Trifast H2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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Provided by Quartr
July 2, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: Trifast said FY 2026 was a successful first year of its “rebuild” phase, with underlying EBIT up to GBP 16.3 million, EBIT margin improving to 7.8%, and gross margin rising to 30%.
  • Positive Sentiment: The company continued to strengthen the balance sheet, with net debt falling to GBP 16 million, leverage down to 0.75x, and cash conversion remaining strong. Management also raised the full-year dividend to GBP 0.019 per share.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Revenue declined 7.3% to GBP 207 million as the company deliberately exited lower-margin business and faced weaker automotive and EV demand. Management emphasized that lower revenue was a tradeoff for better-quality earnings and a more resilient business mix.
  • Positive Sentiment: Trifast highlighted a meaningful strategic shift toward higher-growth areas, with smart infrastructure now 17% of revenue and medical equipment also growing. The company expects smart infrastructure to become a larger part of the portfolio over time, supported by demand from data centers and infrastructure spending.
  • Positive Sentiment: Management remains confident in delivering double-digit EBIT margins in the medium term and said FY 2027 has started in line with board expectations. They also pointed to a strong pipeline, continued investment in digital transformation through Project Ignite, and selective M&A as potential growth drivers.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Trifast H2 2026
00:00 / 00:00

There are 7 speakers on the call.

Speaker 2

Good morning, everybody, and a warm welcome. Thank you very much for taking your time to join us this morning. Welcome also to those of us that are joining online. My name is Iain Percival. I am the Chief Executive of Trifast plc.

Speaker 3

I am Kate Ferguson, and I am the CFO.

Speaker 2

We are delighted to be able to share with you the results from our FY 2026. Let me talk you through the agenda. I am going to spend a few minutes talking about the highlights of our results for the year, and I will also give a flavor of the strategic progress that we are making. I will then hand over to Kate, who will take us through the financials in more detail, then I will come back and explain how we are transforming Trifast to be that mission-critical embedded partner for our customers, and how importantly we are investing for growth as we look to deliver on the strategy. Of course, finally, I will come back with just a few words on the outlook for FY 2027, then we will open it up for questions. We will start with questions from the room, then we will go online and pick up any that have come in online.

Speaker 2

Now those that have followed Trifast will know that we set out a strategy that was built on three phases, recover, rebuild, and resilience. We delivered our recover phase in FY 2025, FY 2026 represents the first year of that second phase of rebuild. I am delighted with the progress that we have been making. On this slide, I am just showing you some of the strategic shifts and pivots that we are deliberately making as we go through the rebuild phase and execute that strategy. The first message is how we are doubling down on the value propositions of being engineering solution and supply chain simplification-led with our customers, and how importantly, that focus of driving value-based relationships with our customers means that today, around 60% of the revenue we have in Trifast is reliant on one or both of those two core value propositions.

Speaker 2

Secondly, how we are moving our portfolio into higher growth markets and sectors. Higher growth sectors in the shape of smart infrastructure and in the shape of medical equipment, and higher growth markets like North America, India, and parts of Asia. Specifically on smart infrastructure, I am delighted to see that the execution of that strategy is delivering that deliberate portfolio shift, and now smart infrastructure represents 17% of our total revenue, almost double from where we started back in 2024. Finally, on the right-hand side of this chart, you can see how the commercial execution of our strategy continues to deliver with momentum and pace. Another 110 basis points of EBIT margin improvement, driven specifically from a focus on getting good value-based pricing with our customers and managing the costs and competitive costs with our suppliers in the supply chain.

Speaker 2

I am going to come back later and talk about how we are investing behind that commercial engine, how we are investing for growth in those core markets and in those core geographies. Let me then spend a minute just on some of the highlights before. I do not want to steal all of your thunder, Kate. Look, some real strong takeaways from the delivery of our FY 2026. I think seeing gross margins back at 30%, and certainly a significant improvement, you can see there, 170 basis points in the year. Underlying EBIT improved again to GBP 16.3 million, just slightly ahead of market consensus. Again, that EBIT margin showing progression to 7.8%, 110 basis points. Significant progress in all key underlying metrics that we are committed to driving in this business as a result of the efforts and the activities that the team has been making.

