Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. My name is Allen Chan from Bridge Street Capital Partners, and today we are hosting Mitchell Services for their half year result. Today we have with us Andrew Elf, CEO, Greg Switala, CFO, and Nathan Mitchell as Executive Chair. We'll go through the presentation, and at the end, we'll go through Q&A. So if you get to those questions at the bottom, I'll address them at the end. Over to you, Andrew. Thank you.
Thanks very much for the introduction, Allen, and thanks to everyone for your time. I know it's a busy day with a lot of people releasing results today, so we appreciate the interest. We'll take the disclaimer on page two as being read and just move straight to page four, Market Profile. So again, there you can see the market cap. Obviously, that's up a little bit this morning. Nathan, obviously holding 19%+. Dream Challenge is Scott Tumbridge, the founder of the Deepcore business we acquired some time ago now. Obviously, a good insto register for a company of our size and then other, obviously. Just on page five, the business summary, everything heading in the right direction there.
But I think the big thing to note is the bottom middle box in regards to capital management, and we have got Nathan, the chairman, with us today, and I'm sure he'd be happy to take some questions at the end of the presentation regarding capital management and the dividend. So that's a really good thing to see there in the fully franked dividend for the half. Page six, the capital management performance. I think this is a new slide we've put in this time around. I think it paints a wonderful picture of what the business has achieved in recent times.
In that sort of 2022 time, you know, the company said it was gonna put a strategy in place to reduce leverage and maximize cash return to shareholders, you know, and that's exactly what we've done. You know, yes, we had a tough year in 2025 and a lot of those things due to factors outside of our control, but it's a fantastic business with a good team, and it's well and truly bounced back in this half. When you look at what it's achieved over that last handful of years, I think that's quite impressive too. That net debt has gone from AUD 40-something million to negative or zero. Again, a lot of returns to shareholders, AUD 21 million in divs, six in buybacks for AUD 27 million.
So, you know, a lot of cash coming out of this business, and AUD 73 million in capital redeployed over the last four years. And worth bearing in mind, that return to shareholders, in cash is really over, only over the last two and a half years. So I think, we're in a very good position as far as, as the business goes, and that's some impressive numbers. From an overview of the half perspective, again, net cash position for the first time, high quality revenue streams, 80% of our revenue is from the global major miners, and their respective mine sites. Half our work's on the surface, half underground. Gold obviously represents 60% of revenue, and, and again, that's a good exposure to have, given where the market is at at the moment.
Again, as I said, improvement in all financial metrics across the board. Certainly, the level of inquiries is growing, and the demand for rigs is increasing, particularly in regards to gold and copper, and that's fantastic to see. Obviously, coal remains subdued in the first half, but I think in a positive light, there has been some price increases in that market. Green shoots, we're just starting to get some more inquiries. So there's certainly a catalyst, I think, in the future for coal to bounce back as well. So I think all in all, we're looking pretty good from that perspective. Operationally, on page eight, we've said this numerous times and in our quarterly that came out a couple of weeks ago, too. Last year, we had some good wins.
We had to invest in those, wins or projects to get the rigs out the door. They're up, they're out, they're running. We had a good first half with business as usual, improved weather conditions versus the previous year. Anyone that follows NRW would see similar commentary. And, and again, we just had a, a material increase in, in financial performance with a good clean run in that first half, that was, that was really good. And I think the important point on this slide is that we, we delivered these results using only 62 rigs out of the 88 rigs that exist in the fleet, and those rigs, are available for us to deploy into an improving market with increasing demand, where we can improve our, our financials even more.
Lastly, there, obviously, we're very proud of our industry-leading safety culture and performance. We have got a handful of slides in here on the Loop business. This is our decarbonization business. As a result of the Safeguard Mechanism legislation, we partnered with Talisman, Sumitomo, the Japanese majors made an investment as well. Sumitomo's investment valued Loop at AUD 24 million. So, for those following Mitchell, you know, with that cash that it's putting out, the dividend that it's paying, the rigs it's got on the sideline, the market capitalization, where it's currently sitting, it's a bit of a free kick on the decarbonization business option.
We've completed a pilot project successfully last year, and the rig is due to go out again and complete another project in the next couple of months. But importantly, that contract, as I say there under Customer Two, executed for full in-field management of the decarbonization project. So if you turn to the next page about the full service offering, that's what we're providing for this project that's upcoming. We're working from the modeling, gas content, you know, drill planning right through to the drilling in the field, the draining, the gas gathering, and then obviously updating models and other things like that for the clients. So it's an exciting business that really does offer a turnkey solution for clients to manage their greenhouse gas emissions.
