Mitchell Services, to deliver their first quarter for FY 2026. Today we have Andrew Elf, CEO, and Greg Switala, CFO, to discuss the risk quarterly. As always, we'll have a Q&A at the end, post their presentation. If you can put any questions in the Q&A, I'll address them at the end. Andrew and Greg, over to you. Thank you.
Thanks very much, Allen, and good morning or good afternoon, everyone, wherever you are. Thanks very much for your interest. We generally keep the presentation part of this very short and then open it up to questions that people may be interested in asking. Just touching on the quarter, pleasingly a nice, clean quarter without any negative impacts outside the company's control, such as weather or issues with client sites, things like that. We got a good clean run to deliver some good numbers, which we did, which is a good, solid start to the year. As we've said to people, you can't just take that first quarter and times it by four. You do have some seasonality impacts over Christmas, New Year, with rigs stopping for Christmas, New Year, and a bit of wet season too. Traditionally, quarter one and quarter four are the best quarters for the company.
It's a good solid start nonetheless, and certainly much improved on the same quarter in the previous year. What we do talk about in the quarterly is just the exposure to commodities by revenue basis for the company. Obviously, we do have an exposure to coal, and fair to say that we've never seen less rigs running in coal, ever, to be honest. Queensland royalty regime certainly does not help that. On the flip side, half the company's revenue does come from gold, and I really don't need to say too much about that. It is firing on all cylinders, and it's starting to get busy in our neck of the woods too. Obviously, we do have a presence all over Australia, but more limited in the West. We're probably more Eastern States centric. Western Australia is probably further ahead of Queensland in regards to gold and demand for rigs.
As we mentioned, we're just starting to see that demand increase here in the East as well, which is quite good for us. All in all, a solid start and some positive tailwinds with gold, and hopefully coal at some stage can start improving. Importantly, we make the point too that we only had sort of 60-something rigs out of 90 running, utilization rate of around about 70%, which means that there is still plenty of leverage in the business to put more rigs out, generate more earnings. Given the nature of the business and the high level of fixed costs we do have, a lot of those additional earnings will drop down to the profit before tax line. Importantly, a solid profit before tax number for us in the first quarter and a good return on capital in that quarter as well.
Obviously, from a cash sort of balance sheet perspective, I think the balance sheet is in the best shape it's been in. There is absolutely a pathway to net cash in this business. There are franking credits in hand again now as a result of that tax payment, and really, some good cash flow generation from here will really give the company some options to assess moving forward in regards to either capital management or other growth opportunities. From a decarbonization perspective, just to round it out before I go out to questions, we closed the transaction with Sumitomo, and fantastic to see them invest into the business. A global Fortune 500 company, effectively investing into a startup, at a value of circa $24 million. Amazing. Certainly already, their relationships and things like that obviously validate what we're doing, but also are going to help us grow that business.
The momentum is continuing to build in that business. As we've said to people, it is early days, it is choppy, it will take time. We can't sit here yet and go, it's going to do this many rigs at this profit or anything like that. It's early days, but the signs are certainly very positive for the business. That's just a bit of a summary of the quarter and a few other things. Al, I'll hand back to you and we'll open it up to some questions.
Fantastic. Thanks, Andrew. First question.
Over the balance of the year, do you expect any material investment required in working capital?
Look, the answer is you just don't know. It probably depends on wins, to be honest. I certainly think the working capital is being managed well and will improve through the last quarter into the half year. Correct me if I'm wrong, Greg. There is a pipeline of opportunities. We tender for those. If we win, there could be a material investment into working capital. An example of that could be, let's say, a five or six-rig underground job. You might spend a few hundred thousand per rig to get them up and out the door. You need $100,000 for a vehicle. There's a whole lot of maintenance style CapEx and a bit of things there, rods, hire the people. Then you've got the debtor that comes on board. That then takes 60 days to wash through.
Something like that could be multiple millions of dollars in maintenance CapEx and then again in working capital. It will depend on wins. Otherwise, no, we should be managed quite well. Greg, I don't think I've got anything else to add to that.
