Earnings Call: H1 2026

Aug 24, 2026

Summary

Challenging sector conditions led to lower occupancy and earnings, with a reported net loss after tax of AUD 38.8 million. Operational improvements, cost-saving initiatives, and a conservative balance sheet position the organization for resilience as market conditions evolve.

I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Pejman Okhovat, CEO. Please go ahead. Good morning, and welcome to 2026 half year result call for G8 Education Limited. My name is Pejman Okhovat, and I am the Managing Director and CEO of G8 Education. I am joined today on the line by Group Chief Financial Officer, Steven Becker. Good morning. Steven and I will take you through the investor presentation that was released to the ASX earlier this morning. Following the presentation, we will open the line for Q&A. I would like to begin by acknowledging the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, who are the traditional custodians of the lands on which we are conducting this presentation today. We respect their spiritual leadership and relationship with the country, and we pay respects to the elders, past and present. I extend that respect to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples joining us today. I would also like to acknowledge the G8 Education team, who consistently and tirelessly nurture outcomes for children and support our local communities with the important role they play. This morning we will cover a summary of the 6 months ended June 30, 2026, providing an update on our progress, outlining operating and financial performance for this period, and we will conclude with a brief current trading update and near-term outlook. Beginning on slide 6. Everything we do starts with children. Our purpose to nurture the greatness in every child to grow, thrive, and learn remains the center of every decision we make. That purpose guides us on our focus on safety, quality education, and care, and the important role we play in supporting children, families, and communities across Australia. Despite the challenges facing our sector, we remain committed to investing in the areas that matter most. Our people, our families, our quality outcomes, and our children's safety practices, ensuring we continue to deliver positive outcomes for children every day. Slide 7 now. The first half of 2026 continued to be impacted by challenging sector conditions, with affordability pressures, lower birth rates, supply growth affecting demand across the sector. Group occupancy for the half was 57%. That is 7.5% lower than PCP. Spot occupancy of 61.9% as of week ending Friday, 21st of August 2026, is 5.1% lower than PCP. During this period, we have remained focused on improving the areas within our control. We have continued to improve performance across key operational measures, including team retention, family experience, quality outcomes, and child safety initiatives. Team retention increases to 80%, the highest level it's been in 6 years. Family Net Promoter Score improved by 7 points to 58, and we've continued to invest in safety, quality, and compliance of our network. Our efforts have ensured we remain high level of compliance whilst improving quality outcomes, with more than 97% of our centers now meeting or exceeding the national standards. At the same time, we took decisive actions to strengthen the business. This included the suspension of operations of around 40 centers, the restructure of our support office in June, and ongoing procurement efficiencies, and continued network optimization activities. These initiatives are expected to deliver at least AUD 10 million in annual cost savings. Furthermore, we maintained a conservative balance sheet, stable liquidity, and compliance with all our financial covenants throughout the period. Turning to slide 8. The financial results reflected both a challenging operating environment and actions we have taken to strengthen the long-term sustainability of our business. Lower occupancy continued to impact earnings, resulting in operating revenue of AUD 409.1 million, operating EBIT of AUD 14.7 million, and operating NPAT of AUD 6.7 million for the half. Reported earnings were impacted by non-trading items, particularly impairment expenses associated with the suspension of our operations at 40 centers and other portfolio optimization activities. This resulted in a reported net loss after tax of AUD 38.8 million. We have maintained discipline in managing costs, preserving liquidity and moderate gearing. Now turning to slide 9. We continue to make meaningful progress across our environmental, social, and governance priorities. We strengthened governance through the establishment of a dedicated board safety committee, refreshed our enterprise risk framework, and delivered on our inaugural climate disclosure. From a people perspective, 73% of our center managers appointed were filled through internal promotions, hiring efficiencies improved, and early childhood vacancies reduced by 57%. As mentioned before, family engagement continued to strengthen, with our NPS reaching 58, while network quality improved, as