Redox Limited

Redox Limited

2.06
EUR
+0.10
(+5.10%)
0.11EPS
22.07P/E
1.23BMarket Cap
Feb 24Next Earn

Q2 FY2026 · Earnings Call TranscriptFebruary 19, 2026

Raimond Coneliano

Good morning, and welcome to our half year 2026 results briefing. I'm Raimond Coneliano, CEO and Managing Director of Redox, and presenting with me today is our Chief Financial Officer, [Kim Yap?]

. Moving to slide 2.

Slide 2 outlines the agenda for today. I will open the presentation with some performance highlights before passing to Kim to take you through the financials.

I'll then come back and add some comments on our strategy and outlook. We'll then be happy to finish by taking some Q&A.

Turning straight to slide 4. Against a subdued global demand backdrop, Redox delivered sales growth of 6.6% to $674 million against PCP, driven by recently acquired businesses and, particularly, strong outcomes in our industrial and food segments, as well as North America.

Pleasingly, our gross profit increased 5.9% to $145 million, while gross profit margins remain resilient at 21.5%, which demonstrates the strength of our operating model and cost discipline. Once again, we've included our conversion margin in this highlights package.

This metric is widely used across the industry to demonstrate the impact of cost growth on the financial results. Our 1H 2026 conversion margin of 44.7% benchmarks well against our global industry peers, confirming our competitive cost structure.

Meanwhile, the business continued to generate excellent cash flows, and overall, our net cash position for the half was a healthy $145 million with zero net debt. This position provides us with significant capital to take advantage of strategic M&A opportunities decisively.

On behalf of our shareholders, we produced pro forma earnings per share of 8.3 cents, up 8.9% against PCP, and an after-tax ROIC of 14% in 1H 2026, which increased 0.5 percentage points against PCP. The board was comfortable declaring an interim dividend of 6.5 cents per share, which equates to a payout ratio of 78% of NPAT, within our 60 to 80% target payout range.

Moving to slide 5. Slide 5 provides a more granular look at the drivers of sales revenue during the half and associated impact on gross profit and margins.

Sales outcomes were consistent with what we would expect in the current environment, with acquisitions and market share gains offsetting softer underlying demand. It is worth noting, however, as you look at the charts on the right of the slide, that sales and profit trends remain strongly positive.

In terms of some individual sales segments, industrial sales were particularly strong in the half. The 29% increase in sales was largely due to the strong contribution made by Molecularis, our distributor of transformer oils to the power generation and transmission industry, and to significant customer wins in North America.

While food sales also increased on the back of some new customer conversions and share-of-wallet wins, our human health and nutrition segment declined in the half as demand softened in New Zealand. We were pleased with the resilient margin in the half and expanding sales in North America and product mix being the principal drivers.

Importantly, pricing remained broadly stable, growth was driven by volume, mix, and acquisitions rather than inflation. Turning straight to slide 6.

I've included slide 6 this half just to remind everyone of the breadth of the Redox portfolio. As sales from our recent acquisitions continue to grow, the size and contribution from each segment has shifted slightly from what we provided in FY 2025.

I anticipate that segments will continue to evolve over time as we grow organically and by acquisition, in turn, expanding our SKUs and product range. This breadth is particularly valuable in periods of uneven demand, as softness in one segment is often offset by strength elsewhere.

I'll now pass over to Kim, who will take you through the financials.

Kim Yap

Thank you, Raimond, and good morning, everyone. Turning to slide 8.

This slide sets out some of the key P&L numbers for 1H 2026, comparing them to the performance of the business in 1H 2025. I will walk through some of the key highlights.

As Raimond has already noted, top-line revenue increased 6.6% in the first half, despite subdued demand. Sales growth in North America and our acquired businesses helped to drive growth as product mix improved.

Gross profit rose 5.9% to $145 million. Underlying EBITDA FX increased 4.7% to $65 million, with cost growth remained well-controlled relative to revenue growth.

