinking that you have if you build this additional pipeline later on, and it is not imminent obviously, but to go up to Darwin, the indicative pipeline to Darwin?
Yeah, it is a really good question, Gordon, and it is a really important question because when you look at the basin, the scale is significant. We have heard MO that it could be as big as the Permian or Marcellus basins in the U.S. It could be very significant. Who are drilling there are not doing it just to produce small amounts of gas. It is fantastic that we can support Darwin, in particular, in the short- term. But they are very much focused on making sure that this thing can scale. So when you look at the pipeline, we are running multiple scenarios around the size of the pipe. Interestingly, we have got really good corridors where we can run our pipelines along existing corridors. Why is that important?
Because we are familiar with land holders, we have got strong relationships with the communities, we have got access to site, which means that we can accelerate delivery. Just generally, we are really good at this. We are certainly looking at that. One of the things when you look at the economics of the project, in and of itself, the pipeline is significant.
The economics to be considered and sort of the counterfactual to the higher cost pipeline relative to some of the projects you see, for example, in the U.S., is that you have got on the east coast of Australia, Gladstone, you got six trains there, which I have been told is about AUD 6 billion to replace a train these days. So you got about AUD 36 billion worth of assets there that effectively will go idle from the start of the 2030s to the end of the 2030s.
Up in Darwin, you have got two trains, which replacement costs call it AUD 12 billion. So, almost AUD 50 billion worth of assets there that go idle in the 2030s. To build a pipeline and be able to utilize that existing infrastructure and not have to develop new LNG trains, is a really interesting economic outcome for our customers, hence why they are pinning their ears back and focused on it.
Thank you, Adam.
The next call will come from Rob Koh with MS. Please go ahead.
Good morning. Can I ask about this new Sybella project? Congrats on that announcement. Should we be thinking your kind of typical high- single-digit EBITDA yield once it is up and running?
In fact, if you go back to most of our projects that we have done over time, of recent time, we spoke about it in the half results with the investment in the Pilbara. We are delivering low- double-digit yields on those projects from an investment. Look, we do not come out and give you specific numbers for each particular project, but you know that we are targeting project returns in excess of our cost of capital by at least 150 basis points. You can sort of back solve the yield projects where you, in this case, you do not have necessarily a ramp-up. Once it is delivered and it is commissioned, it will have a very small ramp-up, but it ramps up very quickly. We are really comfortable with this.
Very importantly, though, you do not get any of these projects off the ground if your customer is not generating a lower levelized cost of energy. The thing that we are really proud of is that we are able to deliver our customer with a solution, lower their cost, provide them with a really attractive outcome, and have that earned by the Diamantina Power Station, which again, I am sure you have read into it, but we are really excited that we can be developing projects in the region that can further underwrite Diamantina over the longer- term.
Okay. Thank you. I was actually going to ask about the role of Sybella in this project. Is there much more capacity at Thomson and Diamantina? I cannot remember what the other one that you own in that region is, like to firm similar hybrid projects?
Yeah, there is. Over time, we all know that Diamantina and those assets surrounding it were over time into the 2040s, going to become more of a peaking asset. This really just underwrites those projects for a longer period of time. We are really pleased with that.
Okay, great.
Oh, sorry, Rob, it is Garrick. The other thing I was going to add is, it is obviously a great outcome for both Evolution Mining and APA, but installing the battery into Mount Isa is also a great outcome for the people in Mount Isa and the businesses in Mount Isa in terms of just the security of supply. So great outcome for APA and Evolution Mining, but also a great outcome for Mount Isa more generally.
Ah, yes, I see. Thank you. Okay. If I can move to a project that you have put in your growth list, the Beetaloo to Darwin pipeline. I wonder, it is very early days, sort of provide some kind of dimensions on that pipe to allow us to size it?
Look, dimensions are things that we. Again, as we mentioned before, and Gordon, INPEX, who have got trains up there, that obviously this would be able to backfill those trains in the 2030s. This could be a large pipe, but we are internally and working with our customers, looking at a range of scenarios. But yeah, it would be a large diameter pipe. It is about 600 km to get there. We have really importantly, got the existing Amadeus Gas Pipeline, which provides one route where, again, as I mentioned, we could use that corridor and be able to work with our existing land holders and stakeholders to bring that product up north to Darwin. There are a couple of other routes that we are looking at as well.