Speaker 2

It is great to see that looking forward, and again, I will come back to that later, that we are sitting with the strongest quality and value of pipeline that we have seen since certainly Kate and I started in this business. Now, I wanted to share this chart because it shows how we have been delivering since we set out the progress, how we are delivering on the underlying earnings, the underlying EBIT margin, and generating cash through execution, through that strategic repositioning of our business into those higher growth markets, higher value-based customers, higher growth market segments.

Speaker 2

How that is helping us deliver that underlying EBIT margin and how the commercial execution, the engine that we have built, the engine room of our business that we have built, both in driving profitable top-line growth and driving margin based on value-based pricing using tools like True Profit, how that is delivering on the commitment that we made and why we are confident in delivering that double-digit EBIT margin in the medium term. I think I will say with confidence, and I hope you can see, that we have delivered a successful first year of our rebuild phase with more margin progression and definitely through delivering on that strategic execution. I am going to come back, as I said, later and talk more about how we are investing for growth in our business and how we expect to see that deliver over FY 2027 and beyond.

Speaker 2

I wanted to call out one message on this chart. Obviously, as an industry, we've seen that, unfortunately, we've faced into a war in the Middle East, in Iran. From Trifast's point of view, it has not changed our focus on the long-term growth prospects for the Middle East and our customers, particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Our project that we talked about at the last time that we met is very much on track. We expect to be operational in the Kingdom at the end of this year, servicing our customers in that region with the great quality service and supply chain solutions that we deliver elsewhere around the TR world. No impact. We see it as a profitable, long-term, scalable market.

Speaker 2

Before I hand you over to Kate, I just wanted to take a minute just to recognize the effort that has been made by our teams globally to deliver on that strategy, on the four key strategic initiatives that we set out. Margin management, focused growth, operational efficiency, and organization effectiveness. You can see in this chart that we've delivered significantly in each one of those key levers. Yet, we faced into significantly more challenge from a market in terms of economic backdrop, geopolitical challenge, risk, inflation pressures. The efforts from our team has enabled us to overcome that and deliver in line with the progression on EBIT margin that we committed. I want to thank every single member of the Trifast team globally for what they delivered in FY 2026. With that, let me hand you over to Kate.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Iain, and good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to take you through the FY 2026 financial results. The headline for this year is simple. Revenue was lower, but the quality of the margins and earnings improved, with the balance sheet becoming stronger. Revenue was GBP 207 million, 7.3% down on last year, and that reflects a tougher market, especially in automotive and EV demand. It also reflects the choices we made. We took deliberate action to move away from some lower margin business where the returns were just not good enough. That focus has come through clearly in the numbers. Our gross margin improved 170 basis points to 30%. Our uEBIT improved to GBP 16.3 million, and our uEBIT margin improved to 7.8%. Cash performance was also strong. Net debt reduced to GBP 16 million. Cash conversion remained high, and ROCE improved to 8.5%.

Speaker 3

Leverage reduced to 0.75 times, giving us more flexibility and resilience. Reflecting on that stronger cash generation and confidence in the outlook, we have increased the full-year dividend to GBP 0.019 per share. In short, FY 2026 was a year of lower revenue, but stronger margins, stronger cash generation, and a better financial platform for growth. Got it. Now I'll explain how we delivered that improvement. The important point is that margin progression reflects deliberate actions that we have taken to reshape the business. There are three main drivers. First, the improvement in portfolio and mix. Second, our margin management has become much more disciplined. We have strengthened pricing, delivered procurement savings, and we've repriced or exited lower margin business. Third, our transformation actions are reducing cost and simplifying how we operate.

Speaker 3

Payroll costs reduced by 6%, headcount by 10%, distribution cost reductions have outpaced the decline in revenue. We have built capability through our shared service center in Hungary. We are becoming leaner, more focused, and more commercially disciplined. Reported profit before tax is impacted by separately disclosed items, the main one being Project Ignite. I'll come onto that in a little bit more detail later in this presentation. The message is clear. The underlying performance of the business is improving. The statutory result reflects the cost of accelerating transformation, and that is what we need for the next stage of our growth. Turning to the cash and the balance sheet, the story is that we continue to invest in the business while reducing net debt. Operating cash flow before working capital was GBP 15.9 million, and that includes cash investment in Project Ignite.