mentioned previously. Progress was made in reduction of the scope 1 and 2 emissions by 18% and waste reduction by 18%. We also continued our partnership with Act for Kids, progressing with our CCTV program trial, reduced emissions, and improved waste reduction, as mentioned earlier. Slide 10. Our balanced scorecard highlights the progress we continue to make in the areas that are directly within our control. Compared with our prior corresponding period, team retention improved by 2 percentage points, family sentiment improved by 7 points, and quality ratings improved across both key measures, and operating disciplines remained strong. While occupancy and earnings continue to be impacted by the broader market dynamics, the continued improvement across our operational measures demonstrates the strength of our strategy and the quality of its underlying business. Slide 11, our team. Our people remain the greatest strength and are fundamental to delivering quality outcomes for children and families. During the half, we continued to strengthen workforce stability, with retention improving to 80% and vacancy levels remaining low across the network. Permanent vacancies reduced by 57% and our hire efficiencies improved, helping us build a more stable workforce. Leadership development continues to be a key focus, with 73% of our managers appointed internally. Importantly, psychological safety improved by 75%, and engagement around our safety first and always value continued to strengthen, reflecting a resilient culture despite significant sector challenges that we are all facing. Slide 12, family experience. We continued to see a strong momentum in family sentiment during the first half. As mentioned, our net promoter score increasing to 58, that is 7 points above same time last year. The continued embedment of our family value proposition is strengthening family engagement across all key measures, particularly in health and safety, quality learning outcomes, and center environment. While affordability remains a significant challenge for families, booking frequencies increased slightly. Inquiries remain lower than last year across the sector. Our marketing activities have ensured we compete well. Slide 13. Quality remains one of G8's core strengths. Today, 97% of our centers are meeting or exceeding the National Quality Standard, which is 6 percentage points above broader sector. Quality area 1 results are also continuing to improve, reflecting on our focus on educational outcomes and continuous improvement. Teacher retention continues to improve and support the delivery of funded preschool programs and strong educational outcomes for children. Safeguarding remains a core priority. During the half, we continued to roll out of the Learn to be Safe with Emmy and Friends program in partnership with Act for Kids, supporting our commitment to Child Safe Organisation and protective behavior education. Slide 14. Demand continues to be impacted by affordability pressures, lower birth rates, and ongoing supply growth and broader economic conditions. As a result, group occupancy for the half was 57%, 7.5% below the prior corresponding period. We are encouraged by the improvement of 2% in our conversion, given the backdrop of lower demand. Net supply into the sector was increased by 2.5% in the latest quarter 2 of 2026, noting this was the lowest quarter of the 10 reported quarters by the authorities. Portfolio optimization activities undertaken during the period have also improved overall occupancy trends since June. Turning to slide 15, improving our occupancy. Our approach is focused on three areas: driving demand, improving execution, and competing effectively in local markets. We have refreshed our marketing approach, increased local marketing activities and community engagement, strengthened our educational proposition, and enhanced the family journey from inquiries through to enrollment. We have also invested in additional area manager support, center-specific growth plans, improved tour quality, and digital booking capability to improve conversion and operational execution. We are constantly monitoring the sector and being diligent in our competitiveness through pricing and flexibility of days and hours, improving our local presence where families are. We are trialing local social media capability for our centers with a rollout planned over the next 2 months across our network. Turning to slide 16. Over the first half, we continued to evolve our operating model to strengthen execution, improve efficiency, and support center performance. We deliberately redirected resources closer to our centers through the redesign of our support office structure, reducing support office headcount by 21%, while increasing area manager capacity to enhance center support, accountability, and performance. Alongside these changes, we've continued investing in the systems and processes that improve productivity and execution. This includes implementing new facilities and maintenance systems, introducing a more efficient payroll platform, simplifying end-to-end processes, and leveraging AI across marketing, operational