RA International: H1 2024 Results Update and New Contract Awards Announcement
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Dear Readers,
I hope this update finds you well. A few weeks ago, RA International Group released its H1 2024 results along with details of several new contract awards. In this short article, I will provide an overview of these key developments.
Before we begin, if you haven't yet reviewed the company's investment thesis, please refer to this article:
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Let’s dive into the H1 2024 results.
Revenues have remained stable throughout the year. The company has successfully retained its existing clients and is actively working to strengthen relationships with governments and organisations to secure new contracts. They are currently pursuing several open bids, focusing on expanding existing agreements and developing opportunities with new clients. Additionally, their first project for the U.S. Navy has been completed, and further contracts from the U.S. Navy are anticipated in the near future.
The key takeaway from these results is the decline in the profit margin, which fell to 8.2%, down from 17.6% in H2 2023 and 11.8% in H1 2023. While this is not an encouraging development, in my view, it is not alarmingly negative. It's important to note that RA International typically experiences weaker performance in the first half of the year due to seasonality. This trend was also evident in 2023, where H2 profit margins were significantly higher than H1. However, it’s true that this year’s H1 margin is lower than the previous year’s H1.
Up until 2023, RA International was navigating the significant challenges posed by the Mozambique incident, which had a considerable impact on the company. In my opinion, this year marks a return to normal operations, allowing the company to refocus on strengthening relationships, securing new contracts, and, most importantly, investing in its own growth.
If you examine the return on capital employed (ROCE) from before the Mozambique incident, the figures were notably strong. The image below highlights the company’s impressive ROCE during that period.
ROCE is a crucial metric for evaluating how efficiently a company generates returns from its capital investments. A ROCE of 20% indicates that for every $100 of capital employed (including both debt and equity), the company produces $20 in operating profit before interest and taxes. Generally, the higher the ROCE, the more effectively a company can reinvest its profits to fuel further growth in its operating earnings.
In my opinion, this half-year period highlights RA International’s substantial investment in its growth. While this has led to a short-term dip in profitability, I believe it will fuel stronger returns in the medium term. Given the company's strong ROCE before the Mozambique incident, I’m confident in RA International's current strategy of reinvesting capital to drive future profits, after all, this is a fundamental approach for most successful companies.