Speaker 3

If we look through that, operating cash flow was GBP 21.4 million, which is ahead of last year. Working capital as a percentage of revenue increased, and that is mainly because the inventory and receivables did not reduce as quickly as the revenue decline. Last year also benefited from some higher payables. Our net debt leverage and banking facility headroom continue to give us flexibility to keep investing in transformation, support organic growth, and consider selective acquisitions where they accelerate the strategy. The takeaway is simple. We are investing in the future, but we are doing it with balance sheet discipline. Turning to revenue and EBIT, this slide explains the two sides of our performance. On revenue, the market backdrop remained difficult, with geopolitical uncertainty creating even further cautions towards the end of the year.

Speaker 3

We did, however, benefit from some focused growth, that you can see there, and the sale of excess and obsolete inventory back to customers, which benefited our profit but also helped us clean up our balance sheet. Also, tariff surcharges, which passed through revenue, but were margin neutral. Turning to EBIT, the story is much more positive. Despite the lower revenue, margins improved because of the way that we are running the business. We are seeing benefits from better pricing, better sourcing, stronger inventory discipline, and lower operating costs. Foreign exchange was a headwind earlier in the year, particularly on U.S.-denominated assets in Asia. However, that did not worsen in the second half. The message here is not that the markets have become easier. They have not. The message is that we are becoming more disciplined, more data-led, and more focused on profitable growth.

Speaker 3

Now turning to regional performance, the picture is mixed on revenue, but much clearer on margin quality. The key message is that where we have taken decisive action, EBIT is recovering. The U.K. and Ireland revenue was down around 11%, but with EBIT margin improvement of 290 basis points to 7%. Europe showed a similar pattern, with revenue down 7.5%, but with 230 basis point improvement in EBIT margin to 11%. Asia was the main point of pressure. Revenue was down around 10%, and margins reduced to 11%. The issue here is not only volume, it is also the ability to flex the cost base quickly enough, especially with the competitive pressure from China Auto. We are actively reviewing the footprint and the cost structure in Asia while continuing to build on those resilient segments such as medical equipment. The regional story is clear.

Speaker 3

U.K. and Ireland and Europe are recovering margin. North America is delivering targeted growth. Asia is where we are focused on structural improvement. Turning to end markets, this slide shows one of the most important strategic shifts in the business. Our revenue mix is improving. Automotive is still our largest end market, but it remains under pressure. We are becoming less reliant on it. Smart infrastructure here is the standout. It now represents 17% of group revenue, supported by demand in data centers and infrastructure applications. This is exactly where we want to grow. Medical equipment also grew strongly, although from a smaller base. It is an attractive priority market because it diversifies our portfolio and plays to our engineering and quality strengths.

Speaker 3

Distributors returned to growth. That reflected some recovery in one of our U.K. transactional distributor businesses following last year's warehouse move, as well as support from more stable stainless steel pricing. In other markets, the decline reflects both external pressure and our own choices. We have reduced our exposure to lower margin business, including white goods. The point is not just that the mix has changed, it is that the mix has become more balanced. It's less cyclical and more focused on markets that create end value. This slide here bridges the movement in the profit before tax. I only really want to draw out one point on this slide. That is the impact of Project Ignite on our reported profit before tax, which I touched on right at the beginning.

Speaker 3

Our spend on Project Ignite was around GBP 6 million, as you can see there. This has been expensed, not capitalized, as we would have done in the past. This is because of the accounting treatment for cloud-based and SaaS implementation costs. That affects our reported profit, but it does not change the strategic value of the program. Ignite is a critical investment in better data, better controls, and stronger pricing and improved productivity. The key message is that underlying profitability is improving, but reported profit before tax reflects the cost of accelerating transformation. Our actions reduce the reported profit in the short term, but they support a cleaner and a more efficient platform for future margin progression. The cash bridge here is important because it shows how we funded the transformation while still reducing net debt.

