Hi, everyone. Thanks for joining the call today. Before we get started, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land I am speaking to you from today, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. I would like to pay my respects to elders past and present, and I would like to acknowledge any and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people joining us today. Financial year 2026 was a year of earnings growth and strategic progress. On group performance, revenue grew 6.3% and EBITDA grew 8.4% on prior year, with growth across all operating divisions. Despite cost headwinds, underlying costs remain well managed and only marginally above pre-COVID levels. Net debt at 30th of June was AUD 476.1 million, and our debt facility was renewed in March for a further three years with an overall limit of AUD 750 million. Our outlook for financial year 2027 remains positive.
We expect EBITDA growth from the prior year for hotels and entertainment, subject to film slate performance, weather conditions, and general market conditions. Our balance sheet remains strong, and we are well-positioned for future growth. Given the continuing improvement in our earnings profile and the outlook ahead, the board has declared a fully frank final dividend of AUD 0.23 per share payable in September. Today we have made several important announcements. Firstly, on our hotels growth strategy. We gained further momentum including asset-light expansion and are pleased to announce that Rydges Bangkok will be entering the Bangkok market. We established Connect Hospitality as a second pillar for growth and enhanced our capabilities, further cementing our confidence in the growth opportunities in our hotel brands. In relation to our property portfolio, we revalued the property portfolio at approximately AUD 2.25 billion at 30th of June.
We also completed our property portfolio review, and as part of our continued capital recycling program, we plan to divest approximately AUD 800 million of non-core property assets, including the George and Market Street precinct, on a value-first basis. Finally, in relation to our group structure, we have engaged Rothschild & Co with board endorsement to independently assess management's recommendations on EVT's future group structure, which the board has endorsed. I will cover each of these throughout the presentation. Turning now to the results overview. Group normalized revenue was AUD 1.3 billion, up 6.3% on prior year, with all divisions achieving growth. Hotels were up 5.1%, Thredbo up 10.6%, and Entertainment was up 7.7%. Group normalized EBITDA was AUD 174.4 million, up AUD 13.6 million, again, with growth across all divisions, Hotels up 1%, Thredbo up 13.7%, and Entertainment up 45.8% overall with strong growth from Germany.
We had solid hotel growth for the first eight months of the year. Then, as announced to the market in April, the Middle East crisis created a more challenging period during the fourth quarter. While these conditions affected the broader market, the strategies we deployed helped mitigate the impact, and we continued to grow market share through the period. After a weaker first-half film lineup for entertainment, the combination of a better second-half film lineup and our Fewer, Better strategy resulted in strong growth on prior year and clear evidence of the operating leverage created. Thredbo also delivered EBITDA growth following a strong 2025 winter season, offset by a poor start to the June 2026 winter season. As expected, the property result fell AUD 5.8 million following the successful sale of the group's investment property at 418 Adelaide Street, Brisbane.
Group unallocated expenses were above the prior year due to a higher incentive cost reflecting the stronger result, but despite continued market cost challenges remain only slightly above financial year 2019 on an underlying basis. Reported net profit after tax was AUD 50.7 million, up AUD 17.3 million, driven by the improvement in performance across our businesses and the benefit of AASB 16. Before I talk to trading performance for each division, I want to cover off what is a hot topic, and that is how we're embracing AI at EVT. We put AI in the hands of our people. As an example, every general manager carries a financial year 2027 AI STI goal, driving adoption and rewarding measurable productivity gains in day-to-day operations. In our support functions, AI is already embedded, such as automating hotel back-office processes, room allocation, finance, night audit.
Also strengthening cyber threat detection, triage and response, and powering EVT sustainability analysis and reporting. This is enabling us to optimize back-office resourcing and enable teams to focus more on the customer experience. AI's biggest opportunity for EVT lies in how customers search, book, and share feedback. This is where it will move the needle most. We're deploying AI chat and voice agents for bookings, in-room dining, and restaurant reservations. We're advancing AI search and generative engine optimization, including conversational trip planning, AI-optimized content, and real-time sentiment tracking. We're leveraging this data to ensure EVT brands are recommended in AI conversations. We're moving into agentic commerce with autonomous agents that can plan, compare, and complete a booking on a guest's behalf.
Following our Australian first agentic payments launch with Mastercard, enabling AI agents to transact securely on a guest's behalf, we became the first hospitality group in Australia to launch EVT Hotels & Resorts in ChatGPT, letting guests discover our properties and start their booking journey directly inside an AI conversation. In summary, we see AI benefits falling into three key areas. First, guest acquisition where AI discovery channels are bringing customers direct to our channels rather than through intermediaries, protecting margin. Secondly, commercial optimization, where better content, pricing signals, and real-time sentiment lifts conversion. Finally, cost to serve, where automation of back office and support functions is refined. AI is now embedded in how we approach our everyday. Focusing now on our Hotels division. Our hotel strategy is transformed to underpin our growth. EVT now operates across two complementary hotel growth platforms.
