I'll now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Colin Greenhill, Group CEO. Please go ahead.
Good morning, and thank you for joining Bravura Solutions 2026 results presentation. I'm Colin Greenhill, CEO. I'm joined today by our Chief Financial Officer, Neil Montford. I'm going to cover five areas today: 2026 highlights, 2026 results details, capital management, outlook and guidance, and then take questions and answers. In the headlines, pretty straightforward for 2026. It was a very strong year for Bravura. We delivered continued revenue growth and material improvement in profitability. Revenue grew 10% to AUD 283.6 million, and cash EBITDA increased 76% to AUD 77.1 million, giving us a cash EBITDA margin of 27.3%. Our strategy of growing existing customers continues to deliver. We're seeing that through project work, ongoing maintenance income, and closer alignment with customer roadmaps. The shift to empowered business units has also sharpened accountability and improved execution.
We've also realigned the business around our core product solutions with Global Wealth and EMEA Funds Administration as our key operating divisions. P&L ownership now sits closer to product and the market, with rewards aligned to growth and profitability. Just pulling out a few things. In APAC, we supported a successful client migration and are aligned to that client's future growth and migration plans. In the U.K., we supported expansion into workplace and now supporting a client in the annuities market. In EMEA, we're supporting a major client through integration and migration projects with a strong pipeline of opportunities into 2027. In global product forums, we're increasing customer engagement and helping direct our focus on new features and innovation. Our business continues to generate strong cash flows.
For the financial year 2026, we've announced total dividends of AUD 0.2523 per share, including AUD 0.1023 paid in March and a further AUD 0.15 to be paid in September. The ordinary dividend again represents 100% of underlying NPAT, reflecting our confidence in the profitability and stability of the company. To support future growth and improve capital efficiency, we established a combined AUD 100 million debt facility. We're also announcing a 12-month on-market buyback of up to AUD 50 million, reflecting the value we see in the business. Financial year 2026 reflects continued financial improvement supported by customer-led growth and disciplined cost management. On an underlying basis, adjusted for the prior year Fidelity International license sale and deferred tax asset recognition, the key financial headlines are as follows. The cash EBITDA of AUD 77.1 million, resulting in 27% margin for the year.
This was driven by improving margins through the year to approximately 30% in the second half of 2026. We have reduced our administration cost base by 10% and have focused investment in customer-facing teams, where resource productivity has grown project revenue achieved by 18% year-on-year. Revenue of AUD 283.6 million grew organically by 9.6% versus the financial year 2025. This is across a mix of contract renewals, project work, and customer growth. Of this, AUD 165 million or 58% was recurring revenue, which increased organically by 6.9% versus 2025 as customers committed to new contracts with improved terms. The net closing cash was AUD 50.3 million. Further details including the appendix covering cash flow, balance sheet, operating results, and a reconciliation of cash EBITDA to underlying NPAT. These sections provide a detailed bridge from operating performance through to underlying NPAT.
The slide that we are putting on the screen bridges our recurring revenue from preceding corresponding periods. Recurring revenue growth continues to be driven by deeper engagement with existing customers, increased functionality and utilization, and successful contract renewals. Growth has come through migration projects, product enhancements, and expanded services, with pricing reflecting the value we are delivering. We now have an anchor client in the U.K. workplace, are supporting a new annuities client, and are working with two major customers on integration programs. Innovation in Digital Advice remains a focus of the Midwinter business in Australia, and this is now being implemented across several major superannuation firms. These funds have seen 10 times increase in the advice given to members, and as their business grows, we grow.
Approximately two-thirds of recurring revenue growth over the past year has come from price increases agreed in renewing contract renewals that reflect the value that we add to customers' businesses. We have renewed all key customer contracts due this year, typically on two to five-year terms. We previously highlighted three expected material attrition events. The first client exited several years ago, the second exited in December this financial year. However, this has not disrupted the half two or full-year revenue trajectory. The third client has agreed to extend its relationship with us. We will disclose further information regarding shared events if and when appropriate. This chart shows the operating leverage in the business. Revenue growth has been delivered without a corresponding increase in the cost base, supported by disciplined cost control and full-year benefit of financial year 2025 cost savings. As a result, cash EBITDA has continued to improve.
We believe the business is well positioned for further financial improvement in the financial year 2027, and that confidence is reflected in our guidance. We are closely managing our delivery capabilities and will add resources as they are required. From a capital management perspective, to support further growth opportunities and optimize capital efficiency, we have established a combined AUD 100 million debt facility with HSBC Australia. We are also announcing a 12-month on-market buyback of up to AUD 50 million to give us the flexibility to return capital to shareholders through buybacks when we feel it is appropriate to do so. Today, we are announcing an ordinary dividend of AUD 0.0831 per share, representing AUD 37.3 million, and a special dividend of AUD 0.0669 per share, representing AUD 30 million.