No, I think that's fair to say. Again, sort of new wins aside, FY 2025 was really the year where you saw that increase in working capital, just given those new wins and the location of the sites of those new contracts. You can sort of see in this quarter, the absence of that mobilization activity and new contract wins, the cash flow really normalizing on the basis of no increase in working capital. Again, to the extent that there isn't a big new win coming out of left field, those cash flows should remain strong and without any significant working capital investment required.
Thank you. I guess just to add to that, can you remind me of what your expectations are for CapEx in FY 2026?
I think for the quarter, it was about $3.5 million. Again, noting all those things that Andrew mentioned earlier around what new wins come about and what don't, all things being equal, probably in the order of $15 million or thereabouts is probably a good sustaining business as usual CapEx number based on current utilization levels and current contracts at hand.
Thanks, Greg.
Another question here from Daniel. EBITDA margins were very strong in Q1 at circa 20%. With the strategy to focus on high margin specialist work streams, is the old 15%- 20% EBITDA margin range still the right way to think about the business in normal operating conditions?
Yep. I wouldn't change the thought process. I think a good clean quarter absent of major mobs and D- mobs and no issues on client sites or rain. You always know there's going to be things starting, stopping, things being won, clients changing volumes. It will rain someday. I think, again, that's probably a good assumption to make. If we can get a good run or some specialist work or we do a little bit better, then fantastic. I wouldn't be too, too bullish.
Again, as the cycle changes, if utilization rates increase, demand increases, potentially that leverage in the negotiating relationship moves towards the service providers a little bit, that may help as well. For the time being, I think best just to focus on that.
Got it. Can you provide some more color on Sumitomo 's involvement in Luke and their thinking about the growth strategy of the JV ? Do they have a more aggressive growth plan versus current JV partners?
No, I don't think so. I think that, you know, they're a fantastic business partner. Obviously, a significant amount of due diligence in advance of their investment, hence validating what we're trying to do. I think they share the vision and strategy for the business to move forward together and grow the business the best we can. If you said to me, is that joint venture business where I thought it would be, ahead or behind? I think it's definitely ahead. I think the fact that you've had a Fortune 500 company validate that, invest in it. We've completed the first project successfully, and there's more in the pipeline. Again, it's going to take time, as I've said, and we've just got to be patient. We're doing everything right. It's going well. I think to Sumitomo's credit, they're patient. They're patient. They're a long-term investor.
They're a business partner, and they understand that things will take time. We're all running as fast as we can, but making sure we do everything the right way to make that business a success.
Thanks, Andrew. Question from Glen. How is the work going in PNG ? There's been a lot of setup costs over time. Some of the cash flows or profits, I guess, are still strong.
I certainly think that the team over there is doing a wonderful job and the client's happy. That's the main thing, number one. Number two, it is meeting our expectations in regards to returns, obviously confidential in nature. It is specialist work in a remote location and it's going well. We just have to keep focused there and keep doing a good job. We're happy with how it's going and so is the client.
Excellent. Next question. How are the conditions in the employment market for skilled drillers, given the boom in gold and signs of increasing capital flow to the New Guinea drilling space, especially WA ?
Look, I think at the moment it's okay, but again, that can change. I don't see anything changing between sort of now and the early part of next year, potentially. I think, you know, once you come out of sort of the wet season, maybe sort of March, April, May, you know, it might start changing. We'll wait and see. Obviously, from the time that money is raised to the time it gets into the ground, it takes some time and there's a bit of a gap. I think we're starting to see some of that money now go into drilling tenders and drilling programs. Obviously, WA is a little bit ahead of the East, but certainly, you know, being honest with everybody on the call, you know, what's your major challenge going to be if it really gets going? It's people. You know, it's a people business.
It's a service business. You know, there's no access to overseas skilled drillers under the current schemes that the government has in place. You've got to train your own and make your own. Obviously, we've got a fantastic brand that's been around a long time, and we look after our people and do the right thing. It's a larger drilling company. We've got good clients, good gear. We look after the people with a good culture, so people are certainly willing to come and work for us. You know, we've got good training and things like that, so we're as good as positioned as we can be to work through any challenges that may come from the people side of things.