The first platform is EVT Hotels & Resorts, comprising of QT, Rydges, Atura, LyLo, and The Independent Collection. Within this platform, we'll grow by entering new markets, such as entry into the lifestyle budget space with LyLo and Atura Snuggy room concepts. We'll develop existing assets, including QT Queenstown and LyLo Gold Coast. We'll grow through acquisition of strategic locations like QT Auckland acquired in March, and via asset-light expansion with a pipeline of management agreements secured under EVT owned brands or via The Independent Collection, which enables us to build bespoke brands for owners who want to retain their brand IP while leveraging our operating capabilities. The second growth platform is Connect Hospitality, which enables the management of a third-party brand when an asset owner chooses to franchise a third-party brand and utilize EVT group operating capabilities.
Together, these two pillars give EVT multiple pathways to grow our earnings and build a more scalable business. EVT is now the second-largest hotel operator in Australia and New Zealand, including Connect, with 101 hotels and over 16,000 rooms. Overall, the hotels division delivered another record result. From a trading perspective, the first half benefited from strong events, including the Lions rugby tour and The Ashes cricket in November and December. The second half was impacted by the Middle East crisis, with softness evident across three key areas. Firstly, we had weaker Easter trading at typical drive destinations. There was softer international inbound demand in key cities, and more constrained corporate demand for conference and events.
Airlines reducing domestic and Trans-Tasman capacity made travel more constrained and pricier, which had an impact on shortened booking lead times and prompting corporates to reconsider short-term C&E spend toward the end of the June financial year. Booking lead times remain short, particularly for the corporate segment. In July, we've been cycling the strong market conditions in the prior year that benefited the British & Irish Lions rugby tour. However, looking ahead, August is pacing ahead of last year with a good forward position in September and October. The owned hotel brand result was also temporarily impacted by the works at QT Queenstown and QT Gold Coast. We also had the continued disruption at QT Canberra due to the delayed light rail works being undertaken by the ACT Government at the front of the hotel, and the sale of Rydges Geelong.
At the same time, the hotels group benefited from the contribution from around six months of Connect Hospitality and three months of QT Auckland. Despite some challenges, it has been a transformational year for the hotels group. We delivered a record result, record RevPAR across our owned hotel portfolio, strengthened our brands, and are building our strongest pipeline for growth. Focusing first on the EVT Hotels & Resorts group, which includes our own brands and Independent Collection. This group's grown to 84 hotels and 12,603 rooms. The full-year EBITDA performance across this group was marginally down on prior year. However, adjusting for works at QT Gold Coast and Queenstown, underlying hotel earnings were up 3.2%. Overall, owned hotels occupancy was up 0.3 points to 79%, whilst average room rates were up 2.2% to AUD 233, driving a record RevPAR result up 2.8% to AUD 184.
Each of our key hotel brands achieved record RevPAR results. Rydges RevPAR was up 6.7% on prior year, an outstanding result. QT RevPAR was flat due to the temporary impacts of QT Gold Coast and QT Queenstown works during the year. On an adjusted basis, excluding these properties, RevPAR was up 4.9%. Atura RevPAR was up 2% on prior year. Thanks to the tremendous efforts by our team, our brands are continuing to deliver more than their fair market share. Looking now at our EVT Hotels & Resorts asset-light expansion. Under EVT Hotels & Resorts, The Independent Collection secured The George Hotel, Brisbane, and the Radisson Flagstaff in Melbourne. The Flagstaff Hotel will be upgraded to a Rydges towards the end of the year. We also embarked on our first hospitality management agreement by taking over food and beverage services at Wellington Airport in New Zealand.
This leverages our group food and beverage capability into airport hospitality, from branding to operations on behalf of the airport. We also have a great pipeline of owned brand hotels joining the group, including Atura Oran Park, a new 184-room hotel in Southwest Sydney, which is expected to open in the second quarter of the financial year. Located adjacent to the new Western Sydney Airport growth corridor, it's a great hotel that will strengthen the Atura brand in one of Australia's fastest-growing regions. QT Parramatta, as part of a landmark mixed-use development, this will be a new 265-room QT Hotel experience which is expected to open early in 2027, bringing the QT brand to one of Australia's largest and fastest-growing CBDs. Rydges Tauranga, New Zealand is expected to open late in 2028. A new 158-room hotel with great conference offering in one of New Zealand's strongest regional markets.
