Southern Cross Electrical Engineering (SXE) H2 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Revenue reached $551.9m for FY24, up 18.8% year-over-year, exceeding guidance.

• Record EBITDA of $40.1m (+5.0%), EBIT of $32.7m (+10.4%), and NPAT of $21.9m (+9.1%) compared to FY23.

• Record cash balance of $84.1m and order book of $720m, both up over 8% and 18% respectively from prior year.

• Final fully franked dividend of 5.0 cps declared, up 25% year-over-year.

• Major contract wins include the Collie Battery Energy Storage System and strong Data Centre pipeline.

Financial highlights

• Infrastructure revenue surged to $233.7m (+65.8%), becoming the largest sector; Commercial at $171.1m, Resources at $147.0m.

• Gross margin was 15.0% (down from 16.4%); overheads as a percentage of revenue improved to 7.8%.

• Record profits for all three Trivantage businesses.

• Remained debt free; franking account balance at $42.8m.

• Bank guarantee and surety bond facilities increased to $150m.

Outlook and guidance

• Anticipates FY25 EBITDA of at least $53m, with further growth expected in FY26 and beyond.

• Strong near-term pipeline in Data Centres and infrastructure, especially in NSW.

• Electrification and decarbonisation trends expected to drive significant future opportunities.