And importantly, there's various partners that we can partner with to potentially look at beneficial use and offtake agreements as well. So really the last slide there on Loop is really just talking about what's driving that change, which is the Safeguard Mechanism legislation. I won't go all through it in a great deal of detail here, but if anyone's interested in learning more, certainly reach out to Allen for a one-on-one meeting with management, and we can certainly give you more information on that business. But nonetheless, it's a really big growth opportunity for the business, and I think the fact that you've got a Japanese major invested really shows that they believe that it's got some good opportunities.
Morning, everybody. Turning first to the profit and loss on slide 12. The improvement in earnings in the first half reflects a combination of improved operating conditions and disciplined cost control. EBITDA increased to AUD 21.4 million, up from AUD 12.7 million in the prior. With that flow through evident at every level of the income statement. Net profit after tax was AUD 8.1 million, compared to a small loss in H1 2025. Importantly, too, this outcome was achieved despite a non-cash impairment of approximately AUD 1.4 million relating to equipment that was destroyed by a bushfire in Western Australia in December. Those assets are fully insured.
However, the accounting standards require us to defer the recognition of that insurance recovery until the claim becomes unconditional, which we expect to occur in early second half. Beyond the year-on-year comparison, it's also worth noting the structural improvement relative to earlier periods. Depreciation and interest continue to trend lower, reflecting disciplined capital allocation and balance sheet repair over recent years. Moving to return on invested capital on slide 13. The uplift in earnings has translated directly to a return on invested capital of 27% for the half, compared to a negative return in H1 2025. This is a meaningful outcome and one we focus on closely internally.
When viewed over a longer-term horizon, ROIC has steadily improved from low single digits only a few years ago, to a level that's now well above our cost of capital. This demonstrates that the business is not just more profitable, but structurally more efficient. On the balance sheet, net assets increased by 13.6% over the half, driven essentially by the strong profit outcome. Net working capital reduced by almost 20%, reflecting strong collections and a managed reduction in inventories following the elevated investment in FY 2025. We remain clear on capital discipline. There's no intention to raise equity, and the balance sheet provides flexibility to support both capital management and value accretive growth opportunities. Cash flow performance was certainly a highlight.
Operating cash flow was AUD 20.8 million, almost double that of the prior period, delivering a 97% cash conversion ratio, even after allowing for tax payments. Excluding those tax payments, operating cash generated exceeded EBITDA, reflecting both improved earnings and tighter working capital management. Financing cash outflows remained low, obviously consistent with the reduced debt. Turning to debt, the company closed December in a net cash position of AUD 7.2 million. Gross debt also reduced further during the half, and all interest rates remain fixed at an average or blended cost of capital of about 6.8%.
We retain access to a AUD 15 million undrawn working capital facility, as well as significant headroom under existing finance facilities, which provide flexibility to fund working capital, support growth, and continue to prioritize shareholder returns without necessarily increasing the balance sheet risk along the way. Finally, on capital expenditure, CapEx for the half was largely limited to essential maintenance CapEx spend. The higher investment in prior period was obviously reflective of the transition into those new contracts in FY 2025 that Andrew mentioned earlier. And we remain committed to disciplined capital allocation, with CapEx decisions clearly linked to returns, cash generation, and continued balance sheet strength.
So just looking at the strategy for FY 2026, obviously, you know, it's our intention to, to grow the business, and the returns to, to shareholders, and that's certainly been demonstrated with the, the dividend announced today. We're gonna continue to improve the profitability of the business, capitalizing on the opportunity, that, that exists within the pipeline and some of those tailwinds that exist in the, in the sector at the moment. We've got a strong balance sheet. We've got, rigs available to us, and the leverage that does exist in this business is substantial. There is, there is no doubt, about that whatsoever. Obviously, the capital management will remain a priority, and I'll let Nathan talk about that, in questions.
I'm sure we'll get some questions on that, but we'll certainly allocate, you know, as it's best for the business to do so. So look, in summary, you've got a fantastic brand that's been around for 55 years. High-quality revenue strands, a strong balance sheet, financials improving, tailwinds in the market, strong cash generation, operational leverage, the Loop growth opportunity, and a demonstrated history of performance, generating cash and reducing debt and rewarding shareholders. So I think, you know, the company is in a wonderful position, and I really appreciate all the hard work of our teams that are out in the field to generate what's been a good first half. Al, I'll hand back to you for questions.
Excellent. Thank you, Andrew and Greg. Okay, the first question: Can you please discuss your broader portfolio of rigs, including the condition, useful life, and type of rigs currently not being utilized, and what the pipeline or visibility is like on the increasing utilization levels? 62 out of the field of 90 suggest large potential operating leverage, but when and to what extent could we expect another increase?