EPS of 6- 8.3% per share reflected a 8.9% increase on PCP. The return on invested capital increased 0.5 percentage point to 14%, as we redeployed more of our cash to fund acquisitions.

Moving to slide 9. Slide 9 shows the revenue and gross profit in more details.

As we have done previously, we split our total revenue regionally. Australia-New Zealand sales in 1H 2026 were 5% higher than PCP, a solid result given the softer demand conditions in certain segments, particularly hinder New Zealand human health.

Meanwhile, growth momentum in North America improved sharply in 1H 2026, driven by expansion in the new industry sectors and additional active products. Turning to slide 10.

Slide 10 shows the operating costs in more details. Underlying operating expenses increased $6 million in 1H 2026 to $85.8 million, straight-putting volume-driven expenses and increase in administration costs, which were primary staff-related.

The increase in administration costs include $2.4 million of other expenses driven by additional warehouse lease amortization and higher tax and climate reporting and compliance costs. Importantly, when we look at our cost structure relative to our industry peers, we are comfortable that our conversion margin of 44.7% benchmark well.

Moving to slide 11. Slide 11 demonstrates the strength and the financial flexibility of Redox.

Cash flow from operation was strong in the first half, increasing $50.2 million to $62.2. Due to the timing of the incoming shipments result in lower inventory, the free cash flow conversion percentage improved to 91.4%, up from 19.7% in 1H 2025.

While this level of conversion is above our normal range due to timing, it demonstrates the inherent cash-generation nature of the business. Moving to slide 12.

Redox finished the half with a great net cash position, $145 million. This put Redox in an enviable position of having the capacity to grow strongly, both organically and by acquisitions.

Moving to slide 13. As Raimond discussed earlier, our board has declared an interim dividend of 26- for FY 2026 dividend of 6.5 cents, up from 6 cents per share in 1H 2025, and represents a payout of 78% of NPAT, within our stated target policy range of 60 to 80%.

The interim dividend will be paid on March the 25th. I now will pass back to Raimond to cover our strategy and outlook.

Raimond Coneliano

Great. Thanks, Kim.

Turning to slide 14. I hope you can see that despite the relative soft environment, Redox remains in very good shape.

Slide 15. Slide 15 provides a familiar snapshot of some key metrics of our business.

As you may have seen slide 15 previously, I won't dwell too long here, but you'll note that we're a large, successful company with over 8,000 active customers, selling over 5,000 SKUs, partnering with more than a thousand of the globe's finest manufacturers. We're constantly looking for ways to expand our product portfolio and technical expertise and expect to grow these formidable numbers in years to come.

Of course, we're always looking to refine and improve our CRM/ERP system, Redi-Biz, that, in large part, has underpinned the growth and success of Redox. Along with our amazing 200-strong sales team, Redi-Biz is a real key competitive differentiator that underpins our scalability and consistency.

Turning to slide 16. While market conditions remain dynamic, Redox's diversified platform, strong balance sheet, asset-light model, and disciplined approach to M&A position the company to act decisively as opportunities arise.

On that note, I'd like to thank you for your interest in Redox. Kim and I will now be happy to answer questions.

Operator

Thank you. We will now be conducting a question and answer session.

If you would like to ask a question, please press star and the number 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue.

You may press star and the number 2 if you would like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys.

Our first question comes from Vignesh Nair with UBS. You may proceed with your question.

Vignesh Nair

Hi, Raimond and Kim. Kim, can you hear me?

Raimond Coneliano

We can, Vignesh. Nice to hear from you.

Vignesh Nair

Awesome. Likewise.

Just a key question on the US business. Obviously, a standout in terms of this segment here.

Are you able to sort of divulge a little bit in terms of the industry segments of the customers that you've won and also perhaps talk about the repeatability of this performance into the second half?

Raimond Coneliano

Great question. Look, I think something that we've said to investors over the years is that our US business is growing.

