Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Experience Co Limited Financial 2024 full year results. All participants are in a listen-only mode. There will be a presentation followed by a question and answer session. If you wish to ask a question, you will need to press the star key, followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. John O'Sullivan, CEO. Please go ahead.
Thanks, Dave. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for your attendance today at Experience Co's FY 2024 results call. As Dave alluded to, my name is John O'Sullivan, CEO of Experience Co, and with me today is Gavin Yates, our CFO. The structure of this morning's call is as outlined in your presentation packs on Slide three. I'll provide a short update on the business performance over the course of the financial year. I'll then hand over to Gavin, who will provide a more fulsome review of the financial result. And then finally, I will close out the presentation with a quick trading update based on our July trading results. And then, of course, we are happy to take your questions. Turning firstly now to Slide five.
During the financial year 2024, Experience Co saw an overall improvement in both its revenues and earnings for the year compared to PCP. Sales revenue increased by 17% to AUD 127 million, while our underlying EBITDA result, post AASB 16, improved by 27% to AUD 14.4 million. Both of these metrics are at the highest levels since the onset of the pandemic. The key driver of our earnings result remains our Adventure Experience business unit. However, we saw a noticeable increase in the earnings performance of our Skydive business unit, both of which Gavin will cover in his presentation shortly. Cash and cash equivalents entered the financial year at AUD 8.2 million, while net debt was AUD 8.9 million. Turning now to Slide 6.
The year demonstrated the resilience and diversity of our trading platform in that despite significant weather impacts experienced due to Tropical Cyclone Jasper, as well as record rainfalls experienced in New South Wales during quarter four, we saw continued improvement in the business, particularly in our Skydive segment. Skydive continues to enjoy the return of the international traveler to both Australia and, in particular, into New Zealand. The growth we are seeing in the segment is primarily driven by the New Zealand business, given the stronger than pre-pandemic levels of visitation to Queenstown. By comparison, Australia, with its larger domestic exposure and greater diversity of sites, has experienced more moderated growth during the year.
On the Great Barrier Reef, despite the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Jasper and the associated flooding, and a slower than expected start in the financial year, we have seen this business unit recover strongly during the second half due to strong performances from our new pontoon, Reef Magic, Big Cat Green Island, as well as good recovery during quarter four in the Port Douglas market. Our Treetops Adventure segment traded consistently despite being heavily impacted in New South Wales, which contains the majority of our sites in quarter four, as well as seeing our Cape Tribulation site offline during January through to March. A highlight of the year was the opening of our 16th location in Canberra, and we continue to focus on the development of the organic pipeline of this business, and we continue to be very encouraged by the performance of this new site.
Finally, our premium adventure segment experienced a disappointing year due to general softness in both the walking and premium lodging divisions of the business unit. This was primarily due to a general slowdown in the category across Australia, driven by Australian outbound travel and associated macroeconomic impacts. Turning to Slide seven. As we updated the market during our quarter four trading update, Australia's inbound story continues to improve, with aviation capacity, arrivals, and purpose of travel metrics all at near-time highs since the onset of the pandemic. In New Zealand, the South Island continues to trade exceptionally well, with Queenstown now well exceeding 2019 levels in respect to arrivals via Queenstown Airport. Finally, turning to Slide eight before I hand over to Gavin.
This slide demonstrates the recovery across our key inbound visitor markets to Australia, which shows that whilst overarchingly the recovery is still well underway for most of our key markets at 80% or above, the key markets for Experience Co of China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia still have some ways to go before being back to 2019 levels. This highlights a significant opportunity that remains for our company in the year ahead. I'll now hand over to Gavin for him to take you through the financial results in more detail. Thank you.
Thank you, John, and good morning, everyone. Turning to Slide 10, Financial Performance. The FY24 results are consistent with the Q4 trading update released to the ASX platform on the 31st of July. FY24 represented a year of continued recovery and growth for Experience Co. Revenue of AUD 127 million, representing growth of 17% versus PCP, and underlying EBITDA of AUD 14.4 million, representing growth of 27% versus PCP, represent the group's strongest performance since the onset of the pandemic. Pleasingly, this has been achieved despite significant weather impacts during the year, particularly Tropical Cyclone Jasper and above average rainfall in New South Wales in Q4, and a challenging macroeconomic environment. Growth during the year has been driven by the continued recovery of volumes and improved operating leverage for the skydiving segment-...