Speaker 3

We said last year that we would use improvements in working capital to fund Project Ignite. We have done that. Working capital generated a strong cash inflow, including GBP 6.4 million reduction in inventory and GBP 1.8 million from receivables. This, though, was offset by higher FY 2025 closing payables. Operating cash flow on a like-for-like basis, if you exclude Ignite, has improved too. Even after this transformation spend, also the FX headwinds that you can see on the bridge, we reduced our net debt to GBP 16 million and maintained our leverage below one. The message is clear. We are investing in transformation, funding it through internally generated cash, and maintaining that balance sheet discipline. Stepping back, the final finance slide. This brings the story together. The business is becoming more disciplined, more cash generative, and better positioned for sustainable growth.

Speaker 3

That gives us confidence that our progress towards our 10% plus margin target is not dependent on cyclical recovery, but driven by how we run the business. We have used self-help levers to manage the difficult market, but the bigger point is that we have made structural improvements. We have improved the cost base, strengthened commercial discipline, we have simplified parts of the operating model. Those actions are already coming through in the stronger margins. At the same time, we have strengthened the balance sheet, we are generating cash, managing working capital carefully and keeping leverage low. We still have transformation work to complete, especially around systems, process efficiency and scaling the platform. That work will further support our margin journey. The stronger cash position also gives us choices.

Speaker 3

It supports that progressive dividend, continued improvement in organic growth, the ability to consider selective bolt-on acquisitions where they strengthen the business. The closing message is simple. Trifast is becoming leaner, more focused and more resilient, with a stronger platform for profitable growth and better returns over time. Thank you. I'll pass back to Iain.

Speaker 2

Great. Thanks, Kate. Trifast has a long history of servicing the world's leading engineered products and assemblers. We're very proud of that heritage that we have. We service those customers and have a reputation in the market for great quality, great service and great support, great customer focus. What we've been doing is building on that foundation and moving higher up the value chain by using our engineering solutions led capability and increasingly focusing on how we drive and work with our customers on removing the complexity out of the fastener and C-class component supply chain. Why is that important? Well, I think this graphic is quite nice to illustrate what's going on in the world of fasteners and C-class component supply chain.

Speaker 2

Actually, when you look at the costs involved, only around 15% of the total cost of ownership for a customer is related to the component cost itself. The vast majority of the cost is actually associated with managing the complexity of the supply chain. Often fasteners and C-class components can represent 40%, 50%, 60% of the SKU count in an engineered assembly, but of course, only represent a few percent of the total value. Our customers want to use their engineering, their supply chain, their procurement time on managing the higher value added parts within their assembly. That's why they turn to trusted partners like Trifast to be that mission critical embedded supply chain solutions partner. Now that we've explained a little bit about the supply chain solutions, let's turn our attention to how we've been investing in this business for growth.

Speaker 2

I've got a few examples that I wanted to talk through, the first one plays very much to that core value proposition of being that integrated supply chain solutions partner. We've been investing in both technology and in capability as we seek to help our customers use different solutions. We work really closely with our customers to define what their specific needs are and how we can best service those needs with the right supply chain solution. Again, moving further up the value chain, creating an embedded relationship, a trusted relationship where we can deliver value for our customers. We're one of only very few global partners that our customers can turn to, when it comes to having engineering and manufacturing capability, there are even fewer. This is a critical differentiator in our world.

Speaker 2

The next area that we've been investing for growth that I wanted to stress is this pivot that we're actively making away from being an auto components type supplier into this solutions partner with a much broader portfolio, in this case, in smart infrastructure. I used this slide at the last meeting, I thought it's important to remind us because we read it every day, don't we? That AI and data center growth is booming, that's what we're playing into. It's not only about data centers, it's about the wider infrastructure investment that our customers are making into power, water, lighting, data connectivity, HVAC solutions. We know only that too well, don't we, here in the U.K. How we wish some of us had HVAC at home, we don't. This is a significant growth sector for us, driven by some pretty strong fundamental underlying drivers.

Speaker 2

As I mentioned earlier, it's great to see that our business has been able to grow almost twice since we set out this strategy, this part represents 17% now of our total portfolio. We expect to drive this portfolio share further as we look out to the mid to long term with an ambition of reaching 30% of our total portfolio. I wanted to share this quote because I think it plays very much to that supply chain and engineering solution value that we bring. This is a quote from a chief engineer of one of our North American smart infrastructure customers who had participated along with all of his engineering, procurement, and supply chain team in a tech day that we ran at their facility with our engineering and supply chain teams.