So yeah, early days, but we are motoring ahead with planning and approvals and all the various pre-work that goes on behind the scenes, because, again, if we really think about it and Beetaloo meets the potential that we are all hoping for, then it could be big, and we want to be ready for it.
Yeah. Okay. Sounds good. Yeah. For your North to East Australia Pipeline project, that sounds like you are doing a lot and continuing to do a lot of work on that.
Yeah.
Can you maybe comment on the alternate route being proposed by another company and why yours is better?
Oh, look, there's like any pipeline, transmission line, energy infrastructure, you've got multiple routes to be able to bring that to life. The advantage that we've got by taking the gas from the Beetaloo down south to the South West Pipeline and then moving across east to Gladstone is that firstly, it enables that gas to be delivered most efficiently to the East Coast Gas Grid for domestic supply. I think that really plays into the hands of the domestic gas reservation requirements. The alternative is to take that pipe from the Beetaloo effectively directly into Gladstone. But then how do you get the gas from Gladstone down to the East Coast market? There are different ways you can deliver that. Bringing it down south as well also allows you to utilize the existing infrastructure, because again, it goes back to the LNG train.
From an LNG export perspective, there's a lot of capacity that will be available not only at the but with that pipeline capacity with the WGP, which we own and expires in 2035, for example. The short answer is that it just provides you with a very efficient way to bring domestic gas to market and utilize existing infrastructure to take that gas out to the LNG export facilities.
Okay, cool. My next question is about slide 22, and I'm channeling Nik's question about measuring things. If I assume on slide 22, this is your EBITDA bridge year on year, that the green cost initiative is kind of AUD 20 million, kind of suggests that your new asset contribution is like AUD 50 million or AUD 60 million, and I can get AUD 20 million Basslink and maybe, I don't know, AUD 5 million or AUD 6 million for SPP. Can you maybe just, I guess, confirm that the AI has measured that correctly and give us a steer on what else might be-
Hi, Rob. I think the AI rulers are not working all that well today. We see assets contributing about AUD 40 million of incremental EBITDA. As you say, majority of that will come through the regulated asset for Basslink. Relative to the performance in 2026, we expect about AUD 33 million incremental earnings from Basslink, and then, as you say, the balance come from Sturt Plateau Pipeline.
Okay, cool. That makes sense. Final question from me, if you will indulge. Can you just perhaps give us some color on how you have resculpted the foundation CapEx? I think you, for want of a better word, underspent in FY 2026, but then you have pushed out the AUD 120 just a little bit. I presume there is no total spend increase. But can you just give more color on the drivers of that?
Oh, you are absolutely right, Rob. It is timing. We are able to push the timing of some of that spend from 2026 into 2027. The scope of it is exactly the same as what we said obviously, and as we set out on slide 19, we expect that between AUD 100 million- AUD 120 million per annum in 2027 to moderate down to AUD 100 million in 2029, and we expect it to further moderate on that.
Okay. And the reason to push the delay?
Predominantly because we are able to around certain expenditure, particularly around the timing of some of the emissions reduction related, because we were actually outperforming in other areas. I will just go back to corporate finance. If you do not have to spend it and you are making the emissions elsewhere, then that is obviously the logical approach to take.
Yeah, Rob, one of the things we are incredibly proud of is the fact that we did not surrender any carbon credits during the year to be able to achieve our outcomes. That has been a big contributor and really proud of the work that our team have done to drive not only a reduction in emissions on our assets, but just to improve the efficiency of our assets in the work that they are doing. We always look at how we can best utilize how we are deploying capital and how we are utilizing our people's time, and if we can delay, we will delay.
Okay, great. Thank you so much.
Your next question will come from Ian Myles with Macquarie. Please go ahead.
Good morning, guys. Just looking at your comment about data centers, do you want to just sort of give us a bit more color about that strategy? Data centers are increasingly being required to be market-facing. I am just sort of intrigued where you see your competitive difference against the AGLs, the Origins, the Iberdrolas out there who are providing those sort of services as well.
