Thank you for standing by and welcome to the Heartland Group FY 2024 Half Year Results Conference Call. All participants are in a listen-only mode. Once the presentation is over, you will be invited to ask questions. If you wish to ask a question, you will need to press the star key followed by the number 1 on your telephone keypad. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Jeffrey Greenslade, CEO Heartland Group. Please go ahead.
Thank you, operator. For the call, Jeff Greenslade, kia ora, Heartland. Good morning and welcome. I'm Jeff Greenslade, Chief Executive of the Heartland Group, here to present our first half results for FY 2024. I'm joined here by Chris Flood, who's the Deputy CEO who has oversight of our Australian businesses, Leanne Lazarus, who is the Heartland Bank CEO, and Andrew Dixson, who's the Chief Financial Officer for the group. So picking off on page 5 of the deck, the first half results reflect both some adverse performances, which were largely one-off nature, but alongside that, some very positive performance, which by way of contrast were of a sustainable nature. Starting first with the adverse aspects of the half year, in December we gave a re-forecast to guidance. It's one of the first times we've had to do that.
It was a result of a confluence of mostly unrelated one-off components. I'll just run through the four elements that gave rise to that re-forecast. Firstly, there was the previously signaled impact of costs of the anticipated acquisition of Challenger Bank in Australia. Secondly, in operational sense, there was a slower start of motor finance in New Zealand and in Australia lifestyle finance for economic reasons and climatic reasons, respectively. And we also saw increased competition through the refinancing of the Funding for Lending Programme by the major banks, which contributed to a higher cost of funds, again, flowing through to margin. We also, for a variety of reasons, had some challenges in terms of resourcing our collections activity in motor, which resulted in a subset of the portfolio becoming long-dated in arrears.
In short, not enough phone calls were being made, and the longer customers aren't called, the harder it is to collect. So there's something that Leanne will talk to in more detail. We also had another subset of legacy business loans that had been with us for a long period of time, an area where we're no longer active. Loans that were struggling but viable going into COVID and coming out of COVID, they took a rapid nosedive in terms of either their ability to be collected or recovery values in terms of their assets. So against those last two categories, we've taken a collective provision, and we are still hopeful of working those assets hard, but we are full of prudence to take that collective. Alongside that, we saw quite solid, remarkable growth coming through in a number of areas.
So we saw 18.7% growth in New Zealand reverse mortgages, 20% growth in Australian reverse mortgages, and asset finance in New Zealand up almost 9%. And even motor, which was behind our expectations, did grow by 6.4%, and that was in a market that went back by 12%. So I think it'd be fair to say you'd be hard-pressed to find anywhere in the financial services in New Zealand and Australia that is achieving that sort of growth in the part of the cycle that we're currently going through. In a strategic sense, a lot of our activity was focused on becoming a bank in Australia. It has progressed very well and positively, and we are confident that we are in the final stages.
I know some of you will ask the question, "Why is it taking so long?" But believe it or not, the pace at which we are moving is effectively lightning speed in terms of how these things go. Usually, the timeframe for these things is 2-3 years, and I think we're on track to be sort of just north of a year. So thank you for your patience. It is what it is, and we're working just as hard as we can to expedite it as fast as possible. Chris Flood will cover some of the issues around some of the constructive things we're doing in advance of the license, including Challenger Bank is raising deposits, and that's going very well and indicates that the cost of fund saving that we are going to get through being a bank in Australia is quite substantial.
So the half year demonstrates that the growth story is still part of our future, as evident by the growth rates we're getting in those core areas. We do expect motor and Livestock Australia second half to pick up and do better. And we are also positioned around the margin in terms of economic recovery. As inflation eases and interest rates come down, we'll start to see that margin correct itself. And of course, the scope that Australia offers us is quite substantial, and that's something that we're very keen to hurry on to and start exploiting. Moving to page 6, just going through the results, Andrew Dixson will go through it in more detail. One of the things he will explain is the difference between reported earnings and underlying earnings. Underlying excludes some of the factors I've just referred to, but there are others as well.
So in reported sense, we saw NZD 37.6 million, which was 22.7% down, NZD 52.7 million underlying, which was 3.6% down, reflecting those business performance issues that are referred to in terms of motor, livestock, and margin. While the CTI and the impairment expense ratios were up in an important sense, in an underlying sense, the impairments actually improved by 6 basis points, and OpEx, which is a contributor to the ratio of calculating the CTI, actually went down by NZD 400,000. So reflecting our dedication to efficiencies through digitalization, obviously, the deterioration in the CTI came entirely from the top line. NIM was down at 3.67%, down almost 30 basis points. The main driver of that, there are a number which Andrew will take you through, but the key one really is cost of funds.