Rydges Resort Wailoaloa Beach in Fiji, which is now under construction and expected to open in 2029, represents an exciting opportunity to extend Rydges into a major South Pacific tourism market. This is planned to be a 258-room beachfront resort with extensive leisure facilities, conferencing, and great restaurants. Following the success of QT Singapore, we identified Bangkok, one of the world's most visited cities, as a priority Southeast Asian market for hotel management growth, and we have now secured a new Rydges flagship location. Rydges will enter the Bangkok market with the signing of a 15-year hotel management agreement for Rydges Bangkok Sukhumvit, a newly constructed 165-room hotel to open in 2028. Located in one of Bangkok's most established tourism and commercial precincts, the property will feature signature food and beverage offerings, leisure facilities, and a rooftop pool.
The interest in our brands is growing in Southeast Asia, and our aim is to ensure all EVT Hotels & Resorts brands expand into this market. To support this next phase of growth, we've also strengthened the hotel's development team capability with recognized and experienced leaders. We've welcomed Brett Forer, formerly Vice President of Development Pacific at Accor, and he's joined as Chief Development Officer, bringing deep hotel development experience across the region. We've also welcomed Harry Thaliwal, formerly CEO of Cross Hotels & Resorts, who's joined as Executive Vice President Asia, based in Bangkok, bringing more than three decades of hospitality leadership across the Asia Pac region. Together, these appointments further strengthen our team to pursue disciplined hotel growth. In terms of our owned hotel investments, we acquired QT Auckland in March, recycling capital from the sale of Rydges Geelong.
This was an important acquisition as it secures a flagship asset in New Zealand's largest city and strengthens our presence in a key feeder market for QT Queenstown. At Atura Adelaide Airport, we launched Snuggy, a new 16 sq m room concept inspired by our LyLo insights. As an owner, we recognize the importance of maximizing real estate in hotel terms. This means smaller and smarter design footprints at lower capital investment with higher room rates and returns. It's a winning formula. The concept recognizes that for many guests, a contemporary and efficient room is more important than additional space. Room nights are priced at only around 10%-20% below standard rooms, despite being around half the size of a standard room. Also, QT Queenstown, which is an exceptional and unique property located in one of the best locations in the strongest market.
The first phase with 65 upgraded rooms is now online and is outperforming our expectations. The new conferencing area is arguably the best in market, and we are seeing record demand for this product. Our new wellness suites launching in phase III will set a new standard for accommodation with unbeatable views. However, due to complexity of seismic rectification works in stage 2 of this project, we are expecting around a four-month delay in this phase, and as a result, this will impact incremental financial year 2027 EBITDA by around AUD 3 million. Pleasingly, this is only timing related, and there has been no change in the cost of the development. QT Queenstown is now due to be completed by around October 2027. It will be 226 rooms, the majority with unbeatable views, adding 157 new QT rooms in total.
The second development we are excited about, which is now in progress, is LyLo Gold Coast, located on underutilized EVT land adjacent to QT Gold Coast. It will offer 296 pod rooms, 46 private rooms, and shared social space. The project will introduce the LyLo brand to one of Australia's largest tourism markets. We continue to see really strong interest in the LyLo brand and believe this property will help underpin the next phase of growth. Given the construction phasing of the development, we expect some short-term disruption to QT Gold Coast, which will be managed and is only expected to reduce financial year 2027 EBITDA by around AUD 1 million. To be clear, the short-term circa AUD 4 million of EBITDA impact from these two projects will reduce the previously stated AUD 17 million of incremental EBITDA in hotels to around AUD 13 million EBITDA in financial year 2027.
However, the impact is timing related only with the associated earnings benefits expected to be realized progressively from financial year 2028 and beyond. Following the completion of the QT Queenstown redevelopment and LyLo Gold Coast, the major investment projects across our owned hotel portfolio will be largely complete, positioning the business to benefit from a period of stronger earnings conversion and cash generation. Turning now to our new division, Connect Hospitality, which was launched in December last year following the acquisition of the Pro-invest Hotels Management business. Connect Hospitality is operated by its own dedicated team focused on providing third-party hotel management services for owners who choose to franchise global hotel brands while leveraging EVT's group capabilities. The business expands our asset-light growth platform and provides access to a large and growing segment of the hotel management market.
Pleasingly, we have improved the hotel portfolio performance under Connect Hospitality, with RevPAR up 11% and gross operating profit up 20% compared to the prior year comparable period. We had guided that the acquisition would deliver earnings in the range of AUD 8 million-AUD 9 million, and this division is performing at the upper end of this. Recently, the Connect team also secured two new hotels, including the Sage Hotel James Street Brisbane and Country Comfort Perth. Overall, Connect Hospitality has started well and has interest from major hotel brands, which supports our confidence in Connect as a scalable hotel management platform. Overall, we now have two established hotel growth pillars, and we are excited about the growth we can generate in the future. Turning now to property. Based on the most recent independent valuations of each asset, the value of our property portfolio as at 30th of June was around AUD 2.25 billion.