Sure. Well, like our existing business, it is a big market and multiple players, and we are not the only kid in town. We have, firstly, a very significant market that we see, not only for data centers, but for GPG, for example, to support our power generation customers. We feel very convinced that our remote grid strategy will continue to
A couple of
I was just getting some background on it. Yes, that our grid strategy will continue to play out. When you think about our remote strategy and use Sybella, which we announced today, as an example, that is a behind-the-meter solution. We are able to bring renewable power generation market, with a battery and firmed by an existing facility. I have to say, to do that, as a package, rolls off. It is very complicated, and we have got a real skill set and capability in being able to bring that together efficiently and effectively over the long- term for our customers. We have got multiple sites that are very attractive for behind-the-meter solutions. Again, they are used for power generation to support our power generation customers, or it can be used for data centers.
We have worked really hard on things such as our procurement strategies around being the preferred supplier for OEM manufacturers such as Siemens, GE, and Solar Turbines. We announced very recently one with Siemens Energy we are incredibly proud of and positions us well to be able to move at speed. Look, we think we have got a lot of strong capability. That is not to say the others do not have similar capabilities as well. But we think the market is big enough that the opportunity is attractive.
Going back to the sites comment, I am just a bit confused. A data center, talking about you have actually located a piece of land next to an already pre-approved data center or a potential data center customer, or just separate from the data centers themselves?
No. We are focused on, if you take, for example, the federal government's position around data center, particularly for the hyperscalers, and the AEMC has termed this around the need to bring your own power, and they have been very clear about what that means. It needs to be renewables-led, needs to be able to support the grid, and it needs to be firmed with batteries and gas-fired power generation. That is what we do. That is what we do. We think we are incredibly well-positioned, and we operate. If you take our pipeline business, we have more than 15,000 km of pipelines all over Australia, in remote regions closer to the cities. No, we are not trying to suggest that we are just going to come and build something and connect you into the grid.
We are saying that we have got a lot of land where you have got the supply of gas and the supply of electricity traversing, and yeah, that may be attractive for a data center.
You are actually trying to get the data center to locate on your land?
That is a potential opportunity, yes.
Okay. Just a simple question, and maybe I have got it wrong. Your Alinta Pilbara business went up sort of AUD 5 million, and in one of the slides, you sort of said the Port Hedland side went up AUD 4. I am just sort of wondering why the inland business went backwards about AUD 10. Maybe I have misinterpreted the number.
Ian, it is Garrick here. I will take the response there. Your interpretation is correct. Fundamentally, the only real difference period on period was we had the Newman Power Station had some Safeguard Mechanism credit revenue in FY 2025 that we knew would be recurring in FY 2026. We are actually above the Safeguard Mechanism target for 2026. Going forward is the impact on 2026 will be recoverable from customers, but it was not in 2026. That is entirely consistent with our modeling and our business case when we acquired the asset. There was no surprise there. That effectively was a one-off, I would call it, negative in 2026 relative to what we saw in 2025 and going forward.
Okay, that is great. Then on the Sybella solar farm battery, when you opened Kogan Creek , the performance of Diamantina went suboptimal because of the way it interacted with the solar farm. Are you going to be able to capture the value of that improved performance of Diamantina with the battery being integrated in, or has that been shared with your customer?
No, the short answer is it's a yes. It's the one lesson we took away from the Dugald River solar farm was that we should have put a battery there. And whilst the gas-fired power generator obviously provides great firming solutions, it didn't provide some of the stability that a battery will provide you in those regions, which is why we've got batteries in places like Port Hedland and Newman as well to support our operations there. So yeah, look, we're really happy to be able to work with our customer who needs a battery to be able to support the development of the Sybella Creek solar farm. But obviously that battery, as Garrick said before, will provide stability also for the broader network in Mount Isa.
Okay. Just on the other side, on the data centers, are you talking solely aeroderivatives, or are you talking reciprocal engines as well?
We are customer-led, Ian, so it really depends on what the customer needs, and we've got experience in both. We use aeros across multiple sites. We use frame machines across multiple sites. It's really dependent on what the customer needs. There are scenarios where you can have both machines on a single site, depending on what you need. Because again, if you take what the federal government's aspiring towards, is you need to be able to contribute back into the grid as well. So, there's multiple ways you could bring that together.