With total skydiving segment volumes of approximately 114,000, up 27% versus PCP. Our adventure experiences segment remained the largest contributor to group earnings, and also achieved earnings growth versus PCP, albeit to a lesser extent than skydiving, which represents a resilient performance given the challenging trading conditions during the year. While operating leverage was evident with higher volumes, we continue to work on initiatives to improve the efficiency of our operations and corporate cost base to further enhance margins. The group's reported loss before tax was $2 million, which includes $1.4 million of net costs relating to items not considered part of ordinary activities, and which are not included in underlying EBITDA, with further details provided in note 4 of our FY24 financial statement.
As John said, net debt was AUD 8.9 million at 30 June, and that represented a 2.1 increase, which I'll talk to on an upcoming slide. Turning to Slide 11, Skydiving. Our skydiving segment continued its recovery in FY 2024, aided by the return of inbound markets. Growth in segment underlying EBITDA to AUD 7.2 million in FY 2024 was driven by improved volumes and operating leverage. Total segment volumes of approximately 114,000 in FY 2024 represented circa 59% of pre-to-pandemic levels, with Q4 reaching circa 64%. Volume growth was more pronounced in New Zealand, with 61% growth versus PCP, mainly due to the strong return of inbound markets to the Queenstown, Wanaka region since borders reopened. Skydive Australia's volume recovery continued with 14% growth versus PCP.
However, its domestic-international customer volume split is currently similar to FY19 levels, indicating both domestic and inbound markets are lagging FY19 . Pleasingly, average revenue per passenger and photo and video penetration improved in both markets across the year. However, we expect that domestic cost of living pressures are currently having some impact on domestic volumes in Australia, so we continue to monitor pricing closely and implement tactical pricing at times to help drive domestic volumes. Operating efficiency also remains an ongoing priority focus area for skydiving, and whilst operating leverage was evident with rising volumes, we continue to work on initiatives to improve the efficiency of our operations and optimize capacity for changes in demand. Turning to Slide 12, Adventure Experiences. As noted earlier, the adventure experiences remained the largest contributor to group earnings and also achieved earnings growth despite the challenging trading conditions.
Growth in segment underlying EBITDA to AUD 14.1 million in FY24 was driven by a strong performance for Reef Unlimited, despite the impact of Tropical Cyclone Jasper. Reef Unlimited's revenue increased 15% versus PCP, which reflected a combination of volume growth of 7% and average revenue per customer growth of 6%. In part, the average revenue per customer was driven by a strong performance from our Reef Magic Pontoon, which has traded reasonably very well during the second half of the year, and noting that it's the newest and most technology-advanced pontoon on the Great Barrier Reef. Pleasingly, Reef Unlimited saw continued growth in inbound markets, which represented circa 40% of customers in FY24 versus circa 23% in FY23, with further growth anticipated in line with the ongoing recovery of inbound markets.
As can be seen in the bottom right chart, the year for Treetops Adventure was characterized by a stronger first quarter and third quarter performance, and a softer second quarter and fourth quarter performance compared to PCP, with fourth quarter heavily impacted by above average rainfall in New South Wales. Despite this, total volumes increased 2% versus PCP due to a combination of contribution from new sites and resilient volumes at existing sites, despite the heavy rainfall during peak trading periods. Treetops Adventure's average yield per customer remained consistent with PCP, with customer mix having an impact, and despite price increases being implemented during the year. Wild Bush Luxury revenue and volume was down on PCP, as it experienced softer demand from the peak trading experience in FY 2022 post-pandemic.