performance, and administrative activities. Safety and compliance remain our highest priorities. During the half, we delivered more than 118,000 hours of training, expanded our safety leader program, continued center management workshop, and progressed with our CCTV initiative with a pilot commencing in this quarter. Importantly, these initiatives are delivering results. While sector statutory compliance actions doubled compared to the prior corresponding period, G8 reduced the statutory compliance action by 5%. Reportable compliance incidents reduced by approximately 25%, while high-risk compliance incidents reduced by 56%. Slide 17. Maintaining financial resilience remains a key priority. Operating cash flow remained positive and supported continued investment in center improvements, equipment, technology, and safety initiatives. Our cost base remained well-controlled, supported by procurement initiatives, and support of its restructure completed in June. We also continued to optimize the network through divestments, lease exits, and suspension of operation at 40 centers, ensuring capital is directed to the strongest long-term opportunities. Importantly, we maintain a conservative balance sheet, extended one of our debt facilities through to 2029. I will now hand over to Steven to discuss the financial performance in more detail. Good morning and thanks, Pej. On slide 19, we discuss in more details our group financial performance. Group operating revenue was 12% lower than the first half last year, while operating NPAT was down 74% to AUD 6.7 million, largely as a result of the occupancy shortfall to last year. Effective cost management procurement savings helped to mitigate the shortfall in revenue. Underlying network support costs were effectively managed, resulting in decrease versus last year. Finance costs were slightly higher due to higher interest rates and slightly higher debt levels. In terms of our non-operating items, these primarily relate to impairment expenses due to the suspension of operation of 40 centers and our SaaS expenses as a result of the implementation of new systems. Overall, the group reported net loss after tax was AUD 38.8 million. Turning to slide 20 on our center performance. This was down on last year, again, largely as a result of lower bookings and occupancy. Center revenue was 11.5% lower than the first half last year. Employment costs were appropriately managed and have decreased versus H1 2025. This was driven by lower booking volumes. However, wages as a percent of revenue were slightly higher year-on-year. Other expenses were largely in line with lower occupancy levels. Now turning to our balance sheet and capital allocation. The group continues to have moderate leverage and stable liquidity. Operating cash flow, as noted on slide 21, continued to be positive despite difficult operating conditions. This was supported by prudent cost and capital management. During the half, we invested AUD 24.4 million in CapEx and a share buyback of AUD 600,000. Net debt for the group ended at AUD 123.6 million, marginally higher than December 2025. The group continues to maintain a conservative gearing ratio of circa 25% and has moderate leverage levels. In addition, the group has access to a further AUD 40 million of undrawn committed bank debt facilities as and when required. During the half, the group also extended the maturity of one of its AUD 100 million revolving debt facilities from December 2027 to January 2029. Prudent capital and cost management disciplines will continue to be a focus for the group going forward. I will now hand back to Pejman, who will talk through the rest of the presentation. Thank you, Steven. Turning now to current trading on slide 23. Trading conditions remain broadly consistent with those experienced during the first half. Group spot occupancy is currently 61.9%, which is 5.1% lower than PCP. Year-to-date occupancy, as at end of July, was 58%, 7% lower than PCP, showing a small trend improvement since June. Seasonal patterns remain similar to previous years, albeit at the lower levels as experienced across the sector. While inquiries remain below the prior corresponding period, our marketing strategies are yielding better performance on main aggregator platforms compared to the sector average. As mentioned previously, we continue to improve our family engagement through our NPS and our conversion reaching 32%, which is 2% improvement on the prior corresponding period. Our frequency also increasing modestly. Capital allocation remains disciplined. We expect full year capital expenditure of approximately AUD 15 million as previously reported. No interim dividends will be paid and the share buyback program has now concluded. Finally, turning to slide 24, our near-term outlook. Sector dynamics continue to evolve. Government support for the sector continues with the extension of the worker retention payment until 2028, increase in CCS and considerable collaboration to restore confidence in early childhood education and care. Anticipated improvements in birth rates over medium-term will assist with demand. Supply is expected to