Speaker 2

What he said is, "Look," this was to his team, "for anything fastener or C-part related, you need to use these guys in TR. They're the specialists. We haven't got time to be focused on that part of our bill of materials. We need to be focused on supporting our growth." Just like many customers that we talk to, that is exactly their focus. They've got significant order backlogs and order books that they need to focus on how to convert and deliver. We are their trusted partner to be able to support them deliver that focus and take that complexity out of their bill of materials, out of their supply chain. Very exciting, good example of how we're driving and delivering value for customers in smart infrastructure. The next example is about how we're investing in growth markets.

Speaker 2

In this case, I choose India as a great example. I was there a few months ago. We have been investing heavily into India. We started with implementing, as Kate was talking about, Project Ignite, our Microsoft D365 platform, giving the team in India, for the first time, a scalable, capable data-driven platform with standardized processes, access to the group support structure that allows them as a team to have confidence to scale their business. We invested in the sales team in India to be able to go out and then start to sell our capability in engineering and supply chain solutions. What we're seeing is really encouraging. In the first quarter of this year alone, 90% growth.

Speaker 2

Yes, it's from a low base, but it's a good signal when we look at that growth already and the pipeline of great opportunities in smart infrastructure, in medical equipment with both multinational MNCs that are embedded in India and growing, but also with Indian MNCs. That market, as we all I think know, is the world's fastest growing industrial market. A very exciting opportunity. We're making further investment into this market. We'll be moving to a larger distribution center to be able to support our customers with growth. That center will also house innovation and customer experience center because we want to engage with our customers and bring the value propositions of Trifast into that market. Beyond our own organic growth, we see opportunity for bolt-on acquisitions to give us geographic or capability expansion within India. As I said, it's a huge market, huge opportunity.

Speaker 2

We're only just getting going, but we can see the excitement and the opportunity for us. Both Kate and I have talked about Project Ignite. This is our investment in technology, in digital, in us becoming a more digitally enabled business. It's already, as I just shared with the example in India, we're seeing the benefits from Project Ignite. Historically, of course, we have invested in Microsoft D365, and I wanted to remind us of why this technology platform is helping us deliver the EBIT margin, the earnings growth, the cash generation that we're delivering year after year after year. It helped us consolidate our U.K. operations and deliver operational savings as a result.

Speaker 2

It's helped us create that commercial engine with data that we can use tools like True Profit to understand the total cost to serve, to pinpoint specific underperforming contracts or underperforming components and address them with a laser focus with customers to drive margin management. It's allowed us to drive inventory improvement, working capital improvement that we've seen every year after year, reducing the amount of inventory that we hold, generating cash that, as Kate said, we're using to reinvest into the business. Part of our digital investment strategy will go beyond D365. Lots of opportunity as we seek to become a digitally enabled, a digitally connected business across the supply chain.

Speaker 2

Let me then move to the outlook. I think to start with, just to reiterate that FY 2027 as we enter this year, is carrying the momentum that we've been building over the last two years. I showed you earlier the benefits that we're getting in all four strategic levers. We're confident that the strategy that we've put in place and that we've been executing is going to continue to deliver further progress in FY 2027. We see further opportunity for earnings growth, margin improvement, cash generation. Importantly, building on the pipeline of profitable growth that we're now seeing in higher and more scalable markets, both geographic and end market sectors like smart infrastructure, medical equipment, a return to profitable top-line growth. We're very excited about what FY 2027 can bring. I can say that our start of the year is in line with the board's expectations.

Speaker 2

I wanted, before we move to Q&A, just wanted to leave you with three key messages. Firstly, we've delivered a successful FY 2026, generating further earnings, margins, and cash generation. Secondly, the strategic pivots and the strategic execution that we're making is driving us into higher growth market, higher growth sectors. We're investing into that as part of our business strategy. Third, and perhaps most important, we're on track and confident to hit the double-digit margin commitment that we made for the medium term. Thank you very much. With that, let's open it up to questions from the floor. We'll start with questions in the room, and then we'll take questions online. Henry?