But we remain optimistic that segment will recover as demand normalizes, given the quality of our Arkaba, Bamurru Plains, and Maria Island experiences. As John will touch on shortly, we've recently seen some green shoots with improved trading in July, particularly for Bamurru Plains. Management's focus remains on addressing Wild Bush Luxury performance, as well as optimizing the Treetops Adventure category, and of course, sustaining the growth for Reef Unlimited. Turning to Slide 13, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow. Our balance sheet remains healthy, with AUD 8.2 million of cash at 30 June 2024. Operating cash flows increased versus PCP, in line with the improved trading performance. We continued to tightly control capital expenditure during the year, with total capital expenditure at a lower level versus PCP.
Key components of capital expenditure include the scheduled aircraft and vessel maintenance activities, ongoing equipment renewal in our skydiving and Treetops Adventures segments, and development CapEx and related deferred consideration for our new Treetops Canberra site. Net financing cash flows in FY 2024 included the refinancing of our corporate debt facilities in December 2023, and additional drawdowns, primarily for organic growth projects in our Treetops Adventures business, such as the new Canberra site, in line with our organic growth strategy. Net debt increased to AUD 8.2, which was- AUD 8.9, sorry, which was in part influenced by the drawdowns for our organic growth projects just mentioned. As we reflect on FY 2024, the December 2023 refinancing of our corporate debt facility represented a key milestone, with its flexibility and undrawn capacity, seeing the group well-positioned to capitalize on rising volumes and growth opportunities. I'll now hand back to John.
Thanks, Gavin. Before we take questions, I'd now like to provide you with a quick look through of the trading update and outlook for the business. Turning firstly to slide 15. Since 2022, our business has invested in organic opportunities across the portfolio, particularly across our Treetops Adventure and Reef Unlimited divisions. Since July of 2022, we have launched three new Treetops sites in Canberra, Cape Tribulation and Taronga Zoo. And despite the weather impacts in North Queensland and a slightly delayed start at Taronga, all have contributed significantly to the portfolio's volumes and earnings during FY24. We are particularly excited about our Canberra site and the broader opportunity that this vertical presents. Up on the Great Barrier Reef, we have focused on two significant projects.
The first being the recalibration and pricing of our Dreamtime Dive and Snorkel experience, which has seen a doubling of volumes during FY24 when compared to FY23. The Remora Pontoon, launched in March of 2022, also experienced strong growth in FY24, with over a 40% increase on volumes on FY23, and it has now become a significant part of the North Queensland business, as well as making great gains in the business events and corporate market on the Great Barrier Reef. Turning now to our final slide of the morning, slide 16. Firstly, to July trading.
The business's performance in July was particularly pleasing, with a significant uplift to PCP in both revenue and underlying earnings, with the business generating AUD 10.6 million in revenue for AUD 1.5 million underlying EBITDA, post the impact of AASB 16 leases. This was primarily driven by the Adventure Experiences segment, in line with the seasonality profile of Skydive, with all three business units within Adventure Experiences of Reef Unlimited, Treetops Adventure and Wild Bush Luxury recording strong earnings for the month. In particular, we were very encouraged by the performance of Wild Bush Luxury, which benefited from a 19% uplift in bookings of premium suites at Bamurru Plains. As you would know, quarter one is always a quieter period for Skydive, and compounded by weather impacts, Australia had a slightly softer month than PCP.
This said, however, New Zealand continued to trade strongly, with volumes up on a PCP basis of 37%, benefiting from good weather and continued strong arrivals into the Queenstown region. As you would also know, in April, our business appointed E&P Capital to undertake a strategic review, which is now underway. As we sit here today, we've been encouraged by the inbound interest received to date. However, we believe that it's premature to provide any further updates at this time, and as advised in April, we will update the market at the appropriate time in accordance with our continuous disclosure obligations. Finally, board and management remain committed to the longer term potential of the business. However, we continue to be mindful that the key sensitivity on the timing of this will be the rate of return of international tourists, as well as the performance of the Australian domestic market.
Our focus, in the meantime, remains on maximizing cost efficiencies, margin improvement, and the minimizing of impact of cost pressures, particularly on our Skydive Australia segment, but also across the broader business. Due to the continued macroeconomic environment, no earnings guidance will be provided for FY25. Thank you again for your time this morning, and Gavin and I look forward to taking your 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 your handset to ask your question. The first question comes from Patrick Cockerill with Boardroom Media. Please go ahead.