Updated independent valuations were obtained for the Thredbo Alpine Resort and three hotels. The three hotels included Atura Adelaide Airport, LyLo Auckland, and LyLo Brisbane, and all hotel property values increased following strong operating performance and strategic investment. The independent valuation of Thredbo decreased from AUD 292 million to AUD 143 million. The previous valuation was prepared following the outstanding 2022 winter season, and subsequent winters have not yet had the conditions to replicate this performance. The valuation also reflects the near-term capital investment required in chairlifts and snowmaking infrastructure to continue to offer a premium all year-round alpine resort experience. While this will impact near-term cash flow, the investment is expected to protect long-term earnings and asset value over the remainder of the lease period.
As announced as part of the capital recycling program, we've identified non-core property assets with a target of approximately AUD 800 million for divestment, including the already announced 525 George Street property. In relation to 525 George Street, we remain committed to a sale of this asset. Several parties have undertaken detailed reviews of the property. However, the group has not yet reached a definitive outcome. We continue to be guided by CBRE, who remain in discussion with interested parties. This broader AUD 800 million divestment program also includes the George and Market Street precinct following a detailed review by management and the board of the highest and best use of those assets. This precinct includes QT Sydney, the State Theatre, the Gowings retail property, EVT's head office, and the development sites at 458-472 George Street.
The development approval process for 458-472 George Street over the past few years has enhanced the value of the asset and established a clear pathway for future development. While a range of options were considered, including continued ownership, redevelopment, and alternative ownership structures, we concluded that divestment represents the most attractive strategic option for redeployment of capital into alternative hotel growth opportunities. We've also identified a number of non-core hotel assets, including QT Canberra, Rydges Parramatta, and two small freehold properties in Germany. As part of any sale process for non-core hotels, including the George and Market Street precinct, we aim to seek to retain long-term hotel management agreements as we've done in the past. The divestment program will be conducted on a value-first basis, with proceeds recycled into hotel growth and the board to consider special dividends to shareholders.
We want to emphasize that we are not pursuing divestments for the sake of selling assets. We will only proceed where value, timing, and structure are appropriate for shareholders. Execution is targeted over a three or so year period. However, the timing, structure, and ultimate composition of the program remains subject to prevailing market conditions and achieving satisfactory outcomes. Upon completion of this divestment program, EVT will have a more focused, higher-yielding hotel property portfolio with a clearer alignment between our capital base and long-term hotel growth strategy. Turning now to entertainment. The combination of a stronger second half film slate and our Fewer, Better strategy underpins strong growth. In terms of a stronger film slate, it hasn't just been more films released, it's also been a more diverse film slate.
That is exactly what has been missing these past few years as the industry worked through COVID and the Hollywood strikes disruption on studio production. As we have said, the audience never went away. They just did not have enough films or the right films to bring them back. In the second half, Michael, after multiple release delays, became the biggest biopic of all time. The Devil Wears Prada 2, we achieved a record Chicks at the Flicks result. That is more than 26,000 customers together at an opening event. Obsession was a breakout from a newcomer that turned a sub-AUD 1 million production budget into a box office hit of more than AUD 450 million globally. Backrooms, A24's biggest film ever from a 20-year-old YouTube creator. Globally, both of these films were never expected to perform as well as they did.
Families were also looked after with franchises they know and love, including the Super Mario Galaxy movie and Toy Story 5 among them. We saw new stories break through, like Project Hail Mary, which defied expectations to become Amazon MGM's smash hit. In Germany, we also had record box office contribution from local films. As to be expected, titles that were anticipated to perform well and were disappointments included Supergirl, and also Disney's The Mandalorian & Grogu, and Masters of the Universe, which all struggled to find an audience. Three years on, film production is stabilizing whilst the studio landscape is changing. With consolidated legacy studios, we are seeing new players like A24 and Amazon MGM stepping up. Release windows have settled, with the major studios now committing to at least 45 days in cinemas after shorter windows were trialed and clearly found not to work.
Our team has successfully executed our Fewer, Better strategy, and the leverage we have created is evident. Whilst admissions for the Entertainment group were up 3.6% on prior year, EBITDA was up 45.8%. In terms of fewer, we had 11 fewer cinemas at the end of this year compared to the beginning of the prior year. We have around 13 more locations to exit or renegotiate viable leases over the next three years, and completion of this will deliver a positive material uplift of around AUD 10 million in EBITDA. In terms of better, we completed key premiumization projects, expanding our IMAX and ScreenX footprint at key locations, including Marion, Innaloo, Fountain Gate, and Loganholme. Premium screens now represent around 40% of our Australian circuit.