Yeah, I think, again, it's a bit like trying to be like Nostradamus. It's a tough one to always talk about. There's always risks of stopping, starting, moving around. But as I say, that things are looking good with the pipeline. The pipeline's strong. You know, we'd like to think that the number of rigs operating at 30 June this year, you know, or shortly thereafter, is higher than the amount running now. You know, that's probably the best thing that we can say. You know, we are covered by Morgans, and they've certainly got some thoughts on what they're saying in that regard, too.
As far as what the rigs are, look, we've sold a lot of rigs that, you know, were sort of old or that sort of thing, and the rigs we've got left are good rigs. They can be used. They will need some maintenance CapEx to get them up, ready, and out the door, and it's a mixture of surface rigs and underground rigs. You know, I think the rig count is fairly evenly split between surface and underground rigs, and that's probably reflected in the rigs that are idle. So it's a. We'll take advantage of any surface or underground opportunities as they come, you know, with those rigs, and, you know, we're in a great spot to do so.
Thanks. So just to add to that, Anglo and Grosvenor, obviously, all the issues we had last year, any visibility, when they may be sort of back in action, I guess?
Look, the client keeps their cards pretty close to their chest and, you know, it's always tough for us to sit here and commentate on the client's operations. But what I can say is that they're actively working towards normalizing operations at both of those sites and, you know, slowly, slowly, they're moving forward and heading in the right direction. And we remain hopeful that, you know, we can partner with a good client on those sites again as operations normalize. So, you know, that combined with some green shoots in the coal and a bit of an increase in coal price, again, it just adds to the story that, okay, gold's looking good, copper's looking good, coal could bounce back, Anglo could bounce back at a couple of sites. All those things bode well for us.
So, you know, we're certainly doing everything we can to support Anglo along the way and hope that goes well for them.
Thank you. The next question. Just trying to put a narrative on FY 2026 versus PCP. Revenue slightly up, but across almost all OpEx line costs, or I guess all OpEx line costs are down. Shoots are up, which suggests you're not charging significantly more. Is this result largely reflecting the ramp-up costs in the prior period?
Thanks, Allen. And thanks, Nick. Essentially, yes, it's a huge part of explaining that variance. Just casting our minds back to FY 2025, that was a softer result for various reasons. Number one, certain contracts reducing in scope for factors outside of the business's control. Now, that certainly came with a ramp-down cost, you know, and included underground coal mines like Grosvenor and Moranbah North that you referred to earlier. In addition to the significant ramp down with those decreases, as we said in FY 2025, we won a number of significant new contracts, often in new jurisdictions, including Northern Territory and PNG, and that came with a significant level of ramp-up.
But we said back in 2025 that we were confident that once those contracts were out, you know, sort of running on a business as usual basis, that the costs would decrease and the margins would increase. And, you know, it's pleasing to sit here in sort of mid-2026 with that being validated, I suppose. So yes, in summary, that's really the answer there.
Thank you, Greg. Next question, from Daniel: Margins were very strong in the half, at 20%. How sustainable is this looking into the second half?
Well, 20% is always our goal. You know, we've always said to people, you know, a rough guide and rule of thumb, 30% gross margin, 10% overhead, 20% EBITDA is a good brewing business. You know, it's obviously difficult to achieve and, you know, we'd like to think we can be there or thereabouts moving forward. You know, again, I'd point people to the, to the Morgans, you know, commentary and, and in their paper and, and have a look at their assumptions. But again, we're in a, we're in a good spot. You know, what can change it? You know, a whole lot of wet weather. You know, we, we don't make any margin when we're on standby for wet weather, so that's going to dilute the percentages.
A big contract win that would potentially require some spending at the start could potentially impact that number, but you would get the benefits down the road. So, at this stage, with the projects that we've got in hand, up, running, operating, you know, there or thereabouts is a reasonable assumption. But again, there's things that could happen that move that.
Part two, can you provide some color on trading conditions, thus so far in January and February for 2026?
Better than usual, better than last year. Certainly, less wet weather. And to Greg's point earlier on, that insurance claim, you know, will come back the other way, as well. So, you know, I think it's been a good solid start through January and February so far, but, again, let's wait and see. We've still got, you know, a little while to go. There's, you know, also the summer down in Victoria where they have standby for fire days or extreme fire days. So we've got to get through that fire season in Victoria and the wet season up north, and then we can sort of, you know, get better visibility going forwards.