Hi, John. Hi, Gavin.
Hi. Hi, Patrick.
Hi.
In regards to the strategic review, is this open-ended, or is there a timeline in mind for when that will come to an end?
I think from where we're sitting, Patrick, as we said in the release, is that we'll update the market when we think it's appropriate to do so. But we don't, you know, we don't foresee that this being a, you know, process in perpetuity. But as I said, we'll update the market when we think it's appropriate.
Awesome. Thank you.
The next question comes from Alan Franklin with Canaccord Genuity.
Good morning, John. Morning, Gavin. Thanks for your time, and good to see that that's a July trading update, and this is a color on the EBITDA print. Wouldn't mind just doing a bit of a walk around of the different businesses, just to sort of understand the operating leverage or the sort of the scope there of moving forward. Just sort of noting, perhaps Adventure experiences to start off with, you know, margins are about 22% at that top line level. Feels like Reef is performing particularly well, helped by yields. Treetops could do a bit better, pending weather. Any sort of takeaways, just in terms of adventure experiences first, in terms of how you're thinking about that business and the sort of operating leverage opportunity standalone?
I mean, I think you summed it up in terms of the summary, and as we said in the earlier part of the call, Alan, we were very pleased with the performance of Reef Unlimited, particularly given, you know, the impacts of weather, and as you've said, we're seeing strong yield at a per passenger basis up there. We're seeing volumes now continuing to grow, and we, you know, certainly from, you know, in July, we saw on a PCP basis a stronger month up there in terms of volumes. And what we've seen is the transition between the international and the domestic market now start to be doing in a more normalized way.
So, you know, in a high-level summary, very happy with that. As you identified, look, we, you know, Treetops has been very consistent. We've still got work to do on that. But again, you know, when you take into consideration that seven of the last eight weekends in Sydney during quarter four were impacted by rainfall, which is, you know, obviously a deterrent with that, with that business, again, we're reasonably okay, but we have some work to do on that. But also, in particular, looking at, you know, how do we increase dwell time? How do we increase more ancillary spend per customer within that business unit?
Then with Wild Bush Luxury, what we saw, and this was something that was consistent across the segment, so that other operators saw also, within Australia, was that it was. It really during that quarter four phase, particularly when Bamurru Plains is usually trading, starting to trade, trading strongly, was that we saw quite an impact on Australians going outbound. And that's particularly for Bamurru market is, was quite important. What we've seen in July was that market, it seems to have reversed.
So that's something that we're watching, and something that, you know, as a management group, we're really focused on, particularly as we come into the start of the walking season in Tasmania and also in Arkaba, which will come to an end in October.
Yeah, helpful. And then probably just a similar line of conversation, just within the skydiving businesses, just noting New Zealand is obviously exiting the period in a pretty, pretty good position, momentum wise. So incrementally, I assume we would be able to see some sort of dollar value, EBITDA, creeping up in New Zealand, as well as sort of some more operating leverage showing through there. And then I guess the big unknown just remains the Aussie skydiving business and how volume-
Yeah.
Volume cuts through.
Yeah, look, it's certainly a tale of two markets. We're seeing, you know, price per customer in New Zealand, in New Zealand dollars, at, you know, sort of over NZD 500. And what we have is, you know, we have some structural differences there in that we are the only operator in the Queenstown region. And as I said earlier in my opening comments, you have a destination in Queenstown, which is now recovered post-2019, and it's doing better than what it was in 2019 as a market. And you've got less of your market there is domestic Kiwis. So you've got some different structural factors playing out.
In Australia, it's, you know, as you can see on the presentation there, that it is still growing in terms of volumes, but it's not growing as quickly as what we have seen or we would like over in New Zealand, and there's a number of factors for that. This business unit has always had a larger number both from a percentage perspective and also an absolute volume perspective of domestic customers. So that's certainly something that's playing out, and if you talk to a lot of our distributors, they are seeing that it is harder at the moment, given the macroeconomic conditions, for experiences that are priced over NZD 150 . So that's certainly where Skydive is.