Speaker 1

Morning. Morning. It's Henry Carver from Singer. Just a couple from me. Reflecting on 2027, actually, FY 2027, just any kind of thoughts around Q1 in terms of numbers. Can you give us any idea of volume and pricing in Q1 as that's progressed? Also just anything that's in the pipeline that you talk about that give us an idea of the quality, the improving quality going forward. Any sort of color you can add would be great. Thanks.

Speaker 2

Sure. I think we always expected with the momentum that our H1 will be similar, let's say, as we saw in FY 2026. Our expectation is that the pipeline of new business opportunities is going to play through into H2 and deliver that growth over the full year in FY 2027. That's how we're seeing the sort of profile of the year, Henry. In terms of some color on the pipeline, I was just in China last week. I was in India two months ago. Let me use those two as examples. I said that we've invested. We have invested in the sales team, in the commercial tools, in the digital platforms that we have available. The team in China that I was with last week, I met seven customers.

Speaker 2

All seven, and it's not a coincidence, but all seven since we met have provided us opportunities for new business growth. That team has generated, in four weeks, more than 40 opportunities for profitable top-line growth in smart infrastructure and medical equipment. When I was in India two months ago, the team in India had delivered something very similar in terms of pipeline. I think the momentum we're carrying, the motivation that we've got with our sales capability, and again, we've invested heavily in making sure that we've got the right sales capability to drive that value proposition that we talked about. We're not talking about trying to sell components. We're talking about selling engineering solutions and supply chain solutions. Very different capability, a deliberate pivot to give us higher value-added business, particularly in smart infrastructure and medical equipment.

Speaker 4

Morning, Tom Castle from Berenberg. Two from me, if I may. On the first one, it'd be great to understand how Project Ignite differs from Project Atlas. Any details on that you could share would be great. Then on the headcount down by 10% this year, is that an introduction of any automation, or is that just more addressing a cost base that perhaps wasn't quite appropriate? Thank you.

Speaker 3

Do you want me to take that one?

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 3

On the first point, Project Ignite is different from Project Atlas, mainly because it was a different board, a different management team and a different team implementing it. It is fundamentally the same in that it is the implementation of D365. It's under a new project because it's mainly a new team. It's being more efficiently managed, I believe, than previously. Also, I have to say, as much as I think a lot of people give Project Atlas a little bit of a hard time, we are actually reaping the benefits from it. We are actually using the data. We are actually using the systems that have been put in place, and that is helping us deliver our margin progression.

Speaker 3

When we had to effectively ensure that we accounted for Project Ignite as a separately disclosed item this year, we were also required to go back and restate our last year numbers for Project Atlas. Certainly from an audit or accounting point of view, they are considered quite similar. The second point, which was on the reduction in headcount, we're not yet reducing headcount as a result of automation and AI. That's not something that we have yet been able to achieve. What I will say is that that is just really addressing our cost base and making sure that we do have the right people in the right places. I think our cost base in certain places has been too high. I think a lot of investors, analysts have picked up on that in the past, and it's something we have addressed through transformation programs.

Speaker 2

Yeah. I think one other point, if I may, just on Project Ignite. What I think is really exciting about where we'll be Post implementation of Ignite, more than 70% of our business will be on a common platform. Importantly, every single core market and geography will be on the same platform. Standard process, standard data sets. That is not necessarily for us in the center. The important thing is it's giving real-time accurate data into the hands of the regional and local teams to take fast decision-making. That's the power that we're seeing from this digital enablement.

Operator

Morning, guys. Alex Pollen from Berenberg. Just a couple, if I may. In terms of the strategic pivot and the sort of increase in smart infrastructure revenue share of smart infrastructure, for example, what is that doing to the visibility that you have as a business, and what will 30% revenue from smart infrastructure do to that by, say, 2030, as the target is? Secondly, just a little bit more on the automotive market, if I may. In terms of has there been a strategic change or pivot from you as a business to where you're focusing on geographically within the auto market, and versus combustion versus EV, if there is a sort of quicker pickup or slower pickup, or larger downturn in EV, will that have a bigger impact than it would have done before?

