Qube Holdings Ltd (ASX: QUB) finished the day up 1.7% after reporting earnings for the period ended 31st December 2018.
Qube is a diversified logistics and infrastructure company founded in 2010 following the acquisition of Kaplan Equity by KFM Diversified Infrastructure and Logistics Fund, which rebranded as Qube Logistics. Qube is comprised of five business units including Ports, Bulk, Logistics, Infrastructure and Property, and Strategic Assets.
Here Are the Four Key Points
- Statutory revenue increased 5% to $837 million
- Statutory EBITDA increased 20.2% to $93.6 million
- Statutory NPAT was up 36.1% to $61.5 million
- Statutory EPS pre-amortisation was up 30.3% to 4.3 cents per share
Analyst Targets
NPAT results were in-line with Bloomberg analyst expectations. The recorded estimate was $61.5 million, exactly the same as the actual result. Dividend targets were 0.28 cents per share, and Qube exceeded this result with an ordinary dividend of 0.28 cps as well as a special dividend of 0.10 cps, both fully franked.
Management Commentary
Qube Managing Director Maurice James was pleased with the result, stating, “This is a very solid first half result which again highlights Qube’s strong market positions and the importance of our diversification strategy.”
Commenting on the difficulties of the period, he said, “Qube was able to deliver very strong earnings growth despite challenges in some parts of the business including declining motor vehicle volumes and the ongoing effect of the drought.”
Looking Ahead
Qube announced that they expect NPATA for 2H19 will be significantly higher than the corresponding period from 2018, but they noted it will likely be lower than the 1H19 result. This is due to an expected slowdown in container volume growth as well as the seasonality of the business.
Qube’s 2019 financial year guidance has not changed with this report, and Qube still expects, “reasonable growth in overall revenue and earnings” from the operating division.
The majority of growth for 1H19 came from the Infrastructure and Property division, with underlying revenue up 10.4%.
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Disclaimer: At the time of writing, Max does not own shares in any of the companies listed.