And we've also had a slower than we would have liked return of that Chinese market. So to give you some context around that, we're probably only sitting, you know, in FY 2024, we're only sort of sitting at about, you know, 40% of where our Chinese volumes were as compared to FY 2019. And so that's something that, you know, those two factors combined have been, you know, significant impacts on that business. That backpacker market has recovered a bit more quickly, so we're sort of sitting around that 70% of where it was in FY 2019. So I guess those factors are playing out in the Australian business.
So that's something that, you know, is the, you know, the key priority for us now is to really get in there and speed up that recovery. And as I said before, really focused on the management of cost in that business unit.
Helpful, thank you. And perhaps just one other question, just around the cash flows. Just to clarify the lease costs, and if there's some moving parts in there, what sort of a normalized lease cost should look like? And any sort of color onto the CapEx intentions, just sort of getting a bit of a feel for where the free cash flow break-even point might be, sort of, you know, implied it might be, because you aren't that far away from it, but sort of mid to high teens just seems to be sort of a free cash flow break point, breakeven point.
Yeah, no, I think that's probably about right. I mean, I think in terms of the lease liabilities within that, if you unpack it, you've got the AASB 16 lease liabilities in there for AUD 3 million, and then the balance was the payout of our historical asset finance leases as part of the refinancing at the start of the year. In terms of capital, look, this year, as I said earlier, the absolute level is lower than where it was last year. We have obviously tried to tightly control our CapEx this year, particularly given you know tropical cyclone in the middle of the year and just seeing how that played out over the second half.
But we would expect it to sort of be in a similar order of magnitude, going forward. We did include CapEx this year. We obviously had the development project with respect to the Canberra site, which is in there and the associated deferred consideration. But, as was sort of mentioned, you know, we continue our plans to continue that ongoing rollout of new sites moving forward. So all in all, it should be of a similar magnitude.
Powerful. Thanks.
The next question comes from Julian Mulcahy with E&P Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi, guys. Just a couple of questions, I'm trying to understand the operating leverage. Can you kind of talk through where sort of average loads per plane is sort of sitting at now and what the capacity is?
Sure. So yeah, I guess, again, just sort of unpacking it, you-- Australia and New Zealand. So if I start with Australia, look, on average, the yield is slightly less than 5. It's probably in the order of, say, 4.7 for the year, and it sort of stayed like that in a similar level, you know, over the course of FY24. I think if you unpack that further, there is certain sites like Wollongong, which are closer towards 7, and they've been trading very well. But across the broader network, there are sites within that that are at a lower level with the average across the network at that sort of approximately 4.7-ish range, which I quoted earlier.
Across in New Zealand, again, it is a slightly different market, and what we've seen is, you know, historically, it's been in the order of, say, seven, and it's getting much closer to that at the moment, and it's been trading really well. In terms of the capacity of planes, look, there are different types of planes, but generally speaking, you've got, you know, we tend to say about nine is probably typically the maximum that you would typically do. You know, but as I say, that's, you know, you don't typically run at nine right throughout the year. That's, you know, the numbers you see are sort of a weighted average across peak, off-peak periods and across the broader network of sites during the year. But that's sort of where we're sort of sitting at the moment.
What would you sort of guess is like the margin on the incremental revenue as you get each new passenger in?
Again, the demand on the-
No, the margin on the incremental revenue.
Yeah, I mean, obviously-
If they're paying 500 bucks to ride, is it how much goes to the instructor, pilot, that sort of thing?
Yeah, look, I think if you back out the sort of the directly attributable variable costs, I mean, it'll be a reasonably sort of high margin incremental customer. Without unpacking the numbers too much, I think it's probably in the order of sort of 40%-50%, I would have thought. But, yeah, I haven't really sort of worked through that level of detail.