Together, this is a total dividend of AUD 0.15 per share. The dividends will be unfranked, and the dividend reinvestment plan remains suspended. The record date is the 25th of August 2026, with payment expected in September 2026. Over the past two years, we've returned over AUD 0.5676 per share through a mix of capital returns and dividends. From a guidance perspective, for revenue, around 65% of annual revenue is now pre-contracted through maintenance pricing committed services, giving us good visibility of the position into the financial year 2027. We're forecasting revenue of between AUD 280 million and AUD 300 million, based on an assumed AUD to GBP exchange rate of 1.9, and that compares to the financial year 2026, where the average was 1.98. From a profitability perspective, we're forecasting cash EBITDA of AUD 84 million to AUD 94 million.
This reflects the continuing benefit of prior year cost initiatives, lower one-off costs, and incremental services revenue delivered without a material increase in cost. The midpoint of our guidance represents a cash EBITDA margin of about 30%, which is largely in line with our margin performance in the second half of 2026. If I just conclude on that, the financial year 2026 was clearly a very strong year for Bravura. We renewed key customer agreements, deepened strategic engagement, and continued to deliver growth and value for both our customers and our shareholders, aligning with the strategic plans so that as they grow, we grow. With a disciplined operating model and strengthened funding position, we're in a position to consider how to allocate capital between organic initiatives, exploring M&A opportunities, although to note these will take time, and through dividends and the share buyback.
I'm really encouraged by the momentum of the business, all that we've achieved. I'm really excited about the prospects going into the financial year 2027. Thank you for taking the time to listen, and we'll now open to questions.
Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. If you would like to cancel your request, please press star two. If you are on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask a question. Your first question today comes from Olivier Coulon from E&P Financial Group. Please go ahead.
Hi, guys. Thanks for taking my call. I have a question. Just on Ireland, the U.K., I think in the past you've mentioned that you felt that the lack of, I suppose, internal administrative capability had caused some churn events. Have your views changed at all with some of the things that have occurred in that marketplace more recently, like [audio distortion].
Olivier, sorry to interrupt. The line is terrible.
Right. Yeah.
I don't know—
Can you hear me?
We are getting quite a lot of feedback, and it is difficult to hear what you are saying. Could we maybe take a different question and then come back to your question? I do not know if there is something specific about your line.
Yeah. [audio distortion] . Thanks.
Yeah. It is hard to hear.
Thank you. Your next question comes from Tim Lawson from Macquarie. Please go ahead.
Hi, gentlemen. Is [it currently clear?]
Much better. Yeah. Thanks, Tim.
Okay. Maybe a couple of questions on the outlook. You talked about that third client that extended. Can you sort of maybe what you can, is that extended for a certain amount of period? Are you still negotiating, or you expect to retain that client?
It's extended for a certain amount of time. I think I said all of our agreements are between two and five years. So, what they choose to go longer than that is up to them, but we're in very active discussions with them. So it's a positive move for everybody.
Okay. S o through the headwind you're sort of cycling into 2027, is that the decline from was it December, I think you mentioned it rolled off, i s that right?
Yeah. I think we talked at the half year, there was a client that said they were going to roll off in 2022, and they eventually did roll off in 2026. So despite that headwind, we talked about this in some of the meetings, in February. Despite that, we've been growing the revenue, on top of losing that customer.
Yeah. You talked about how you'd renewed existing contracts for sort of new terms with, it sounds like, beneficial pricing. How far are you sort of through the sort of client base effectively on sort of renewed pricing?
We review all the contracts as they come through, and they tend to be on a two to five-year basis. So over the period of three years, we will get to look at most of the customer contracts that come up. It is not necessarily a case of how far through. They continually are there to be looked at. But particularly in the U.K., the business unit have made a really good effort this year at getting those contracts renewed.
Yeah. Then just you sound relatively positive on the level of project activity within the client base. Could you maybe expand a bit more on where you are seeing most activity?
I think what is particularly encouraging with our bigger clients and one of our bigger clients in Australia, you will have probably followed as much as we have, are announcing that they are growing. As they grow and they continue to grow and take on books of business, we support them in doing it. So as long as they continue to grow, we continue to grow as well, and those positions only appear to be continuing. They have got very active pipelines and discussions, but you would have to talk to them more specifically about their strategic plans.
Okay. Thanks for taking my questions.
Good.
Thank you. Once again, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Your next question comes from Cameron Huckett from Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.
Hi, team. Is my line okay?
Yes, thanks, Cameron.