Looking ahead, an upgrade of our key Bondi location is in progress and due to reopen in November, and we have new ScreenX auditoriums planned at Macquarie, Shellharbour, Albany, and Bondi, and new IMAX auditoriums at Miranda and Berlin. We are focused on a footprint of high-performing sites where we see a clear pathway to strong premiumization returns with a return on invested capital and premium seats of over 20%. Successful execution of our Fewer, Better strategy is clearly delivering the operating leverage we aim to achieve. Looking by market in Australia on a modest lift in admissions, revenue was up 4.4% and EBITDA was up 14.5%. Across four months, including July, December, January, and April, on 70% of pre-COVID admissions, we also met or exceeded pre-COVID levels of EBITDA for those months.
This trend continued into July, assisted by the blockbuster performance of The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. We achieved the Australian result with seven fewer locations relative to prior year, and Bondi was also closed for a major upgrade, as I've said, will reopen in November this year. In Australia, we also achieved market share growth on a like-for-like basis. In New Zealand, admissions were down 3.2% as we were cycling the very strong performance of a local title, Tinā, in the prior year and were impacted by the partial temporary closure of Event Cinemas Manukau, a top five New Zealand location. Revenue fell by 8.3%, but costs were very well controlled, with EBITDA improving on the prior year. We expect the New Zealand market to be profitable as the film supply normalizes.
EVT still remains the largest cinema operator in Australia and New Zealand by number of locations. Germany clearly demonstrates the leverage we've created, with admissions up 9.5%, revenue up 17.2%, and an exceptional EBITDA growth of 254.8%, the best result for the circuit since pre-COVID with 11 fewer locations. On 95% of 2019 admits, we almost doubled CineStar EBITDA for the financial year. We're also collaboratively investing with our landlords on premium experiences in key locations in Germany, with the recent opening of CineStar Oberhausen following an upgrade delivering one of the best cinema experiences in Europe. Despite clear market evidence of constrained consumer spending, when customers did choose the cinema, they treated themselves and spent more. Nine out of 12 months in Australia and seven out of 12 months in New Zealand set new spend per head records. Cinema remains an affordable, out-of-home option for customers.
Turning now to Thredbo. After two poor winters in 2023 and 2024, we enjoyed better winter conditions in 2025. Summer trade started well, with November and December revenue up 17.9% on the prior comparable period. However, January 2026 visitation was impacted by concerns in relation to bushfires in the region. As you'll be aware, we've then had a very slow start to the 2026 winter season. However, the all-weather snow factory installed, providing the ability to make snow at 20 degrees, has been invaluable. This enabled us to open Friday Flat from opening weekend and have a viable product for the beginners market. Without it, we would not have been able to open. Overall, Thredbo's revenue was up 10.6% and EBITDA was up 13.7%.
We're also really proud to announce last month that Thredbo had become the first destination in Asia Pacific to achieve EarthCheck Platinum accreditation, recognizing a decade of independently verified progress across environmental, social, and governance performance. Thredbo was also recognized for the ninth year in a row as Australia's best ski resort, which is an incredible achievement for the Thredbo team. Summarizing the logic behind some of today's announcements. First, while we've successfully navigated external market headwinds and deployed new strategies in Entertainment and Thredbo over the past five years, we've been clear that we see the most attractive long-term growth opportunity in hotels. To realize that opportunity, we've invested in hotel brands, capabilities, and platforms to grow. We've strengthened our position in Australia and New Zealand, and we're now entering Southeast Asia.
We believe there remains a significant runway for growth across our two hotel growth pillars, and that is where our capital allocation priorities are focused. Second, as we've reviewed our property portfolio, we've identified a number of property assets that are not delivering acceptable returns and where ownership is not essential to achieving our strategic objectives. As a result, we've identified that AUD 800 million of non-core property should be divested over the next three or so years. In short, we see an opportunity to recycle capital from lower priority assets into higher growth opportunities whilst maintaining a disciplined approach to shareholder returns. Third is how we intend to use that capital. Simply put, hotels growth. Our owned hotel upgrades will be substantially complete once QT Queenstown and LyLo Gold Coast are finalized, and we're investing to accelerate asset-light growth with our new development team, as I've mentioned earlier.
We will continue to consider strategic hotel acquisitions either by ourselves or in partnership as we did during the year with QT Auckland. We'll also pursue hotel management company acquisitions to grow our asset light portfolio as we did with the Pro-invest acquisition. At the same time, we'll look to reduce debt and the board will continue to consider potential for special dividends as opportunities are realized. In terms of the group structure, over the past few years we've been navigating external industry challenges and building our hotel growth platform. We've done a lot of work behind the scenes on various group structure options that we see as a pathway to maximize value for all shareholders, and to ensure capital allocation is directed towards our highest growth platform and hotels. Now is the right time to get an independent assessment of these options.