Speaker 2

Sure. On the first point about visibility, I think if we compare the three core sectors that we're focused on, smart infrastructure kind of sits somewhere in the middle between an automotive and a medical equipment. You have programs that are typically, first of all, they're quicker to convert. From win to bill is actually the shortest of the three lead times, which is a key advantage in smart infrastructure. The programs tend to be, compared to auto, lower volume, higher complexity. That brings the focus and plays into the value proposition we talked about in supply chain simplification, because customers in this world are facing into that high mix, lower volume, they need partners that can support them, deliver, and take that complexity out. They also require, as we talked about, the engineering support to help them design and solve application problems.

Speaker 2

All of that plays very well to the strengths. In terms of program visibility, auto has, in a way, good long-term program visibility, because once you're on a program, it's typically a five to seven-year journey, historically. I think that world is changing, frankly. That's historically the picture. I think visibility, if you're talking about demand visibility, compared to auto, it's probably not as strong, but in terms of growth dynamics, we certainly see that smart infrastructure has a stronger growth dynamic than auto. To your second part of your question, which is what's going on in auto. I think what we see today is that, if we start here in the U.K. and continental Europe, the market today has stabilized after the shocks, in particular of the U.S. trade tariffs. It's stabilized so far after the regulatory changes around EV incentive programs.

Speaker 2

What we're seeing today is fairly stable, which is good. Actually, when we look into North America, we're seeing the North American OEMs still playing out the challenges associated with, again, the removal of EV incentives, and still playing through the supply chain challenges of managing the tariffs. That's still a more challenged auto market. In Asia, I think what we've seen is a significant impact from Chinese EV manufacturers taking share outside of the Chinese domestic market. That was a key driver behind the drop-off in automotive volume, in particular, internal combustion engine and gearbox-type products that we were making in our Malaysia factory. That's actually a key driver as to why we saw the right decision, difficult as it was to close the Malaysia factory and exit from that internal combustion engine and gearbox-type products.

Speaker 2

As we go forward in auto, by no means would I want us to say, "Well, we're switching off from auto, and we're not going to engage." Actually, we have very good long-term relationships with many global tier 1 players that service, again, and we talked about it in the past, kind of agnostic to powertrain, whether it's a seat, a lighting system, an interior trim. Those are being fitted to vehicles, whatever the powertrain. We work very well with tier 1s globally, supporting their programs, and being equally an engineering and supply chain partner. That's our focus is as long as the customer values us from an engineering value add or a supply chain simplification value add. It's good for us to engage. We don't want to be a component-only competitor. That's what's going on in the auto market today.

Speaker 2

Stable in U.K. and Europe, challenged in North America, challenged in our Asia business. Any others in the room? No. Okay. Let's open it up to any questions that have come in online.

Speaker 6

Yeah. We've got a couple from David O'Brien from Goodbody. Do you have the ability to further reduce costs, or should we expect to see costs increase broadly in line with revenues in future?

Speaker 2

We do think that I said, we see organically we have scope to drive further in each one of our four strategic initiatives, and of course, operational efficiency, and to the earlier question on organization effectiveness, is exactly that. It's making sure that we are lean and we are efficient, that we are investing in the right capabilities that are going to support execution of the strategy and drive that profitable top-line growth. Yes, David, we do see opportunity to improve our cost structure further, and we will continue to challenge ourselves to do that, and it'll play through in delivery through operational efficiency and organization effectiveness. I think a good example from the year just gone, FY 2026, Kate mentioned it, is how we've actually addressed some of the logistics and supply chain costs.

Speaker 2

Remember, our business, 70% of what we sell we're buying, typically, a lot of what we're buying is from deep sea, from Asia and bringing that product into Europe or into the U.S. Managing that supply chain and the logistics and the cost efficiencies within that supply chain is a core part of what we need to do and need to do well. In FY 2026, the team did an incredible job in addressing some of those logistics costs, making sure that we get better utilization of containers and so on. Yeah, we continue to see opportunity to drive, and we'll continue to drive into being cost-efficient.

Speaker 6

Great. Thank you. Another one from David. Will the disposal in Malaysia be a one-off, or are there any other parts of the business deemed non-core?