Nice one. Okay. Thanks for taking questions. Just one, if I can start around the revenue guidance that you are providing for FY 2027. When we look at the top of the range number that is given there, just, I suppose, can you help us unpack the pieces of how you get there? Is that more project work? Are there active tenders that you are hinting at there that if they went your way, then you would maybe hit more towards the top end? And then maybe just pricing and escalation there as well. Thanks.
I'm going to say, Cameron, on a call, it's probably going to be quite difficult to get into breaking all of those things down. I think you've covered quite a lot of the major drivers that we'll go through and potentially we'll pick up when we talk to you in more detail. But if you look at the business we've delivered in the second half of the year, revenue that aligns to that trajectory of growth, and we've outlined what we've done and how we've done it. I think if you take that forward, you'll get a view of how we're seeing that playing out into 2027. What was good is you've highlighted some other opportunities that might be out there as well. But we're not talking about those or confirming anything at the moment.
Yeah, nice. License fees were good in the second half as well. I'm not sure if you want to sort of suggest that FY 2026 was a big or bigger than usual renewal year, but how are you thinking about that into 2027?
I think lots of the work that's being done in 2026 is what sets us up for 2027. The majority of the renewals and a lot of the renewals that are in place are about sustaining ongoing projects and ongoing provisions to customers with ongoing fees. I think that's what gives us a lot of confidence in the numbers that we're giving.
Yeah, nice. Last one would be just around the costs. Obviously continuing to extract efficiency. The OpEx is down half on half, so a good indicator into 2027. But just, I suppose, like key areas of focus you might be looking at into 2027 just to keep that efficiency going.
We are sitting in our new office, which is smaller than our old office, but at the appropriate size to actually run our business from in Australia. We have done that collectively across all the territories. We continue to optimize about how we work, where we work, the cost that we spend, and what we put into the business from an administration perspective. We tend to not look so much and not compromising is making sure we have absolutely the right resources and cost to serve the customers. We have made big strides there before. We continue to look at that. That includes where we have bought into and put in place tooling automation in some of that administration, making sure we take that forward and really take the full benefits from that activity.
Nice. Thanks, Colin. Well done.
Thanks, Cameron.
Thank you. Once again, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Your next question comes from Olivier Coulon from E&P Financial Group. Please go ahead.
Oh, hi, guys. Can you hear me now? Or is it still horrible?
No. Yeah, go for it.
Okay, excellent. I guess, yeah, in Australia, I think you highlighted since the APRA crackdown on some of the players that had to outsource solution providers. You felt pretty good about being a software-only player, whereas I think a year or two ago, you were a bit worried about the fact that you didn't have an internal administrative kind of capability in the U.K. market. Has that changed at all with some of the recent issues that Lloyd had with the FCA?
It's interesting you ask this. There is a pressure in the U.K., and you mentioned the name, so I won't mention it again, but you've already mentioned it, where they've been asked to insource rather than outsource. They're going away from a BPO model into a software, and then they're providing the solutions model. That's early in terms of the discussion, but I think when we met and the discussions we've had on this, we see ourselves as very much we are a software provider. We believe our software stands up very well in the market as do some of our competitors who still also use our software and work with us on our software. That is an encouraging thing for us, if anything that big customers are being encouraged to insource effectively or run their operations themselves.
I share your knowledge of that one, Olivier. I have not seen others, but I think the trajectory of both Australia and the U.K. is that it is not okay anymore for companies to say they are outsourcing for it to be cheaper. It needs to be protecting the customer outcomes and the better solution. We just need to watch how that one plays out, but I feel we are very well-positioned.
Yeah. No, terrific. I think you had given some details previously that kind of workplace type clients were probably in between a Digital Advice client and a full registry client in terms of size. In terms of this annuity client that you were talking about, what sort of dollars are we talking about for those type of arrangements? Are they pretty material or they are fairly bite-sized and they are closer to what a client in Australia would be paying, say, for Digital Advice?
We are not going to go down to that level of detail. But suffice to say, it is meaningful enough that we are talking about it, and we spoke about it in the meetings in February, and continue to talk about it as an area. The key thing I think is we are branching out the products that we offer and engaging with people across the Wealth Management, the product range that is there, so that we are able to support different products within the pension world and also annuities.
Yeah. Okay. No, perfect. Makes sense . Appreciate it.
Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I am going to hand back to Mr. Greenhill for any closing remarks.
Well, thank you all for joining. Thank you for your time this morning and for taking the time to ask the questions, and Olivier for his persistence to get through despite the reception. As I said earlier, we are very encouraged by where we are as a business. I am really enjoying my time at Bravura. It has been a fantastic six months. I am really looking forward to how we take that business forward. Look forward to seeing a number of you over the next couple of days as we do the roadshow, and thank you very much.
That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.