As I said, impacted by a number of factors, including the major banks refinancing the Funding for Lending Programme. As I said earlier, as we see the economy improving, as rates come down, that will begin to correct itself. Turning then to page 7, I won't dwell on this page long. I've probably covered all the key points, and Leanne will go through more detail. But really, the message is really good, strong growth in core areas other than motor and livestock, and we believe that there are opportunities to grow in those areas in the second half. The pipelines look good. And the other areas where we underperformed have typically been areas which are no longer strategically important to us. So turning to page 9, even in a tough environment, and it has been a tough year, we've performed pretty well.
Our ambitions remain intact in terms of those aspirations that we articulated when we last reported the earnings plan of NZD 200 million within five years or FY 2028 and a CTI of less than 35%. What we need to do to drive that is to get all of our businesses back up to those historical rates of growth and, as the economy improves, capture that improvement in margin and capitalize and execute in Australia. We have a 41% market share position in reverse mortgage in Australia. Livestock, we're going to emerge from what has been a really tough 18 months for the livestock financing industry as the only provider with a bank cost of funds, and we'll seek to utilize that to our advantage. At this point, I'll hand over to Andrew Dixson, who will take you through the financial results in more detail.
Thank you, Jeff. Good morning, everyone. So I'm on slide 10, which summarizes financial performance and position for the first half of FY 2024. This is presented on both the reported and the underlying basis, which excludes the impacts of significant one-off items. So net profit after tax on a reported basis was NZD 37.6 million for the half, which was a decrease of NZD 11.1 million compared to the prior period. And on an underlying basis, profit was NZD 52.7 million, which was a decrease of NZD 2 million. I'll cover each component of the financial result in subsequent slides, but first wanted to note the key impacts of the NZD 15.1 million difference between reported and underlying impacts. Firstly, other operating income was NZD 2.5 million higher on an underlying basis, and this was due to two matters which partially offset.
Firstly, a NZD 4.3 million loss contributed by the derivatives that were de-designated from their prior hedge accounting relationships in FY 2022. For those that are interested and may ask, how much longer will we see this item in here? We've got about NZD 2.3 million more to go in the second half of FY 2024 and then about NZD 1.3 million in FY 2025 to come through, and that is weighted primarily to the first half of 2025. Secondly, there was a NZD 1.9 million fair value gain recognized on Heartland's equity investment in Harmoney, which was measured at a fair value of AUD 0.49 per share, which was the last traded price of Harmoney shares on the Australian Stock Exchange on the 29th of December 2023.
Secondly, operating expenses were NZD 3 million lower on an underlying basis, and this is primarily due to NZD 2.3 million of transaction and other costs borne in relation to the potential acquisition of an ADI in Australia. An additional NZD 3.3 million of costs directly attributable to applying to become an ADI has been capitalised as an intangible asset. Finally, in terms of adjustments, impaired asset expense was NZD 16 million lower on an underlying basis. Out of prudence, loan provisioning was increased NZD 16 million in December 2023 to proactively provide cover against, firstly, increased arrears in a subset of longer-dated motor finance loans resulting from operational challenges in Heartland's collections and recoveries area, and this is no reflection of any underlying issues with credit quality of the portfolio. Leanne will pick this up in terms of both causes and remediation in more detail later in the presentation.
Secondly, a cohort of legacy loans and segments Heartland no longer lends to where economic conditions have reduced confidence in collectibility. For the remainder of the presentation, I will talk to the result on an underlying basis. Appendix 3 at the back provides further details and a reconciliation between reported and underlying results. Moving to Slide 11, growth and profitability. I'll step through the components which bridge NPAT half on half in terms of 2023 and 2024. Firstly, net interest income. Underlying net interest income was NZD 138.7 million. That decreased by 2 million or 1.4%. This was driven by a 34 basis point reduction in net interest margin to 3.67%, largely offset by NZD 563 million higher average interest earning assets. I'll cover the NIM reduction in some more detail in a subsequent slide.
Since the 30th of June 2023, receivables have grown NZD 144 million, excluding the impacts of changes in FX rates, which is a 4.2% annual growth rate. This will be covered by Leanne and Chris, respectively, later in the presentation. Underlying other operating income was NZD 6.8 million, and this was down NZD 2 million on the prior year. Operating expenses on an underlying basis were NZD 63.5 million, and this was down NZD 0.4 million on the prior comparative period, reflecting continued strong cost discipline. And while the cost to income ratio has increased, this was a function of the reduction in net operating income rather than operating expenses. Finally, underlying impaired asset expense was NZD 8 million, which is down NZD 1.2 million on the prior comparative period.
