Underlying EBIT Delivered at Upper End of Guidance
Group delivered underlying EBIT of $563 million (upper end of January trading update range) demonstrating execution against guidance despite a challenging market.
Hotels: Strong Sales and Earnings Growth
Hotels sales grew 4.4% to $1.2 billion; underlying EBIT grew 5% to $275 million, with EBIT margin expanding 13 basis points to 23.5%. Over 800 new electronic gaming machines (EGMs) installed in H1 and 21 hotel renewals completed; FY24 renewal cohort delivering >20% ROI in year 2 (ahead of 15% target).
Retail: Market Share Gains and Customer Response to Price Reset
Retail sales increased 0.2% to $5.5 billion; combined Dan Murphy's and BWS (ex-specialty) grew 0.7% in H1 and delivered six consecutive months of sales growth to end-February. Dan Murphy's achieved record purchase intent/value-for-money scores and a record sales month in December following a deliberate shelf-price reset.
Fast Online Growth and Omnichannel Momentum
Online sales for Dan Murphy's and BWS grew 35.1% and now represent 11.3% of combined sales (with a strong Q2 uplift noted by management); BWS app reached ~850,000 monthly active users (over 50% millennial/Gen Z).
Material Cost Savings and Strong Cash Generation
endeavourGO delivered $24 million of savings in the half and cumulative program benefits of ~$289–290 million over 4.5 years. Net operating cash flow was $997 million with a cash realization ratio of 165%; net debt decreased by $34 million year-on-year and the group had $1 billion of undrawn debt facilities at balance date.
Capital Allocation and Shareholder Return
Board approved a fully franked interim dividend of $0.108 per share (70% payout ratio of underlying NPAT). Management increased FY26 CapEx guidance to $460–500 million to accelerate hotel renewals and EGM investment, showing active reinvestment into the business.
Customer and Loyalty Engagement Strength
pub+ loyalty now has >600,000 active users accounting for 29% of F&B transactions; Hotels voice-of-customer score 9.1/10; BWS delivered its highest ever e-commerce month in December.