Thanks, Andrew. Maybe just to add on, some early commentary on utilization rates. A question from Peter: are you able to comment on how you see utilization rates for the remainder of the FY 2026? Is the gold price likely to float through to increase utilization this year or is it more of a delayed effect?
Look, there's certainly some good opportunities coming in the pipeline in the gold space. Obviously, I won't sit here and say who they are or where they are, just, you know, for confidentiality of those clients. You'd like to hope that if we're sitting here, you know, if the gold price is still where it is now at this time next year, you'd like to have more rigs running in gold. I think you've got tailwinds behind you in regards to utilization in gold. Then coal, I think it's going to be flat, but potentially, you know, any normalization in that market, particularly in Queensland, there's obviously an upside on rig count in the coal fields too. We'll wait and see how coal plays out, but certainly gold, I think, you know, hopefully we've got more rigs running as we move forward.
All right, thank you. Another question from Glen. We obviously talk about Tier 1 miners in the percentage of sales. However, with the large number of rigs available, is it time to chase more juniors on the basis of prepaid setup costs?
Yeah, good question. Absolutely. I mean, we do service the whole market, the whole sector, but the Tier 1 's are the foundation of the business through the cycle and is what makes us a sustainable, long-term company. They do represent circa 80% of our revenue, but there's a whole lot of other people that we do work for out there. You know, we're working with Southern Cross in Victoria. We're working with Falcon in Victoria. We're just about to start working with Waratah in New South Wales. Certainly, we will, where we can, try and put the rigs into juniors where we think they're very well- funded or they've got a larger program coming up or the project's looking really good. Somewhere where there's a chance of a sort of multi-year, multi-rig opportunity emerging, rather than sort of one rig for a couple of holes or something like that.
Absolutely, as we'll always try and give preference to our larger long-term customers with rig allocations when the market's busy. They look after us when things aren't so good. We look after them when things are better. Absolutely take advantage of that other space and the work that's around, when you can. We will, best we can.
Got it. My next question, I might have to just rephrase, but will rigs be higher at the end of the quarter into Q2? I guess any movement from period end, and maybe detail as a pipeline. What’s the current number of hours and how many tenders are coming out there? Does that make sense?
Yeah, I can't see material movement in operating rig count in Q2. I think it's going to be there or thereabouts. Certainly, not racing, haven't got a whole lot of rigs racing out the door or anything like that. With the current number out, we're sort of in that low 60s, out of 90. So 70% utilization or a tick under. Again, we sort of said to people traditionally, you're never going to have 100% of your rigs out. If you do, it'll be for a short time. There's always rigs stopping, starting, moving, things like that. The best way to think of it would sort of go, what's 90% of 90? That's a good number to try and aspire to and get a few more rigs out. As far as pipeline goes, there's more coming. There's some larger ones coming for underground, gold, underground copper, underground minerals.
Out of respect for the clients, won't say who they are, but it's well in excess of 20, 30 rigs that are obviously competitive and hard to win. We'll put our best foot forward and see what we can do. Obviously, we've got a number of rigs in hand. They're good rigs. There's no intention to go out and spend growth capital on new rigs if we don't need to. We will if the opportunity arises, if required. Obviously, the focus is to try and use what we've got in hand.
Next question. With the business in a very strong strategic position, how are you thinking about the medium to long-term targets for the business? Where do you see the business in five years' time in terms of rig count and what exposure?
We've got a board strategy session in November with the board, and we'll be talking about some of those sort of medium longer-term targets in more detail. I think obviously just looking at where we have come from, I certainly think the company's done well with strategic acquisitions over the last sort of 10 years, either assets at the bottom of the cycle or earnings accretive, material organic investments, and then the subsequent paydown of debt and the subsequent material returns to shareholders, and the strengthened balance sheet. Really, now is the time to sit down with the board again in November and go, okay, what is that plan for the next five years and how do we see things and where do we want to go, and those sort of things. Then again, coming back to our shareholders and communicating that in the right way.
All right, thanks. This next question probably extends from that, but can you comment on capital management next year if we fall goes well and delivers?