Underlying impairment continues to perform as expected under current economic conditions, and Heartland's asset quality continues to shift towards loans with lower risk exposures.
Moving to slide 12, net interest margin. So underlying net interest margin decreased 34 basis points to 3.67% during a challenging environment of high interest rates in both New Zealand and Australia. The contraction in NIM was primarily caused by significant increase in cost of funds due to heightened deposit competition in New Zealand, particularly as banks continue to refinance their lending under the Reserve Bank's Funding for Lending Programme. And this was combined with a widening of wholesale margins in both countries. At the same time, individual portfolio yields have been challenged to keep pace, and this has mainly been in three areas. Firstly, as part of the social responsibility underpinning the reverse mortgage product, interest rate increases on reverse mortgages were not passed on as quickly or in full to customers during the period.
This was combined with some regulatory capital relief with the Reserve Bank introducing a lower risk weight of 40% below LVR reverse mortgages. Secondly, Livestock Australia. A sustainable approach was also taken to pricing in the livestock finance market given the underlying market conditions impacting StockCo Australia's borrowers during the half. And finally, in terms of asset finance and motor lending, we've seen prepayment rates in both asset classes continue to lengthen as customers take longer to refinance assets in this high interest rate environment. This has particularly impacted a legacy low margin cohort across both portfolios, which are taking longer to refinance onto current rates. Finally, general portfolio mixes continue to shift toward high-quality assets and a corresponding impact to NIM.
This was amplified by the exceptional growth in reverse mortgages during the period and exacerbated by unfavorable market conditions, which impacted StockCo Australia's growth, which is a higher NIM portfolio. Careful pricing and margin management is in place to balance NIM and growth and is expected to show improvement into FY 2025. As we expect to see, cost-of-funds increases slow as deposit competition eases and wholesale funding spreads stabilize. We expect to see a continued replacement of low margin motor and asset finance loans, and we expect an improvement in market conditions and corresponding growth in StockCo Australia. Moving on to slide 13, cost-to-income ratio. Underlying operating expenses decreased NZD 0.4 million from the prior year with tight FTE management, reducing staff expenses by NZD 2.1 million. This was partially offset by general cost inflation across other operating expense line items.
The underlying cost to income ratio increased 0.93 percentage points to 43.7%, which is a function of the reduction in net operating income half on half rather than any increase in operating expenses. CTI is expected to return to its downward trajectory as NIM improves and asset growth returns in some portfolios. Moving to slide 14, loan provisions. Underlying impairment expense was NZD 8 million, which was down 2.1, sorry, 1.2 million on the prior comparative period. The underlying impairment expense ratio was 23 basis points, which is 6 basis points lower than the prior year. While underlying asset quality continues to show resilience to prevailing economic conditions, a NZD 16 million increase in loan provisions was taken in December 2023 to proactively deal with two portfolios.
Firstly, NZD 5.5 million was applied to legacy business and relationship lending, with NZD 4.5 million applied against specific loans in segments Heartland no longer lends to where economic conditions have reduced confidence in ultimate collectibility, combined with a NZD 1 million general provision cap. Secondly, a NZD 10.5 million increase was made to motor collective provisions to prudently increase coverage against a subset of longer-dated motor arrears stemming from operational challenges in the collections and recoveries area. Moving to slide 15, shareholder return. Underlying return on equity of 10.2% decreased, reflecting high average capital carried following Heartland's equity rise in the first half of FY 2023, combined with lower profitability with a similar impact to earnings per share. A fully imputed interim dividend of NZD 0.04 per share has been declared, reflecting payout ratio consistent with current earnings and does not reflect a change in dividend policy.
A 2% discount will apply to the dividend reinvestment program. Moving to slide 16, funding and liquidity for New Zealand. Heartland Bank increased its borrowings by NZD 217.3 million, which was an increase of 4.6%, an increase to just under NZD 5 billion. Excess liquidity was taken into the half following the NZD 100 million Tier 2 capital issuance of April 2023, enabling a lower requirement for deposit growth at a time of elevated competition. Heartland Bank's motor vehicle securitization program was utilized. Heartland Bank also launched a new Digital Saver product in October 2023, which is gaining good traction. Overall, Heartland Bank holds liquidity well in excess of regulatory minimums and maintains strong regulatory liquidity ratios. Moving to slide 17, Australian funding and liquidity.