It's growing solidly. It's growing well.

It grows in fits and spurts sometimes. That means, because it's less mature, you may have periods of fast growth and then more subdued growth.

It's nothing to sort of celebrate or commiserate about when it goes one way or the other. We've seen a lot of great work being done in industrial area in the US, personal care, food.

It's really broad, and the business, as it matures, will be more predictable. Look, I'm seeing no reason to see that the business is going to keep growing, keep going strongly, and, especially if we can execute some of the M&A opportunities that we're working on, that'll help that business mature even faster and become even more strong and solid into the future.

Vignesh Nair

Is it safe to say the last sort of six weeks of trading suggests that the trends from the first half in the US are sort of continuing in the second half? Oh,

Raimond Coneliano

I'm not going to talk about the last six weeks, but look, just suffice to say that we see a lot of opportunity in the US. What we've got is something really compelling, and customers there are flabbergasted with the sort of products and the access we've got to manufacturers they've never even heard of.

One example is a product that gets used to de-ice airplanes, and we had very large proportion of the Australian market, New Zealand market, but it was a relatively small one, and we've found a huge market in the US for it. Just a few phone calls, a few discussions, very quick contract negotiation, and we had a huge customer win.

That can happen quickly, and it keeps happening. Look, it's an exciting market.

I know why everyone's interested in it, am I. I think there's more big things to come.

Vignesh Nair

Awesome. That's that's good color.

The second one was just around the M&A comments you made as well. Been been a bit of time since the last one.

I suppose two questions. Firstly, what kind of industry segment are you potentially targeting, for for the next acquisition?

Sort of secondly, can we expect something, in the next couple of months, in or should I say in the first half of the calendar year?

Raimond Coneliano

Oh, Vignesh, if only I knew exactly. We have long conversations with owners, in a way.

Really successful M&A requires us, the buyer, to really get to know the culture of a business and really deeply understand its value-add and its positioning. That takes time.

We want sellers to become really comfortable with Redox as well. We don't rush things, and that gives us really good results, I think.

We've got a very full pipeline in the US of M&A, but we're working through them diligently, carefully, in a disciplined way. We're hoping to execute something in the next 12 months, but that's the best I can.

Let's see. You never know how these things go.

Vignesh Nair

Fair enough. That's all for me.

Thank you so much for your time.

Operator

There are no further phone questions at this time. I will now turn the call over to Howard Marks for any questions from our webcast audience.

Howard Marks

Thank you. I do have a few questions.

First from John Lawlor from Ord Minnett. "While prices remained broadly stable in the first half of '26, is there likely to be any increase in the second half as inflation continues to run relatively high rates in most market geographies?"

Raimond Coneliano

Good question, John. I think you've got to think about those basic principles of supply and demand, and our products are no different to any other.

At the moment, you've got a lot of capacity being closed down, month by month is reducing supply to meet the more subdued demand. You've seen a lot of plant closures in Europe especially, but many in Southeast Asia and North Asia as well.

I think that will catch up. Certainly with prices being this stable for this long, I still firmly believe the only way is up for pricing.

I don't believe there's a way for prices to go down lower. Look, I would say there's more pricing pressure upwards from manufacturers than there is pricing pressure downwards.

Howard Marks

Yep. Next question from Christian Angeles from Blue Ocean Equities.

"Hi, Raimond and Kim. Congratulations on a solid result.

I see you have added a number of new sales people since the AGM. Could you touch on where you have allocated that head

Raimond Coneliano

count?" Yeah.

Some came through acquisitions, some through natural growth, and they're spread throughout the company: in the US, in Australia, elsewhere. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but we're always looking to add people to our team.

It's a real growth driver to have people out there telling customers about your company, its products, explaining the technical advantages of using those items in their manufacturing process. Honestly, nothing will replace that.

It's a really important thing we're doing. No, there's more people, but they're very useful, and they're all over the company from Australia to the US and everywhere in between.