Yeah, I think, clearly where the debt is at the moment, debt repayment is not on the agenda there. In terms of plans, it'll be shareholder returns. We've called out publicly that, you know, that sort of targeted ratio is 75% of NPAT or thereabouts, in the form of shareholder returns. Then it's really going to just be a question of whether that comes in the form of a buyback and a dividend. I can't necessarily answer that on behalf of the board in this call. Fair to say it'll be subject to, you know, factors such as the share price, in terms of that mix, but absolutely shareholder returns to the extent that these sort of NPAT numbers play out and with the balance sheet where it is today.
Thanks, Greg. Last question now from Glen. You mentioned mainly East Coast business as mutuals and a bit about coal drilling. What is the coal drilling topic off? I guess in general, how is drilling activity in Victoria, which has been basically a gold hotspot in the past? Maybe you said comments there.
Look, I think it's, you know, Victoria is certainly improving again, and there's some good, you know, good support down there from the government who certainly could do with more royalties from gold. That's a positive thing as well. I think Southern Cross is an amazing success story, market cap over $1 billion now. Falcon down there as well, some fantastic results. Catalyst is another client. We're working with Catalyst, Falcon, and Southern Cross, as well as Agnico Eagle down there. We've got a very strong presence and profile in that golden triangle, and it is getting busy, absolutely. Certainly New South Wales as well, and Queensland, you know, again, a little bit harder.
Obviously, some of those rigs that are in the coal can transition across into the metals, and so any additional volume in the metals is sort of getting soaked up with rigs coming back out of the coal. It might take a little bit longer for things to get busy, before you really start getting a bit more active in Queensland. All in all, it's heading in the right direction, which is great.
Thank you. Question from Mark. Given the inevitable physicality of drilling, would you consider diversifying into a horizontal or vertical business? If so, what does that look like, I guess?
Yeah, absolutely. Mark, I think, you know, again, we've got plenty of rigs and we know the earnings profile of a drilling business can be choppy and can be cyclical. There is a strong balance sheet. You know, is there an argument to potentially look at something with a higher quality earnings profile funded out of debt, you know, whilst being still conservative with the balance sheet that takes out some of those lumps and bumps, but still provides a good cash return and good return on capital. Again, that's a discussion item with the board in November.
Thanks, Andrew. Probably this last question from Lee. Okay, so I'll give it a shot, you guys. Despite all of the operational and financial progress of the business over recent years, the market has been unwilling to re-rate the value of the company. Do you believe that the markets remain the most appropriate environment for the business? If so, what feedback have you had from investors regarding the evaluation and what needs to be demonstrated to see the business trading along with your peers? Maybe from Bridge Street's perspective, I'll probably take a one-off line, Lee. I could probably talk to you outside the call and maybe arrange a call with management to give you a better insight. Andrew or Greg, did you have any comments or is it best we.
I think just alluding to Mark's previous question, I think investors want to see earnings. You know, investors want to see real N et profit after tax earnings . It has been choppy for us for various reasons, some in our control and some out of our control. I think what we have achieved as a team, teams in the field, clients, the board, is amazing. I think the business really is in a fantastic position now. If the market's the market, we've just got to control what we can control and keep delivering, keep trying to deliver and grow the Net profit after tax. If we can deliver that on a more consistent basis and grow it, I'm sure that the market would recognize that. The market's pretty intelligent, I think.
Maybe just to add to that, you know, Andrew, Greg, I think FY 2023 and FY 2024, you guys had two good years of $40 million. Obviously, recent events, again, are probably out of your control. There's no reason why you guys can't get back to that level. It's probably Bridge Street's viewing from the research perspective.
Yep, that's right, Allen . It's a good team. It's fantastic people. It's excellent equipment. Money's being spent, hard work's being done, balance sheet is strong. Market is starting some tailwinds in the market. Pathway to net cash provides strategic options. Greg's spoken about capital management. It's an exciting time.
Perfect. Yeah, that was the last question, Andrew, Greg. If anyone else has a question, if you don't mind, just get the fingers typing. Otherwise, I'll thank Andrew and Greg for today. Yeah, well done, guys.
All right, thanks to everyone for attending and your questions, and thanks for hosting, Allen . I appreciate it.
Thank you.