Yeah. Cool. And just finally on the tactical pricing, I mean, there's always a risk when you start introducing sort of discounting and everyone just waits for those windows. What's the kind of risk of that in terms of, you know, slowing the recovery in the domestic business if people won't wait for the discount offers to have a go?
I think it largely depends on the customer market that's in that location. Where we've tried some tactical pricing, which, you know, certainly in July, it certainly responded well from a volume perspective, was in places like tropical North Queensland and Airlie Beach and also in Cairns. And we saw, you know, really good responses to those offers. And, you know, certainly we've also, you would see that we have, you know, midweek pricing versus weekend pricing, and that's designed to, I guess, you know, mitigate some of those circumstances that you allude to. It really comes down to the customer group based on the location.
So if you think about North Queensland at the moment, you know, there's very much, you know, high percentage of, you know, backpackers and working holiday makers in that region, whereas your more domestic drop zones like Noosa, you know, certainly Newcastle, you know, they have a different customer profile. So the pricing strategies are different by location.
Cool. Thanks, John.
Thanks.
The next question comes from Billy Bolton with Morgans. Please go ahead.
Hi, John. Hi, Gavin. I'm just interested in if you guys are hearing anything on the grounds in China, about the return of tourists into Australia. Is it sounding positive? You know, is it signs there's gonna be a pickup for the remainder of the year?
Yeah. So certainly, from our perspective, what we've been hearing is that overarchingly still positive, in so far as return to Australia or Australia as a, as a destination. I guess what is some of the feedback has been coming back of late has been that we're still seen as, you know, quite a, quite an expensive destination to not only get to, but also once you're here, which is becoming more of a factor for that market than probably what it was back in, you know, back in 2019. We have also seen that, you know, there's been a lot of Chinese travelers, sort of more short-haul travel than long-haul travel, which is kind of expected as most markets opened up. But I guess it's been a bit more prevalent in the market recovery profile for China.
But the overarching sentiment we're still hearing is positive. In the longer term, it'll just be really how it plays out over the next, you know, 24 months. But I guess the underlying markers of aviation capacity are still pretty positive. We're seeing that, you know, obviously Sydney and Melbourne have recovered to close to, you know, pre-pandemic, capacity. We're now starting to see the Chinese carriers start service into places like Brisbane and Perth, which were, you know, destinations that back in 2019 had regular scheduled services out of, locations like Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai. And we're also seeing the return of, you know, a number of those seasonal services over that Lunar New Year period.
I think on that basis, the fact that the airlines are starting to load more capacity back towards Australia is a positive indicator as well.
Yeah, and I guess touching on that bit, that it's quite viewed as quite an expensive destination. Obviously, the China macro at the moment is pretty tough over there, you know. Have you guys put any thought into, you know, does that upmarket ever recover to pre-COVID levels and what that might mean for the business?
I think it does in the longer term. It will recover to pre-COVID levels, because we've seen in other markets, you know, up in Europe, that the markets do recover eventually. I mean, it's just the timing of that. So I guess that's the way we're thinking about it. We don't think there's any underlying structural issue with the experiences we're offering to that Chinese market. So, you know, they're still showing great appetite for adventure experiences. They're still showing great appetite for, you know, marine-based experiences, whether it's here or in other destinations worldwide. So we don't think structurally there's an issue. It's just more of a timing issue.
But, you know, I guess what I learned from my time at Tourism Australia was that it's a market that can move at scale and move very quickly. So it's, you know, it has that dynamic to it as well, which I think is yet to play out.
No, that's great. Thank you, guys.
Thanks, Billy.
And the next question comes from David Kingston with K Capital. Please go ahead.
Good morning, John. How are you?
Good, David. Yourself?
Always good.
That's good.
Hope you can hear me. I'm up in Singapore. So I'm up in Singapore, but the phone seems to work.
That's good.
Look, John, appreciate some of the challenges. But look, as we all know, the last few years, you've been indicating that you're gonna get back to AUD 40 million EBITDA. Well, you're a long way off that. Obviously concerningly, John, there's effectively zero free cash flow coming out of the business, which obviously is a concern. And the share price is trading at AUD 0.15 compared to equity raisings at somewhere between AUD 0.30 and AUD 0.70 over the last few years. So look, I welcome what the company's doing of a strategic review. I think I mentioned to you a year or two ago, John, that I think the small businesses are a real distraction.