And on that, there are a couple of aeroderivatives being auctioned off at the moment because of a failed company. Would you buy those speculatively, or is it one that you have to be supported by a customer?
No, for secondhand equipment, we would be very
They have never been used.
Yeah. Well, yeah. They get specified. I should not say secondhand as in used, but the way they are specified, it is not like just throwing you a set of keys to the new car and go driving. You have to potentially completely reconfigure the equipment. No, we typically buy our equipment, working in collaboration with our partner where we know that we have got confidence that we have got line of sight of how we will deploy those assets.
Final question, you talked about in the past, potentially trying to extend the Wallumbilla Gladstone Pipeline. Just interested how the progress of that might be going.
WGP conversations will happen at a time when projects like the Beetaloo and the Taroom Trough become confirmed. Really, as you know, the whole reason why WGP was structured to be expiring in 2035 is because that was to meet the timetable of when the gas flows for Gladstone were meant to expire as well. We have spoken quite openly about the dream, the panacea for us is that not only are we able to bring a new basin like the Beetaloo to life, and we are also working with our customers in the Taroom Trough. But if they get to the point where they are willing to contract for those new infrastructure assets to support those basins, then that would be the natural time when you would be trying to enter into negotiations with extending that contract. But again, it is up to the customer to do that.
We can dream as much as we like, but ultimately our customers, again, want to do that with us. Obviously we have had conversations leading up to whenever that may be, to show our intent, and we are certainly there for our customers if and when they need us.
Okay, thanks.
The next question will come from Cameron Needham with Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Yeah, good morning, all. Thanks for the presentation. Just one from me, I think most of the key questions have been asked. With the organic pipeline now around AUD 3.5 billion, you are spanning a wider mix of infrastructures. How do you think about the optimal breadth of capital deployment, I guess, and how are you viewing being capacity to execute, just given the increase in the growth pipeline and the volume of stuff you have essentially?
Yeah, it is a good question, and I think it is important when we look at the opportunities before us. Again, we really do want to be customer-led. We are not going to go out and speculatively try to develop and hope that the customer come. On that basis, we will continue to work with our customers, and we have been very focused on the key markets, and we have been very transparent around the key projects that we want to work on. You can see that projects like the Beetaloo could be very significant. We obviously want to ensure internally we have got the right capability to be able to develop and deliver and operate those projects, and we have done a lot of work over the last few years to build our capability in that space.
We mentioned earlier around the work that we have done with the OEMs in being able to get strategic supply arrangements in place and also making sure that we have got, for example, a suite of contractors that we can partner with to be able to bring these projects to life. Balance sheet, we are always confident if you deliver projects where you discipline, you allocate capital to projects that deliver strong returns, the capital will be there. We have got lots of options and Garrick, it is probably just worthwhile just reminding everyone the funding options we look towards.
Yeah. Certainly, and thanks for the question, Cameron. It is obviously a great position for us to be in with our announced AUD 3.5 billion fully funded growth CapEx. Fundamentally, we look to our capital allocation framework, which is in the appendix to the presentation, and we look at where there is opportunities to deploy capital that are value accretive to our security holders. That is fundamentally how we look at it, and we have talked about the target returns we have for all of our projects. When it comes to funding, we are obviously in a really strong position from a balance sheet currently. We have a range of funding levers that we can pull that includes more hybrid insurances, working with partners, structured equity, and the like, that will enable us to facilitate more growth. It is a great position to be in from an infrastructure business perspective.
Great. Thanks all. I'll pass it on then.
The next question will come from Suraj Nebhani with Citi. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity. Just a couple of quick ones, maybe following Ian's questions on the data center side. I guess, just keen to sort of explore that a little bit, Adam. Are you guys saying that, if you look at the U.S., some of your big energy peers, what they're doing is they're building these gas-fired power grid on-site and backed up with renewables, and that's sort of feeding into the data center. Are you guys looking to do that or just sort of build these potential behind-the-meter solutions in regional locations where there is connectivity with the grid?