Speaker 2

Well, first of all, to clarify, it's not a disposal, it's a closure of the asset for the reasons that I alluded to earlier. Malaysia, as a factory, highly capable workforce. However, facing into a market which was challenged by the product that we were producing in that factory. Historically underutilized, lower down when it comes to being a contributor to our overall profitable mix, and certainly therefore challenged as we look forward. It's a difficult decision because it impacts people's jobs, but it's the right decision to position our Asia business for growth. By the way, for engineering and supply chain, so distribution support, because in Southeast Asia we have a growing business in smart infrastructure and medical equipment. It's a deliberate decision to close the manufacturing operations, but to also pivot towards that growth driver for the Southeast Asian market.

Speaker 2

Now, to the second part of the question, we continuously look at, and Kate alluded to it, our operational footprint. Are we in the right locations to service the growth, the profitable growth that we need to drive with our customers? If not, how do we make sure that we transform our footprint and our organization? We did that here in the U.K. by transforming a very disparate and inefficient distribution network into a brand-new purpose-built distribution center in Walsall, national distribution center. We've announced that we're doing it here in Malaysia, we'll continue to look strategically at our operational footprint to make sure it's positioned to support our customers for profitable growth.

Speaker 6

Great. Thank you. One more from David. Do you have targets on dividend cover following today's positive increase in the payout ratio?

Speaker 3

Typically, our dividend cover is three to four times. I think what's clear is, though, when we're generating cash and when we've got confidence in the outlook, that there is an expectation that we will have a progressive dividend. We will continue to review that. At the moment, we feel it is appropriate to have a progressive dividend on the basis of that confidence in the cash generation.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 6

Great. Thank you.

Speaker 2

There's another question in the room. Tilly.

Speaker 5

Thanks. It's just around M&A and where we are in terms of the rebuild phase, then looking towards M&A, and what the difficult market backdrop is doing to that M&A environment from your point of view. Are there people out there struggling? Are there businesses out there struggling? Does that throw up opportunities? Crucially, where does EBIT margin sit in terms of your criteria hierarchy? As in you've done some amazing work in improving it. M&A to dilute that would. Where does that sit in your thoughts?

Speaker 2

To the first point, are we seeing distressed assets coming to market? Yes, we are actually. Not in floods, but there are assets that are struggling and coming to the market. Whether it's that or, honestly, Alex, more importantly to us is the work that we're doing in focusing on the markets and the capabilities and geographies that we want to grow, and identifying targets that we think match and would be value accretive to our story and our strategy execution. We are looking specifically for bolt-on acquisitions, manageable in size and scale, that fit the geographic opportunity that we see in the high-growth markets, that fit in terms of the strategic sector expansion. Smart infrastructure, medical equipment, for example, and/or that bring capability, for example, in engineering or supply chain simplification. Those are the kinds of targets that we are actively looking in those growth markets.

Speaker 2

In terms of prioritization, we've said and we will be disciplined in allocating that capital for any acquisition, both in terms of a returns case, and when it comes to EBIT margin, we've said we don't want to buy something that is a turnaround. We want it to be a good business that we can scale, we can add value, and we can see that it will become margin accretive and help us accelerate the delivery of our strategy. So those are the key criteria that we're using when we think about how to deploy our capital into M&A as part of our growth strategy. Good. Any others online? No.

Operator

No further questions.

Speaker 2

Good. Okay. Well, thank you for taking the time to join us this morning. Thanks very much for the questions. As you walk away or sign out, just let me leave you with the three key messages. We delivered FY 2026 successfully. It demonstrates earnings growth, margin growth, cash generation improvement. Secondly, we're demonstrating that we're pivoting this business into higher growth markets and geographies, and we're not ashamed to say we're investing underneath that, whether it's into digital enablement or whether it's into capability. And third, because of what we're doing, we're on track and we're confident we're going to deliver the double-digit EBIT margins over the medium term. And again, let me say a big thank you to everybody in Trifast for all that they do each and every day to support our customers and help us execute and deliver on that strategy.

Speaker 2

To you in the room and those online, thank you very much for taking your time. Have a safe journey back.

Operator

Yeah.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

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