Heartland Australia significantly increased liquidity and access to funding during the period, with aggregate reverse mortgage facilities increasing by AUD 200 million and a AUD 105 million medium-term note issuance made in December 2023. A number of initiatives are in the late stages of progress in relation to the potential acquisition of Challenger Bank, which will see maturity dates of all facilities extended and some structural features amended. Moving on to slide 18, capital. Heartland remains well capitalized with Heartland Bank, in particular, retaining a strong capital ratio of 14.07% as at 31 December 2023. This position was elevated at 30 June 2023 following the AUD 100 million Tier 2 issuance in April 2023. So to summarise, despite challenges in some markets, excellent growth in core receivable portfolios has continued. Additional prudent coverage has been taken against legacy portfolios, with underlying asset quality continuing to prove resilient.
Margin is expected to correct as cost of funds pressures ease. The group has a very sound funding liquidity and capital profile, and these factors position Heartland well to meet its FY 2028 ambitions. I'll now hand over to Leanne to cover the New Zealand divisionals.
Good morning. Turning to page 20 and starting off with the New Zealand household portfolio. Reverse mortgages experience strong growth of 18.7%, with accelerated growth expected in the second half of this financial year. The reverse mortgage portfolio has a strong pipeline in place. Debt consolidation, supplementing everyday expenses with additional income, and home renovations are the main reasons for reverse mortgages. In our motor finance portfolio, in a market where total and new used car sales in New Zealand were down 12.2%, Heartland experienced growth of 6.4%.
Pre-election announcements to repeal the Clean Car Discount scheme and the consequent removal of internal combustion engine taxes on new vehicles from the 31st of December of 2023 is believed to have caused consumers to delay new vehicle buying decisions until the 2024 calendar year. We've started to see evidence of this turnaround, with yesterday being one of our biggest performing days of this financial year. Turning to page 21, motor finance and our collections position. Economic conditions did impact more severely on a subset of longer dated arrears, which arose primarily from operational issues, as we've said in the collections area of our bank. This is a resourcing issue where collections efforts were constrained and is being addressed. COVID-19 impacted high levels of employee illness. We experienced increased employee turnover, particularly with experienced collectors. And once the borders opened, a number of our employees embarked on their OE.
In addition to illnesses and turnover, employees within the collections area were also involved in the implementation of the new core banking system, which has now gone live. In essence, there were not enough phone calls being made to our customers in the early stages of their arrears within this subset, which then compounded into longer dated arrears. We are actively addressing resourcing. It will remain a challenge in the short term, particularly as it does take time to train new employees and upscale existing employees for them to become experienced collectors. Concurrently, we have a number of automation activities that are underway, which will create internal efficiencies. Turning to page 22, the reverse mortgage portfolio analytics. This is a portfolio that performs well and is one that we are proud of.
The page highlights key statistics, noting that the average origination LVR is at 9.6% and the weighted average LVR at 22.8%. Turning to page 23, the New Zealand business. I'd like to highlight the asset finance portfolio, having experienced growth in the first half of 8.9% with a good pipeline for growth in the second half. Lower margin loans have taken longer to roll off as customers take longer to refinance assets. We will start to see an improvement in the net interest margin on this portfolio once those loans roll off. Turning to page 24, the New Zealand rural portfolio. Livestock finance receivables for the first half of the year's performance was driven by seasonal fluctuations. Rural relationship saw the continued reduction in receivables as Heartland transitions away from large, complex lending. Turning to page 26 and to conclude the New Zealand divisional summary.
As you can see, strong growth in the reverse mortgage portfolio as well as asset finance portfolio. A pleasing result in the motor finance portfolio in a market where new and used car sales in New Zealand were down. In portfolios where there were decreases in performance, plans are either in place to turn around these in the second half, and a good example of that is livestock financing, or there's been deliberate action on Heartland's part to not actively originate or to run off. A good example of that is the unsecured portfolio. I will now hand over to Chris Flood to talk through the Australian business portfolio.
Thanks, Leanne. Good morning, everyone. I'm on page 28. Jeff and Andrew have both mentioned the money we have spent on setup costs and the process of becoming a bank of Australia.
