Daily Brief Australia: Nickel Industries , SenSen Networks and more

Nickel Industries Limited has released sound FY 2023 numbers, driven by a series of capital-raising initiatives that have strengthened the company’s balance sheet. The operating results were satisfactory, with capacity growth and competitive first-quartile cash costs more than offsetting lower nickel prices (down c. 50% in the past year). NIC is also making good progress in the transition away from nickel pig iron (NPI) production to Class 1 nickel production.

Group EBITDA increased 19% y-o-y to USD 403 mn, due to robust production volume growth. Net debt fell to USD 66 mn from USD 415 mn, thanks to material cash proceeds from the capital-raising initiatives. Gross Debt/EBITDA and Net Debt/EBITDA were 2.2x and 0.2x, respectively, at FYE 2023. EBITDA/Interest stood at 5.7x. Liquidity is adequate, with USD 779 mn cash and c. USD 200 mn available credit lines (vs. USD 845 mn total debt).

We continue to expect robust double-digit EBITDA growth of c. 20% in FY 2024 and c. 2x Gross Debt/EBITDA. This will likely be supported by capacity expansion.

In H124 SenSen delivered positive free cash flow for the first time, a key milestone. The group’s Smart Cities focus and standardised business model supported steady top-line progression, as well as strong gross margin expansion and loss reduction. As end-H1 cash was boosted by an annual Australian development grant, we believe reaching positive free cash flow from the group’s core operating assets remains a key target. Below we outline a pathway for SenSen to deliver this target in Q4, underpinned by consistent top-line growth on a lower cost base.