Importantly, again, you know, we're disciplined with our pricing and, you know, we're happy to, we're happy to lose, and that's demonstrated by the rig count. You know, there's people out there that do have more rigs running, but they're more aggressive on pricing. So again, you know, less is more, and be patient, and then you've got the rigs up your sleeve to deploy at the right prices, at the right margins for your good clients if they want more too, as well, so yeah.
Question, Thomas, about the dividend, and why it's to be a special and not an ongoing regular dividend. Should we expect another similar dividend second half of 2026?
Well, look, I think that's the, you know, the position for the company or the board at the moment has always been the four different pillars that we run in the company. One is, you know, dividends, the second is buybacks, the third is growth, and the fourth is debt reduction. We're essentially just pulling on each one of those depending on how we see the business at the time. And right now, the business is going exceptionally well. I think, Andrew and Greg, and the executive team, and the whole team have done an excellent job. And Greg's explained that, you know, from the growth from last year going into this year. The second half is looking good, as Andrew just said. I think, it's a great start with regards to the wet weather and clients.
Look, there's more rigs coming on, which is good, which means more deployment. So look, I think we'll see what happens at the end of the six months. As always, if the share price is low, we may consider a buyback. If the margins are great and we've deployed the cash, then we look at a dividend. Again, you know, if the market is continuing to grow into, you know, into a super cycle, then we would deploy capital we're best suited, and that is in the growth. So we're really playing with all four of those, and I think so far the numbers and the results show that we're doing, you know, the right decisions with the capital.
Thank you, Nathan. Our next question: Can you give any color on the Loop business? Maybe talk about the pipeline, gross margins, timeline to scale.
Look, it's a startup. You know, that legislation is relatively new, and the coal mines are only on the ticket in more recent times. We're not going around in presentations yet, going, "It's this many rigs at this much CapEx or this much revenue, or this much EBITDA, or this much return." We're not in that position yet. It's early days. It will take time, but it is very technical, it is very specialized, it is difficult to replicate. I'm not saying it can't be replicated, but it's difficult to replicate. It does have downstream opportunities, so, you know, the margin represents that specialty. You know, so it is, it is a higher margin, you know, type business.
Certainly not going to sit here and say what it is, but, you know, the best way to think about drilling is the harder it is, the more complex it is, the more difficult it is, the more technically advanced it is, the better the margin. And obviously, the more simpler, easier, shallower, more commoditized, the lower. And I'd say that the Loop business, of all the modeling and managing gas, et cetera, is right at the other end. So it is a material number. You know, it really does have the opportunity to turn the dial, you know, even only getting a handful of rigs out, and we certainly think the market is larger than that, but it's too early to sit here and give definitive numbers.
To add to that, getting access to these rigs is always quite easy.
Yeah, we don't see any issues with getting the rigs if we need them for that particular type of work.
Thank you. Question, Daniel. To what extent are decent quality acquisitions available at the right price? And if these are linked to, how much net cash would the company be comfortable holding on the balance sheet at a maximum?
We're always looking for acquisitions, and we always let them go, or we buy the right ones that we think. At the moment, I think the position for the company really is looking at internal growth, but we're always considering external acquisitions. So right now, it's the last couple of years, this probably hasn't been the right thing for acquisitions. It really depends on where the market's going. So at the moment, we're building into the market. If those acquisitions look right and the price right, we'll consider them, but at the moment, there's no acquisitions on the table at the moment, so.
Thanks, Nathan. One from Sam. In terms of dividend payout ratio going forward, what's the board thinking?
I think that's largely been answered to a certain extent, Allen, in the earlier question. It's, it'll be a mix. It'll be across those four pillars. And just depending, you know, depending what those needs are, in a period like this, where there's been a significant level of excess capital, the ratio's been extremely positive, and that may, you know, may change as those things change down the line.
Thank you, Greg. A quick for Mark. This one's for you, Nathan. We'd like you to speak to your thoughts on the shape and strength of the outlook for the Aussie mining cycle and which commodities Mitchells should be targeting. Gold has been extremely buoyant. Mitchells has modest exposure to copper.
Yeah, true, and, you know, I think the acquisition of Deepcore has been excellent for us in Victoria. I think the, you know, obviously, that gold has really taken off. As we all know, it's AUD 5,000 an ounce, and that's really paid dividends right across the board. Look, I think coal is gonna come back at some point. We're already seeing the coal price starting to grow, certainly on the met coal price. Maybe not so much on the thermal, but we did very little thermal, and we do very little thermal. Most of our customers are met coal. I think that, you know, you remember that took a huge chunk of revenue out of our business two years ago, three years ago, something like AUD 70 million.