moderate through lower net new and contraction within the sector as operators exit due to wide-ranging number of factors. As an organization, we are focused on the areas we can control. We have decisively taken actions to adjust to current conditions through key initiatives to reduce non-center-based costs. Improve efficiency, optimizing our network, and extending our banking facilities. Our near-term focus areas are very clear. Continue to improve quality, safety and compliance, which includes focusing on driving exceeding themes. Driving positive engagement with our families, focusing on conversion, and increasing satisfaction. Maintaining above sector team engagement and retention, developing longer term succession and capability growth for sustainability for future growth. Increase occupancy through improved enrollment and transition plans, optimizing our network, managing costs diligently, ensuring no compromise on safety and compliance, and ensuring financial sustainability and performance resilience. Importantly, the progress we have made across our core operations and controllable measures over the recent years has created a stronger and more resilient organization, putting G8 in a good position as sector continues to evolve and improve. I hand back to the moderator for Q&As. Following Q&As, I will close with some closing remarks. Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, you will need to press the star key followed by the number 1 on your telephone keypad. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star 2. If you are on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question. In the interest of time, we do ask that participants limit themselves to asking one question, and to ask further questions to please rejoin the queue. Your first question comes from Tom Tweedie from MA Moelis Australia. Please go ahead. Good morning, team. Thanks for taking my questions. I just had a question around the sort of suspension divestment strategy. If we have a scenario, if this operating conditions and environment goes on for, say, another 12 months, what are your thoughts on potentially flagging or looking at further suspensions? Within this, how difficult is it at the moment to sort of surrender a lease or actually divest the center itself, just given the operating environment? Thanks, Tom. Look, I think in terms of the future, obviously we will just have to assess that as we go, but potentially, we may do that in the future. We can never rule that out. In terms of what we have done with the portfolio, we have obviously suspended them, and obviously we are trying to look to divest those or either surrender those back to the landlord. In terms of buyers, we have had some success. I think we will not give an exact number before the end of the year, but we certainly are very confident that we will divest a number of those centers before December. Certainly not all of them, and certainly also in that package of things that we will do, we will have some lease surrenders as well, where we give those back. Either the lease ends or we come to some arrangement with the landlord on those. But obviously, each of those is a case-by-case proposition, depending where the property is and depending on the lease and those sorts of things. Thank you. And then, sorry, can I just also clarify, you mentioned that inquiry levels remain below PCP. Just want to suggest, is that on a like for like basis, as in excluding the 40 suspended centers or not? The inquiry levels, Tom, that's been reported, that's for the like for like, yes. Great. Thank you. Thank you. Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one and wait for your name to be announced. We will pause a moment for any further questions to register. Your next question comes from Cameron Bell from Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead. Thanks. Morning, guys. Morning, Cam. I may as well ask two questions. I know they said one, but given there is no one in the queue, I will just go straight to it. Firstly, could you talk to that occupancy move in July is pretty material and kind of amplifying its importance for you in the industry at the moment. Can you maybe talk to us why you think there has been this jump in like-for-like occupancy in the last, say, six to eight weeks? Well, as we said in the presentation, if you look at the occupancy curve that we've shown on slide, just give me a moment. On slide 14, the impact of suspending the operation of those 40 centers in June kind of improved the June period. But since then, we've experienced kind of very similar seasonal pattern from that kind of end of June to last week. That pattern, as you've seen in that end of June, we are minus 7.5%, end of July, we are minus 7%, which kind of indicates a trend pattern improvement of 0.5%. That's a combination of those center closures and some of our centers, and some weeks actually our patterns being slightly better than the previous years. Okay. Do you know how much of the contribution in occupancy narrowing is due to the closing of centers? We're estimating at this point, it's somewhere between that 2%-3% is the