WiseTech Lifts Dividend, Margin Guidance After 1st Half Profit Rises 5%

By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--WiseTech Global raised its dividend and lifted the top end of its full-year margin guidance range after the logistics software provider's first-half profit rose by 5%.

The ASX-listed company on Wednesday reported an underlying net profit for the six months through December of 128.4 million Australian dollars (US$84.0 million), compared with A$121.8 million a year earlier. Revenue rose by 32% to A$500.4 million.

Including one-off items, statutory profit rose by 8% to A$118.2 million. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose by 23% to A$229.9 million, with an Ebitda margin of 46% beating both market and analysts' expectations.

The average analyst forecast was for A$205 million in Ebitda from revenue of A$496 million, according to data compiled by FactSet. That had implied an Ebitda margin forecast of 41%.

WiseTech maintained its full-year revenue and Ebitda guidance, but lifted the top end of its Ebitda margin guidance on the strong first-half performance. It now sees an annual Ebitda margin of 44-46%, compared with the 44-45% it previously expected.

The board declared an interim dividend of 7.7 Australian cents, compared with 6.6 Australian cents a year earlier.

Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 20, 2024 17:04 ET (22:04 GMT)

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