Together, management and the board have appointed Rothschild & Co to conduct this assessment. We want to ensure this receives independent review before anything is shared publicly. To be clear, no decisions have been made and there's no certainty this results in any transactional structural change. An independent committee of the board comprising Brett Chenoweth, Peter Coates, and David Grant has been formed to oversee the process. Given the complexity of the group, we've set financial year 2027 as the timeline to complete this work properly. We'll provide updates as appropriate, balanced against our continuous disclosure obligations and the need to protect shareholder interest through the process. Now looking ahead to financial year 2027 trading outlook. We expect further EBITDA growth in financial year 2027. In hotels, the second half of 2026 was genuinely constrained by related impacts from the Middle East shock.
Whilst that pressure's not fully unwound, what continues to evolve are our initiatives from rate discipline, direct channel growth to targeted campaigns which are delivering results, and EVT is outperforming its markets. Hotel demand fundamentals are intact. We know we'll have the impact of works at LyLo on QT Gold Coast, and the wholesale segment is cycling last year's Lions tour and Ashes tours affecting the first half specifically, but these are not demand signals. Conditions will build as those items roll off. We're also advancing our sales efforts to secure business in relation to the Rugby World Cup in October 2027, which will be a big boost for hotels early in the financial 2028 year. Overall, in financial year 2027 for hotels, we expect to deliver another record year.
In entertainment, a great start to the year with The Odyssey driving strong demand followed by record-breaking Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Looking ahead, the Christmas slate looks strong on paper with Avengers: Doomsday, Dune: Part Three, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, and Jumanji: Open World. We are anticipating a strong first half for entertainment subject to film performance, and the second half is yet to fully take shape in terms of film lineup. In Thredbo, due to lack of natural snow this winter season, the divisional EBITDA result is tracking below the prior year. The result for the full year will remain subject to winter conditions in September and summer weather. We will provide an expected earnings range for Thredbo at the end of the current winter season at the October AGM. Overall for the group, subject to external market factors outside of our control, our financial year 2027 outlook is positive.
Before I end, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone at EVT for their incredible contribution to a solid financial year 2026 result. Thanks to you all for listening today, and I will now take questions.
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and 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. Your first question today comes from Nick McGarrigle with Barrenjoey. Please go ahead.
Hi team. Thanks for taking questions. I just wanted to ask on the cinema business. You have given like-for-like numbers with the hotels around sites that are offline, et cetera. Is there a quantifiable impact of some of the, like Bondi being offline in the cinemas business in the last year? Are there any other sites undertaking meaningful refurbishments into 2027?
Hi Nick, this is Dave. Afternoon everyone. I think Jane in the presentation referenced our market share growth like for like, which was 0.4 percentage points. We haven't quantified any further than that, but hopefully that gives you a guide of how we're tracking.
Yep, that's not earnings and a little bit. You've finally given us that for the hotels. Maybe just turning to that. I think previously you said that you'd expect the impact of Connect QT Auckland and QT Queenstown coming back online through FY 2027 would be AUD 17 million, now it's AUD 13 million. Can you just help us reconcile the delta on that?
Oh, sorry, Nick, just coming back to that entertainment question. We're not giving any guidance for the impact of Bondi because last year's slate doesn't reflect next year's slate, so it's not a very useful number at this point. Sorry, what was your second question relating to the AUD 13 million versus the AUD 17 million?
Yeah, just on the Bondi, I guess it's more just what the underlying growth was in 2026, given I think you were impacted by Bondi for a period. On the 2027 number, I was referring to the hotel contribution from Connect Auckland and Queenstown previously guided to AUD 17 million and now it's AUD 13 million. Just wanting to square those numbers.
Sure. That is right. As mentioned in the presentation, what we have got there is we have got a phase II delay to the seismic strengthening works at QT Queenstown, which accounts for about AUD 3 million of that. And also just in early stages of the development breaking ground at LyLo Gold Coast, we are expecting about AUD 1 million impact on QT Gold Coast business. That is where the AUD 4 million comes out of that, which was just a short term really delay from those things.
Okay, cool. On the property side, the AUD 800 million, that is just based on the last assessed independent valuation? Presumably, I think the 525 and the 458 sites are carried at AUD 245 million, which is an older valuation. Or were they revalued as part of the FY 2026 independent valuations?
No, you are right. They are based on the older valuations. They were not revalued as part of the FY 2026 valuations.
The AUD 800 million is based on whatever those properties contribute to the AUD 2.25 billion?
Yes.
Sorry, was that a yes?
Yes. Oh, sorry. Yes, that was a yes.
Sorry, I couldn't. Yeah, thank you. I guess the other question was just in terms of the 525 site. Do you still feel confident about getting a result there? If there's any context you can give us around why it's maybe taking a bit longer than anticipated?