Yeah, that's the short answer, Suraj. Is that we would be, in that scenario, partner with a data center developer and a customer, to be able to partner with them on a site to be able to provide that behind-the-meter solution. It obviously, if you take it from an Australian perspective, and I think globally it's heading in this direction, that there needs to be a significant renewable energy component, and then it needs to be firmed. So you need a battery, typically on-site, and you'll need GPG for when the sun doesn't shine, the wind doesn't blow. But also to provide system strength, not only to the site but to be able to provide system strength back into the grid.
When governments and AEMC are talking about providing firming and system strength, that is exactly what they mean because of the spinning reserves that a gas-fired power generator will provide. I will be clear, we are not out there trying to build sheds. We are not in the business of building the data center. I do not think we have misled anyone to believe that that is what we are focused on. But certainly, similar to what you have seen, for example, in the U.S., we think we have got great capability to do that. But again, we will be very disciplined and very focused on ensuring that we deploy capital in a way that creates value and the way that we have diversified our business and whilst our strategy is somewhat diverse, it is actually within a very narrow framework around gas pipelines and storage and power generation.
Just to round that out, I just keep coming back to Sybella. It is a very good example. What will be, in this case, it is for a mining customer in Mount Isa, but it is the same model. It is the exact same model of bringing renewable power generation with a battery and firmed by gas. Again, we do that all around the country, and we think we have got good competitive advantages in that space.
Thank you. Just to clarify, Adam, this power, would it be plugged into the grid or is it just sort of off-grid like Sybella?
Look, what the government is saying is that it needs to strengthen the grid, so they have been quite clear that the expectation is that you can be behind the meter. I guess, for want of a better term, your primary focus is to power the data center on-site, but you also need to be connected into the grid so that if the grid needs stability or strengthening, you can provide your power back into the grid.
Got it. I think the other big question that we're debating currently and probably in the industry as well is, given all of these data center energy requirements, is there scope for coal to stay longer in the system? What does that mean for your business and some of these opportunities?
Yeah. It's an interesting discussion and sort of the argument or the counterfactual is that if you need to keep coal going for longer because of the demand that's being put on the energy market because of growth in data centers, ipso facto means that you should need more gas-fired power generation to be able to support the new developments. Again, I think AEMO has suggested that with their latest GSOO, particularly around intraday volatility that you see. Again, that's why we feel very confident about the level of growth. For us, it's not about is there enough growth out there. It's 14 GW of GPG needs to be developed. The remote grid decarbonization journey you're very familiar with. The demands from data centers could be anything. What we know is that the grid is already constrained.
There is some capacity obviously available, but that's being soaked up very quickly by the data center projects that are in flight. The question is what happens next? I think that's where GPG, renewable power generation, the whole Sybella example, could become a potential growth leg for us and the industry more broadly.
Awesome. Thank you.
Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. The next question will come from Nathan Lead with Morgans. Please go ahead.
Good day, gents. Thanks for your presentations. Just following up on that data center conversation there, Adam. I seem to remember that you had a site in Melbourne for a potential GPG project. Is that still there, and is that something that could be a potential for a data center co-location in the future?
Yeah, thanks, Nathan. Look, we've got, I think it's about 12 sites that we had earmarked two or three years ago for GPG power generation sites around the country. As I've said, those sites can be used for multiple different customers. You can think of a data center as a different customer base. It's the same product, just a different customer base. So, yes, we do have one in Victoria. We've got ones in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia. We've got them spread all around the country. It's not that we're out there trying to develop all 12, don't get me wrong, but the point being that we've got, I think, some pretty attractive sites and obviously we've got a skill set which we think is second to none, and we've also got strategic partnerships with some of the key long lead item as well.
Look, it's obviously a topic of interest, and it goes back to the question that Suraj had before and the observation around just broader general load on the energy market. Yeah, we see that as a positive thing for our existing assets. I know it's easy to get caught up on the growth side, but we think it also helps underwrite our existing assets for a long period of time. We've always been strongly of the view, and the data supports that these assets are going to be in demand and in fact needed well beyond the 2050s. Having more load coming from a market such as the data center market, I think just further underwrites that and underlines the importance of our assets. So, yeah, it's an interesting space and talk of the town, no doubt, but it is obviously a potential growth market.