Howard Marks

Thank you. Another question from an investor.

"With such a strong balance sheet, why have no recent acquisitions taken place? Is it you haven't found the right business, or are prices too high?"

There's a second prong from that. "Have tariffs been an issue in the USA?

What costs have you seen?"

Raimond Coneliano

Okay. On the first question, I think I kind of answered a little bit before, but where an M&A strategy goes awry is when people are undisciplined, they don't think about sustainability of earnings, they don't see through the sellers' tap dancing and very nice presentations, and I think we're really careful and diligent, and we'd make no apologies for that.

I think we have to make sure that the culture of the business we're buying will gel with ours and that there's a good strategic fit, that there's not value destruction from an overlapping products or customer point of view, especially for the US. That's less of a problem.

Certainly the other issue is, yes, the tariffs have made that harder to do, harder to decipher. You have to do quite a lot of work to work out the competitive positioning of targets in the US, but not impossible, but you just want to be that extra bit careful.

Our approach there is to spend a lot of time talking and understanding a business first, so. The tariffs, generally, have been changing a lot, and we would all seen the news on tariffs.

India got this tariff, and they changed it, and that's all unhelpful. It's not the end of the world.

As you can see, our US business is growing through those difficulties. We're growing despite that.

It makes the job harder because customers are more careful about their ordering when they think that maybe if they wait a little longer, the tariffs will fall or maybe they should try to get around them by buying some of the product from somewhere, this place, that place. It's just unhelpful.

We just hope they're settled, and I think customers and the business community at large would like some surety so they can get on with investing and being more sure about the future. Tariffs unhelpful.

Let's see them calm down, be put in place, be a bit more solid going forward. That would be nice.

Howard Marks

Have another question from Tim McArthur at Asymmetric. "Hi, Raimond and Kim, could you discuss what is working well and areas for improvement within the North American business?"

I've got two more. "Did you expand in the North American regions during the half?

The third one, was the North American growth driven by new customer wins or growing volumes from existing customers?"

Raimond Coneliano

A lot of questions. Tim, first, I think what's working well is where we have done things a little bit differently.

For example, we've hired a local sourcing expert in the US, put that person on our team domestically over there, and she's really doing a great job in talking to all the local domestic manufacturers, and that's giving us another opportunity to sort of engrain ourselves in the local domestic chemical manufacturing and distribution market, which is great. I think what's also working well is transferring wins between different geographies.

For example, a customer who we deal with here in Australia, leveraging that into the US, and that can happen vice versa as well. Also, looking at our product range, and the products are very strong in Australia, and saying, "Well, what are some uses that may not exist in Australia or New Zealand for those products, but they do exist in North America?"

Like I was talking about the de-icing airplanes. No one will be surprised to hear there's not much de-icing of airplanes in Australia, but there is in the US, and that product gets used in a different application here in Australia.

Recognizing that we may have strength in products where we've used up most of the available market here, and concentrating on taking those profitable products and selling them into a new market, that's a great way to use our strength. Expanding geographically, I expect you're mentioning there, our last new office was in New Jersey.

That's still the last office that we've established. I think that's what you were talking about there.

Our wins, whether they're new customers or share of wallet, the answer is a little bit of both. I don't have the exact split, but yeah, it would be a very strong increase in both of those.

Howard Marks

Thank you. Question from Valuemark, Younger.

"How much of the Australian revenue growth of 6% was from acquisitions?"

Raimond Coneliano

Of the total growth, it's about 60/40, organic to inorganic. The majority was organic.

I think Molecularis during the half may have contributed $17 million or something like that.

Howard Marks

Thank you. That's all the questions I have online.

Anything back on the phone?

Operator

No further questions at this time.

Raimond Coneliano

Great. All right, well, thank you, everyone, for joining us.

We'll talk to you soon.

Howard Marks

Thank you.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation. This concludes today's conference.

Please disconnect your lines and have a wonderful day.