impact of those centers. Yep. Okay. Is that useful? Yeah, that's roughly it, yeah. It's something that I've been kind of hoping to see across the industry, which is organic and effectively- Yeah, just to overall industry. As you know, Tom, there isn't a lot of industry-wide available information on occupancy. The data points that probably you've come across and we've come across, they are wide-ranging impact across the sector. We're hearing anything from -5%, -6%, to about -15% on previous years. Unfortunately, as you've noticed, we're seeing an increasing number of operators that are actually just closing down as well. So it's wide-ranging. Yeah. That makes sense. And maybe just on your balance sheet. You mentioned your covenants there. Could you maybe just talk to, like any greater detail you can, detail, sorry, you can provide us there, whether or not you're talking to banks about covenant holiday as you refinance these loans, or how close you think you're going to go come February. Could you step us through that? Look, all we've said there, Cam, is obviously we disclose we've got three broad covenants, and we're compliant with those in June, and we expect to be compliant with those going forward. We obviously refinanced our debt with, or sort of rolled the debt, I suppose, is a better way to say it, with Westpac. And we sort of have their full support at the moment. So we don't give the actual number, but we're comfortable in terms of our headrooms at this point. Okay. Tommy, in terms of covenant holidays or- Yeah, there's no way. There were no waivers or anything involved. Yeah, sure. The other part of your debt, you're going to try and extend that in the next few months? Oh, no, there were two tranches, and they both expire at roughly the same time. 29. 29, yep. Yeah. Okay. All right. I think, Cam, you probably better let someone else. Yep. Thank you. Your next question comes from Peter Drew from Carabah Securities. Please go ahead. Oh, morning, guys. A question on the 35 centers that are remaining that have been shuttered. Just wondering what is the sort of approximate WALE on that portfolio? Also, can you give us a guide on the sort of annualized cash costs of holding those centers? Look, we haven't given a disclosure of that, Peter, I suppose. It's probably the WALE on those is probably consistent with most of our portfolio. Some of them have shorter terms, some of them are longer. They all vary. In terms of the cash cost, we haven't given a breakout of that. Probably just to expand on that, as you'll see in our P&L, what we have done is for those remaining centers, you'll still have the cash cost of those leases there. But in terms of the maintenance costs of those, we've taken an onerous lease contract, which basically will absorb any costs of those going forward. Putting aside the lease interest, which will still be amortized, that will go into non-trading going forward. We will have the cash cost of those leases to the extent that we don't divest them or come to some other arrangement. Thanks, Steve. That's helpful. Then just in terms of the cost savings from restructuring. Is it fair to assume that you're starting to see those benefits come through in the first half and you'll sort of see maybe half of what you've called out in the first half? You are correct in that assumption, mate. As we noted, those kind of three big activities that we highlighted, one being the suspension of operation of the 40 centers, the support office restructure, and some of the targeted procurement initiatives that we run. We anticipate that combination of those initiatives will have at least a AUD 10 million annualized impact. We concluded those initiatives fundamentally towards end of June. Therefore, you're right. If you wanted to kind of go, will I see the impact of those in half one of 2027, you are correct. You also got to kind of balance that a little bit of, there's always cost increases that happening around us, particularly around operating environment of compliance and those kind of things, too. Your assumptions, they will roll into half one. Great. Thanks, Pedram. Thanks, Steven. Well done. Thanks, Peter. Cheers, Peter. Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I will now hand back to Pejman Okhovat for any closing remarks. Thank you. Thank you all for attending this result announcement call. I also want to thank all our shareholders and wider stakeholders within the sector. We appreciate your continued support. I would like to thank our team again across the country for their professionalism, commitment, and dedication during what has been a period of significant change across the sector. The progress we continue to make in safety, quality, family experience, and operational performance is only possible because of their passion and professionalism. Every day, they make a meaningful difference in the lives of children and families, and I thank them for the important role they play in delivering our purpose. Thank you again for attending this call. We appreciate your support. The meeting is now closed. Thank you. That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.