Principally, the spend's been on people, premises, and advisors, and much of that spend has been one-off nature. It constitutes about 75%-80% of what we expect to spend, so we're a long way through the program, and good progress continues to be made. Jeff also noted Challenger Bank is now growing its deposit base ahead of our acquisition and will continue to do so through and till acquisition. What has been achieved in the 7-week period commencing 8th January is unprecedented in the Challenger Bank context and ahead of Heartland's expectation, both in terms of volume and, importantly, cost, which at 1.34% is below Heartland's current cost of funds in Australia. To get decimal point at the right place, it is 1.34% below Heartland's current cost of funds.
So as you can imagine, I'm very much looking forward to getting access to those funds, not just in terms of the AUD 2 billion of assets we have today in Australia, but also for growth in the reverse mortgage and livestock businesses. Turning now to page 29 and the Australian reverse mortgages. Once again, outstanding growth in the first half at 20%. As the New Zealand borrowers are drawing down funds, the traditional reasons, although in Australia, we are seeing travelers starting to come back into the mix, and that was previously one of the high items. But like New Zealand, funds drawn on a regular basis for supplement income is a growing trend. Pipelines continue to grow, and we expect to maintain this momentum for the foreseeable future.
You will see the portfolio analysis on page 30, which notes conservative LVRs at origination and average weighted basis across the book as well. Turning now to rural on page 31. The first half of the financial year was a very difficult period across the livestock industry and for those who fund it, for reasons outside of anyone's control. That period is now behind us. Rural Australia is largely wet and green in the right places, and importantly, stock prices are now back up above the 10-year average. The December/February period, from a balance sheet perspective, is the low point of the year. However, the pipeline is building quickly. As farmers traditionally buy stock in the autumn, the share will be no exception.
And of course, access to cost of funds at 1.34% below our current cost will support faster organic growth and potentially open up some consolidation opportunities within the industry. Lastly, on page 32, it sets out the current business mix. The Challenger acquisition will change that modestly, and I'm looking forward to standing up a motor business and followed by an asset finance business to add a little more color to this chart. I'll hand back to Jeff. Thank you, Chris, and thank you, Andrew, and Leanne. So just to quickly sum up before we hand over for questions. It has been a tough year in some respects, but it's also been a year showing great resilience and sustainability in terms of the underlying business. So we've had some climatic issues, some economic issues. We've seen some.
The impacts directly and indirectly from COVID and post-COVID have created some setbacks, but they will pass, and what remains is a business with very strong underlying growth. However, we've got a work cut out for us for the remaining part of the year. We need to get that bank license nailed down. That's critical. We continue to grow at those current levels and get a pickup in motor and auto and be positioned for the margin to improve as the economy changes. And also alongside that, we maintain our commitment to digitalization, extracting efficiencies through information in a number of areas, including collections. And finally, I'd just like to confirm guidance at current levels before I hand back for questions. Thank you.
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question over the phone, please press star 1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced.
If you wish to cancel your request, please press star two. If you're on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question. Your first question, it comes from Stephen Hudson from Macquarie Securities. Please go ahead.
Oh, good morning, guys. Just a couple from me. Just in terms of the NIM progression since June, can you give us a feel for how much of that is asset yield versus cost of fund changes? And then secondly, just with the changes next year on the deposit protection legislation in New Zealand, I just wondered if you can give us a feel for how much of your deposits by value are above the 100,000 guaranteed level. I think the system's about 73% above that level, so I'm assuming that you might be that sort of level or even above. Thank you.
The first part of that, Steve.
So in terms of the NIM compression, without putting a percentage weighting, it is largely due to cost of funds pressures, which I outlined in the presentation. It's less so about the asset yields. As to the deposit question.
I'll take the deposit questions. At this point in time, we don't know the specifics of that. We're currently working through what that regulation looks like.
You'd know how many of your deposits are above 100,000, though?
I don't know that. We don't have that.
Thank you.
We don't have that statistic to hand, but we could respond in writing afterwards.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Your next question, it comes from Andrew Hodge from ACC. Please go ahead.
Thanks, Cole. Two questions.
Both are kind of related. For Challenger, you guys have booked a NZD 3.5 million loss, which matches what Challenger has said that they lost in the half just gone. They also said that you guys are responsible for all losses going ahead. Given that the bank has lost about NZD 4.5 million-NZD 8 million a half to sometimes, are we to kind of assume that you guys are not expecting any further losses within guidance? And then my second question is, I guess, kind of tied into that and the cost of funds that you guys commented on. I'm just kind of curious how you're proposing to be able to try and fund the NZD 200 million impact target by FY 2028. Thanks.
I'll take the first part of that. So there's two distinct parts.