Yep, absolutely. Second question is, if I look at the work in progress account within PPE, that note 11, looks like there was what closed at AUD 1.6 billion of CapEx that got commissioned over the last two financial years. You said FY 2026 had AUD 70 million of new asset EBITDA contribution, and then you are just going to be getting just sort of AUD 6 million to AUD 7 million, I suppose it is, coming through in FY 2027. Is that the full earnings power of the growth CapEx which was in that AUD 1.6 billion, and how much of that AUD 1.6 billion was actually, I suppose, growth CapEx?
Yeah. Thanks, Nathan, for the question. CWIP, obviously, what goes through there is not just growth CapEx. There is also SIB and foundational CapEx that goes through that.
Yeah.
You need to be aware of that. When I look at the balance at 2025, which I think was about AUD 1 billion, the balance at 2026, which is about AUD 800 million and call it AUD 850 odd million, we have seen Port Hedland Solar and BESS move from CWIP into PP&E. Some spending on MSEP do the same, and then moving projects that we have started are things such as Sturt Plateau Pipeline, which I think still sits at balance sheet date within CWIP. Some of the work around the East Coast Gas Grid and some of the Brigalow Pipeline work as well. That is the kind of details around movements period on period. But I think fundamentally your question is, are we getting the returns that we seek on the assets that we have brought into operation and recognized the revenues over the last couple of years?
We are really happy that we are hitting our target return hurdles that we have talked about a number of times across the assets that we are constructing now and the assets that we have brought online as well. Some of them, there is obviously South West Pipeline is a regulated asset, and that gets a regulated return. We have talked in the past around the returns on Kurri Kurri Lateral Pipeline that reflected the time which the deal was done. But certainly the big projects, growth projects that have come to life and are coming through both our balance sheet and our P&L now and into the future are hitting and exceeding those target hurdle rates.
Yeah. Okay. Just to confirm, though, in that AUD 1.6 billion, how much of it was growth CapEx?
I do not actually have that to hand, but let me pull it out, and I will come back to you.
Okay. Adam, the AUD 3.5 billion growth CapEx pipeline across FY 2027 to 2029, how should we be thinking about the ramp-up in earnings related to that spend? When should you or we be expecting that it will still be sort of hit like full tilt on the earnings contribution from that spend?
Yeah, look, let me try and help you out directionally. We have obviously had Kurri Kurri Lateral, Port Hedland Solar and Battery, and Atlas to Reedy Creek come through in this year, which is all very positive. The Sturt Plateau Pipeline, a AUD 66 million project, that will feed through most of 2027. It is not so much a ramp-up because it is an asset for a particular customer, so it picks up quickly. Brigalow Pipeline, we have said that that will be available towards the end of 2027. Brigalow, the asset, will be in 2028. So you would imagine if the pipeline is 2027 and the asset is 2028, they are going to be reasonably close together, but a bit of water to go under the bridge there. East Coast Gas Grid projects, we all know, take a couple of years to ramp- up.
You're trying to bring that product to meet demand, but it just does take a couple of years to ramp- up. I think you've got enough evidence behind you with what you saw on Stages 1 and 2 to give you an indication of how that played out. Again, the demand's there, and you've got some pretty big assets coming out, in particular in 2028 in Victoria. That could ramp- up reasonably quickly. Sybella will be a quick ramp-up, and we've said today that'll be mid-2028. The South West Pipeline becomes a regulated asset, so effectively, you're at 100% straightaway, and that's mid-2029.
Okay. Great. Thank you.
There are no further questions at this time. I'll now hand it back to Mr. Watson for closing remarks.
Great. Thank you so much, and really appreciate the questions from today. I think it's helpful to be able to bring a great result to life and the opportunities I think have been well covered today. It's been a great dialogue. I just want to leave you again with the key takeaways from today's result. We have delivered another strong financial result, and the outlook, we think, continues to show strength, and we're really encouraged by that. We have a great portfolio of assets, and our outlook from a growth perspective is compelling, and I think we've been through that a lot today to evidence that for you. Importantly, the balance sheet is also incredibly strong, and it provides us the funding capacity we need to be able to deliver. Again, we think we're in a good space, and as always, we appreciate your support.
Thank you for your time, and enjoy the rest of the reporting season.