Yeah. Hi, Nick, it's Matt. I think, as Jane mentioned in the presentation, we've had a number of parties look at it, and we still are in discussions with parties. We're just working through and making sure we get the right result. We know what the market conditions are, and we'll ensure that we get the right value given the market conditions.
Great. Then maybe just one last one from me. On the 458 site, can you just talk us through what that site will be marketed as and what the final development approval or the most recent development approval envisioned that site consisting of? Then presumably, you will retain the podium section, or is that also no longer intended to be an extension of the QT?
Sorry, Nick. It is the total block, so we will not be retaining any part of it. So it includes the QT Sydney, State Theatre, the development block, our offices. It is all included in the divestment.
Okay. Then, is there an approval for what goes above the podium? Is it going to be an office or a hotel, or is that still up for grabs? Then I guess just the rationale for wanting to divest the QT Sydney, which I thought was quite a high-performing good asset.
Okay, we are going to. Well, go Matt. You can do it.
Yeah, I think in terms of the development approvals, we got an approval for the podium. A tower development, we have not put a DA in. That will be for an owner to decide what is the best shape and form of that unused air space. Effectively, we have 30,000 sq m of unused GFA that can be unlocked. I think with the whole precinct, they are all different titles, but there is a lot of interconnectivity between them. The QT is actually straddling two buildings. We have the State Theatre in there. For a future development opportunity, we think it is best if someone controls the whole precinct. We will also be open to what the market tells us when we go through the process. That is the rationale for that.
On the QT Sydney, Nick, we back ourselves to either retain a long-term management agreement or secure another QT Sydney location. It is a high-demand brand. So we are confident when looking at options that we are not going to be impacted by that.
Great. I will let someone else ask questions and come back if there is time. Thanks.
Your next question comes from Apoorv Sehgal with Jarden. Please go ahead.
Oh, good morning, Jane and team. Thanks for taking the time. Just on the hotels business from an FY 2027 EBITDA outlook perspective. I guess, do we just add AUD +13 million to that AUD 107 million you just reported? I guess if we take the next step beyond that, would it be fair to assume some growth over and above just the underlying hotel growth, winning more managed contracts? Or do you think that potentially gets offset by some downside from macro volatility, potentially?
I think you need to make your own assumptions. The first part of that, of just adding on the AUD 13 million to the AUD 107 million is correct. Your assessment of the market after that would be an addition.
There was a comment, Jane, I think you made earlier, which is interesting. I think you said August is tracking ahead of PCP at the moment and the pipeline looks good into September, October. Was that purely just taking a part of the AUD +13 million coming through? Are you saying even excluding the unwind of that AUD 13 million, even excluding that, you're actually seeing underlying growth in September year-on-year?
Yeah. That was referring to underlying business performance.
Okay. That's good to hear. Can I also just ask a question then on the cinema business? You called out the AUD 10 million of EBITDA upside from the Fewer, Better strategy as the exit further sites. Sorry if I didn't quite hear it. Did you say, or can you say how long that'll take to realize the AUD 10 million, and potentially you can quantify how much of that you get in FY 2027 itself?
Oh, yeah. No, that's over the next three years as those leases come up for negotiation. So the AUD 10 million would be over that period. Not much of that is in this next financial year. It's more the following two.
Understood. How many sites would be exited to realize that?
We've put in there, well, how many sites would be exited all depends on whether we can negotiate a really good lease deal. So in terms of talking about that number, we've given an indication of around 13 more locations. We've also highlighted that within those negotiations, if we can secure a logical and beneficial lease deal, then we may retain some of those locations. All went, if the 13 locations went over the next three years, there'd be a AUD 10 million uplift in EBITDA. We're just giving you an indication of the number of sites remaining and that fewer strategy.
Understood. Thanks, guys. I might jump back at the queue. Cheers.
Your next question comes from Sam Teeger with Citi. Please go ahead.
Hi, Jane. I just wanted to ask a bit more about the capital recycling. Is the primary issue with the 525 George Street sale, is that purely valuation or is funding markets by DD or transaction structure also having an impact?
Hi, Sam. It's Matt. No, it's a great development site, but it's got a lot of components to it, residential, hotel, cinema and retail, and it's just taking time for buyers in the current market to properly analyze and assess all of that. So, it's just the nature of that development with all those different components largely.
Okay. On the AUD 800 million, how do we think about the tax on that?
Sam, hi. It's Greg. The tax will be dependent upon what the sale outcome is, obviously. A lot of these properties have been held for a long time, but they were reset from a capital gains tax base in 1999. Obviously, as you know, this building, 458- 472 George Street have been recent acquisitions. It's a bit of a mixed bag in there. We will give some guidance to that when close to the sale dates really, once that happens. It's a bit premature to give you a tax number now because it's almost impossible because of the sales price.
If you assume, say, AUD 800 million, ballpark, what tax would we be looking at?
