The business behind the dividend
| Measure | NL | Median | Formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | -10.5% | 10.6% | Net income ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Return on capital employed | — | — | Operating income ÷ (equity + total debt) |
| Owner earnings | $-37.92m | $120.90m | Net income + depreciation & amortisation − capital expenditure |
| Free cash flow | $-40.15m | $155.08m | Operating cash flow − capital expenditure |
| Operating margin | 6.7% | 14.3% | Operating income ÷ revenue |
| Net margin | -23.9% | 10.1% | Net income ÷ revenue |
| Debt to equity | — | — | Total debt ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Interest cover | 13.92x | 4.22x | Operating income ÷ interest expense |
| Current ratio | 7.77x | 1.55x | Current assets ÷ current liabilities |
| Long-term debt to working capital | — | — | Long-term debt ÷ (current assets − current liabilities) |
| Cash conversion | — | — | Operating cash flow ÷ net income |
| Accruals | -0.3% | -3.1% | (Net income − operating cash flow) ÷ total assets |
Not computed here: Cash conversion, Debt to equity, Long-term debt to working capital, Return on capital employed — why a blank is not a zero.
Ten years of it
The same measures, for every year the filings support. One year is a fact; a row is a business.
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | -10.5% | 16.9% | -0.6% | 8.9% | 14.1% | 4.7% | 8.5% | -14.4% | 34.6% | 8.6% | 8.5% |
| Operating margin | 6.7% | 26.0% | 8.8% | 8.2% | 7.5% | 2.1% | -1.3% | -51.3% | 1.5% | -0.7% | 2.1% |
| Net margin | -23.9% | 46.1% | -1.4% | 20.3% | 36.4% | 12.8% | 20.8% | -34.7% | — | 14.1% | 14.1% |
| Current ratio | 7.77x | 2.61x | 7.17x | 6.05x | 6.33x | 6.22x | 5.52x | 2.05x | 6.67x | 4.02x | 6.05x |
| Cash conversion | — | 0.38x | — | 0.80x | 0.34x | 1.30x | 1.06x | — | 0.16x | 1.81x | 0.80x |