So that was a massive reduction in our revenue, and we've had to pivot the business and we haven't seen that for... in my, you know, my career, that sort of massive pivot due to those royalties. Normally, coal's been very stable over 50 years, and so it was a big elephant to swallow for the company. And then pivoted, you know, to gold and other metals, and I think we've done an excellent job of that, and then to rewrite the business and go again. But I don't think coal is over. I think there's still life in the picture, met coal business. And so, you know, we still have those rigs and that equipment and that expertise for that business. Commodity-wise, I think gold will continue.
You know, copper, unfortunately, Australia doesn't have a lot of copper, but I still believe there's good copper in Mount Isa and up and around that way. So whether that gets another life is yet to be seen, and whether the Queensland government really gets behind it. So I think, you know, copper's on a massive trajectory. I think everyone would've, in this meeting, would've read the stories around how much copper is needed in the next sort of 18 years. It's more than every bit of gram of copper we've mined in the last, you know, 10,000 years. So I think overall, we're in a pretty good spot with regards to commodities.
It's just making sure that, hopefully, you know, government gives us, you know, some fresh runway. That's probably the biggest issue that's facing all of us, is the issues around red tape, green tape, and all of that. But in spite of that, you know, with commodity prices where they are, businesses continue to find a way through that, and we're seeing that in new mines starting up in Victoria, a lot of new mines starting up in New South Wales, and also obviously Western Australia. So we're not in Western Australia in a big way, but, you know, Western Australia is booming as well. So whether it continues, let's wait and see.
I think that's why we're being quite prudent about what we're deploying in the rig count.
Great. Thanks, Nathan. Another question from Sam, probably more related to pipe line again, Andrew, but any update on current tenders in terms of decisions?
Oh, look, probably can't really sit here and talk to individual contracts, you know, like that. But certainly, it's looking positive, and I can certainly say that I think there's, you know, some good proposals we've got out there that have been well-received. I think that still looking positive on the tender front, that's for sure.
Great. One question from Nick. Back on the Loop services, is there much difference in demand for the Loop in regards to coal versus thermal coal? Do they both attract gas deposits equally?
Oh, look, I think different, different coal deposits have got different levels of gas in them. You know, obviously, it's organic matter that's broken down over time. It all contains gas. It's just how much, depending on, on where it is and who it is. The main thing with Loop is it's talking to, to all major coal producers, across New South Wales and Queensland, met and thermal. You know, if people want us to, to help them, reduce their greenhouse emissions, which is a good thing for the world, we'll help them do it. But certainly the opportunity exists across, the entire market. And some sites are more gassy than others, but yeah, the opportunity exists all over.
Thank you. That's from Greg. From Ben, what split of your revenue is between the various sites of the mining? Is exploration drilling the lion's share of revenue generation, or are your rigs diversified throughout the mine life?
No, through the mine life, I think, you know, it's, yeah, we've put in presentations previously what the sort of mining steps of the mining cycle are, and spoken that our revenue comes from a broad range of steps across. So certainly your true, you know, middle of the bush, greenfield drilling, trying to find a new deposit is a very small part of our business, probably less than 5%. We certainly do have a number of rigs operating with some wonderful explorers that are a little bit more advanced. You know, Southern Cross is onto a fantastic deposit in Victoria, Catalyst in Victoria, you know, Waratah in New South Wales. Not mining yet, but fantastic deposits with multiple rigs operating on those sites to learn more about the deposits.
And then you're obviously from there, you're onto your mine site. And you've got obviously rigs a little bit away from the mine, near mine exploration, and then rigs coming closer in for more of your sort of grade control or body delineation. Obviously, we do a lot of. We do some geotech work as well. You know, we've worked on sort of Sydney Metro, Melbourne Metro, the Snowy Hydro scheme. We've worked on, so some specialist drilling in the geotech space from time to time. We do a lot of mine services work, where we've got large diameter holes for power, air, water, or to drain gas out of mines.
So there's a lot of different types of drilling that we do, that are related to the ongoing operations of those mines, you know, including underground gas drainage in the coal fields, too. So it's a very diversified company by the commodities we work in, you know, the geographies we work in, surface underground, but then also the actual tasks and drilling that we're undertaking on different mines day to day.
Thanks, Andrew. That was the last question so far. If anyone else has another question, I'll give you a minute to type it in. Otherwise, we'll close off. Okay, thank you, everyone. Again, Andrew, any final remarks before we close off?
Thanks for hosting, Allen. Thanks, everyone, for your interest on a busy day. Again, please contact Allen if you're interested in a one-on-ones with management, and we appreciate the interest. Thank you.
Thank you. Thanks, guys. Thank you, Andrew, great.