Not going to give that out because then we don't give out what the book value is and the capital gains tax base is. Just watch that space.
Okay, awesome. Last one, just wanted to ask on Thredbo, given the lower independent valuation. I appreciate weather hasn't been helpful at all, but I just wanted to get your thoughts around two other potential headwinds. One, to what extent do you think cost of living is having an impact? Skiing in Australia is no longer a holiday for the average punter. Two, how do you think Australian snow conditions now stack up versus Japan and New Zealand and other international options when it comes to cost and quality? It just feels like the Australian season gets shorter and shorter. Back in the 2000s, you could ski until spring and now you can't.
Lots of angles to that one, Sam. First of all, it's never been an affordable option for Australians, a skiing holiday. We're targeting a portion of the market, and we don't see any shrinkage in the size of that market. In fact, this year, over 20% of our initial sales came from first-time skiers. There's a lot of new interest, and that flowed on from the Winter Olympics, so it generated a lot more interest in skiing in Australia. In terms of quality, it's going to depend on your seasons. I think that has an impact on it. What we've seen is that, I think we've said before, our actual market size to generate the numbers we need at Thredbo is not that large. It comes from particular areas in New South Wales and Canberra.
These are people that are still coming to Thredbo even if the conditions aren't that great, and spending on food and beverage. We've had record spend on food and beverage and attendance at events. I guess what's important and what we've been really focused on is making sure there are reasons to visit Thredbo. Thredbo is very different to the other resorts in Australia because we've got the events, we've got the Alpine Village. There's always something going on. It's year-round, et cetera. To cut a long story short, we're not worried about demand and stimulating new demand. We know that when we get natural snow, that we can generate great results, and there's strong interest for it.
Okay. No, that's helpful. Thank you, Jane.
Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone. Your next question comes from Nick McGarrigle with Barrenjoey. Please go ahead.
Hi. I am back. Just a question around the strategic review that you are doing with Rothschild. Management, you have formed a view and you said you want to get a sense check on that from Rothschild, but how should we think about what you want this business to look like in five years? Is it a more asset light hotel focused business that maybe doesn't own ski fields?
Too soon to say, Nick. We are not going to jump ahead of the process that we have outlined today. We have got the independent committee to do the work. We have highlighted that hotels is our priority growth platform, so this really is questioning about how we make sure that we can unlock all the opportunities that we see to realize that. We are not going to jump ahead on any structural options at this point until the work is completed.
All right. Thanks.
Your next question comes from Andrew Brown with Dynasty Trust. Please go ahead.
Hi, Jane and team. It's a little bit the same question. I've seen a lot of strategic reviews at other companies, and they sort of tend to hide sacred cows in there, saying, "We can't do this, and we can't do that, but we'll do other things." Is this one genuine in the sense that we've seen private equity interest, for example, in cinema chains, particularly your main competitor? Is everything genuinely on the table here?
Everything is genuinely on the table is the answer to that.
Thank you.
Your next question comes from Sam Teeger with Citi. Please go ahead.
Thanks. Just a couple of quick follow-ups. In terms of the AUD 800 million capital recycling, how do we think about the sequencing between 525 and the other assets?
We will provide more flavor on that as we go, Sam. With the 525 process, it is complex, it is large. We want to do that in the right way. We do not see ourselves going to market with the George and Market Street precinct until first, second quarter next year, because we are going to do that with the best partners to enable that. That is why we have indicated over three years. You can never say an asset is going to sell. Something might go quicker than you think, and something may take longer. It all depends on the buyer and the price.
Makes sense. I imagine it is a moving feast, but as at today, how much capital would you like to have for hotel expansion, just so we can think about how much might be available for capital management post that?
We're not going to highlight that, Sam. I guess what we're saying today is we just see such growth opportunity for all of our brands into new markets, and the feedback we're receiving is the opportunity is real. We've got different channels for growing that. We've got that asset light channel. We've alluded to the fact that we may look at some strategic acquisitions or maybe partnering in some acquisitions where we will be open and looking at other third-party hotel management platforms to expand that growth. I guess what we're saying today is we've got great confidence in our growth, and we've got avenues to pursue that, but we're not outlining a capital number on that investment at this point.
All right. Lastly, just on Connect. How many additional management agreements can realistically we expect to be signed over the next 12 months?
I don't think we can guess over the next 12 months, because it's all when the agreements come up for review at each property. What we can say is that we've got interest from all major hotel brands, and the reputation has really landed well on the market because, as I highlighted, we've delivered an increase of 20% gross operating profit on the hotels we've been managing. Word of mouth helps, and we're demonstrating the value we can bring under that model.
Okay. Great hire with Brett. Thank you.
Thank you.
There are no further questions at this time. I will now hand back to Jane Hastings for closing remarks.
Thanks, everyone. I look forward to catching up with you over the next few days.