So the first part of the NZD 3.5 million loss that you mentioned, that is in relation to the expected impact for FY 2024 with the transaction to complete in this financial year. So obviously, that has not happened yet. That amount has not been booked. The second part of your question around coverage of losses, that is an agreement in relation to the deposit taking that is currently being undertaken, as Chris referenced. That is going to be added to the purchase price, so it's not going to be booked through the profit and loss. It will be seen as an increase in purchase price.
Yeah. I'll pick up the second question. Just want to clarify. You're asking how we're going to fund the book growth to get to NZD 200 million?
Yeah. I guess, is it essentially trying to get to that number?
Is it basically that you're assuming that you can use the cost of funds in Australia, or is it going hard into yeah? Actually, yeah. I'll let you guys kind of talk about it.
Yeah. Yeah. So the NZD 200 million loss is at a group level, and one of the drivers of our expected growth going forward and indeed contributing to things like CTI and ROE is going to be the improved cost of funds that we expect to get out of Australia. So that will be a component of driving the pace at which we get to that number. But in terms of funding, we will remain across the board, both in Australia and New Zealand. Probably, Andrew, around about 80% deposit funded.
Yes. Absolutely. Okay. Thanks.
I guess just as sort of a kind of a slight addendum to that, I mean, when I look at APRA's data for Challenger, it looks as though that household deposits have fallen by about 30% since you guys made the acquisition, and it's entirely been financial and non-financial institutions. Is that, I guess, kind of where we should see you guys seeking funding in Australia?
No. More at the sort of the retail end is where we'd want to be. We don't yeah. We try not yeah. We will attract every now and again a little bit of the small institutional money, but we don't want the sort of concentrations that that brings. So our focus is really going to the masses.
Okay. Thanks, Chris.
Thank you. Your next question comes from Mark Robertson from Forsyth Barr. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thanks, guys.
Just a question on the reverse mortgage side of things in Australia. You've got a market share of 41% now. Where do you sort of view it, or what do you sort of view as a sensible long-term market share that you guys can capture there?
Well, it's a difficult question to answer in terms of market share looking forward. What I know is the opportunity to grow the book is enormous. We've got pipelines that fill. The demographics that we're lending into are asset-rich and cash-poor. And you've still got baby boomers in employment. And typically, we fund somebody in their early 70s. So the opportunity over the next, I'd say, sort of decade is really significant. In terms of market share, look, I would actually welcome more competition in Australia because the real issue we have, Mark, is awareness.
We advertise on television, and one other entity does as well. It is awareness. That awareness is growing, and the product is accepted across Australia, but it's getting to the people at the right time when they need it. One way to look at it is if you look at our history, we've grown market share by about 3%-4% each year, and that's not been driven by competition. It's been driven by us taking a larger share of the new customers coming in. The pie is expanding. At this stage of the game, it's the size of the pie and how fast it is expanding, which is driving growth. We're not really seeing strong competition. There is only one other competitor that we have in the market, Household Capital.
I imagine their share of new business would be quite high, but ours, we believe, would be higher. But that's really what's going to drive market share growth, is just how fast that pie grows.
No, I appreciate that. Thanks for the color. I guess, secondly, the NPAT target for FY 2028, I think it was double the 110 when you announced that your FY 2023 result. What's sort of changed in terms of that NZD 20 million decrease now that you talked to greater than 200 million? Is it the starting point that you guys are at now, or is something fundamental changed further out?
For us, the target is very much aspirational and ambitious to give you an idea of what is possible. So it's not something that we are kind of not like a forecast or guidance. So if it's more than 200 million, then great.
Then we won't be complaining. But that's what we see possible given the factors that I mentioned earlier.
Cool. I guess just one more. In terms of your divvy, obviously, you cut that at the half-year here. Is that a reaction to short-term factors, and can we expect that to grow again pretty quickly, or is this more of a long-term fundamental cut, and we expect a lower base going forward?
It really is a reflection of where we're performing currently because another way to look at it is the payout ratio is very consistent with where we are at the past. And obviously, for the full-year dividend, I can't speak for the board, but I can say that the board will be open to all possibilities depending on how we perform. But there is no change in policy.
Awesome. Thank you.
Thank you.
There are no further questions at this time. I'll now hand back to Mr. Greenslade for closing remarks.
Thank you very much for everyone attending. We appreciate your attendance and your support. We remain available over the next few days for any questions that you have. If you could feed them through to Nicola Foley, we'd be very much grateful. But thank you very much, and have a good day. Kia pai tō rā.
Thank you. That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.