You might, you might notionally book a small profit, but when you take into account head office time, they're a total distraction, and I think you should never have bought into the small businesses. But if we look at the big ones, Reef is obviously going well. As you know, I've got a competitor up there, which makes plenty of money. Good business, makes plenty of money, so that, that's a good one. At Treetops, I think, John, that's a business that individuals, owner-operators that you bought it from, can quite often make more money out of them than you do, being a corporate with overheads, being a listed company, you know, big overheads. And clearly, it's been a very disappointing acquisition, and yet you keep on pouring a lot of money into it.
Skydiving, in my view, is better off owned by individuals, like when Bowie owned it. It made plenty of money. We keep on hearing about the weather issues, but look, they're gonna continue to occur, John, whether it's cyclones in Cairns or you know, bad weather on weekends in Sydney, or you know, weather impacting upon skydiving. But the short fact is that Bowie, when he ran it as an individual and a smaller listed company, he made good money out of skydiving. At the moment, you're not making enough money out of skydiving, 'cause if we really look at it, John, the reef business makes good money, good quality business, but the rest of it is clearly overall losing money at a free cash flow line. Look, I'm not a huge holder, John.
I'm probably about the sixth largest shareholder now, which is a small investment for me, but, you know, I'm just perplexed that the company continues to make excuses and continues to deliver effectively zero free cash flow, which at the end of the day, is the test of me, you know, what free cash flow does it deliver? So look, I welcome the strategic review. I hope it's successful, 'cause I think the current structure of the company is wrong, and I think it needs the catalyst of sales or sale of the whole company to deliver shareholder value.
Apologies for my direct comments, John, but I made a couple of comments a couple of years ago, and you know, the performance continues to be poor, and you know, I just think it from a shareholder value point of view needs to deliver a much better outcome. That's my comment or question. Thanks.
Well, a lot to unpack there, David, so I'll take it as a, as a comment rather than a question. But obviously we're looking at things through the strategic review, which is announced, and obviously that'll go to a lot of the issues that you raised and, you know, which I think is the purpose of the review. So, we'll probably leave that there. Look, I'm sorry, you think they're excuses, but, you know, they have been legitimate impacts on our business.
And, you know, we are, as I said in my, you know, closing comments, looking at a number of things to improve the margins in the operating business, and I don't think anyone sort of here today is sort of running around giving high fives to one another over the performance of the business. We want to do better. We're working hard to do that, and obviously, as the board announced in April, the strategic review is a key part of that. But as always, welcome your comments and feedback and your insights. So thank you.
But John, if you look at the amount of capital raised, I don't have it in front of me, as I said, I'm in Singapore at the moment, but the amount of capital raised over the last three or four years, it's quite substantial. And I think you'd agree, it's embarrassing that the company's delivering virtually zero free cash flow off the capital raised. You know, it's good that you're debt free. I spoke to Bowie recently, and I said, "Well done, Bowie.
I'm glad you raised capital for the acquisitions, because if you'd done it via debt, the company wouldn't be around." But I just think there's a degree of urgency, John, and you know, if you get anything half decent from the strategic review, selling the small businesses or breaking the company up or selling the whole company, I think from a shareholder value point of view, you should take it. I don't think it's a time to be precious and wait for some knockout blow. You know, I think shareholders are suffering, not me. I bought fairly recently at a low price, so I'm not whinging or whining. I'm ahead, but I think a lot of shareholders are suffering and I think the...
You know, every year there's reasons, John, reasons or excuses, take your pick, why the free cash flow is not there and the share price continues to suffer. But I think it's time to bring it ahead and deliver some shareholder value pretty quickly.
Thanks, David. All noted.
Thanks, John.
There are no further questions at this time. I'll now hand back to Mr. O'Sullivan for any closing remarks.
Thank you for your time, and look forward to catching up with you again. Thank you.