The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.
(Questions from industry analysts are provided in full, but answers are omitted - download the transcript to see the full question-and-answer session)
Question: Philip Pepe - Shaw and Partners - Analyst
: Michael and Co, well done on a record result. Just trying to understand the operating lease, obviously, great increase in the EBIT margin, you're
kind of suggesting some revenue shift from first half to second half. Looking at the gross profit, we're pretty -- up pretty strongly on the PCP, sort
of 37.5% versus 40%. Recent history, you've done 38%. So is 38% what we can expect for full year as revenue, for want of a better phrase, normalizes
in the second half?
And then second and related question. Freight expenses went backwards by about $350,000 despite the revenue increase. What drove that? Is it
just less volume? Or is price come down?
Question: Sam Brandwood - Bell Potter Securities - Analyst
: Good work and well done on another good result as well. Could you just please give us, I guess, a feel for the second half order book in value terms?
I know it's a little bit of a bastardized approach, but could you also comment on how that compares to a year ago as well?
Question: Sam Brandwood - Bell Potter Securities - Analyst
: Just how compared to a year ago, but that's fine, Michael. I'll just move on to the second question, and it relates to ABB and Elsteel which I tend to
ask most results. Do you have any view on how ABB and Elsteel grow for you in first half '24?
Question: Sam Brandwood - Bell Potter Securities - Analyst
: Yeah. Okay. And just a couple more, sort of follows on from the ABB as well. I noticed that you've secured the motors division for ABB. Do you have
any idea or could you give us some color on how big that is or how meaningful it is for the group?
Question: Sam Brandwood - Bell Potter Securities - Analyst
: Thanks, Michael. And just finally on CMI and the growth expectations that you guys have for the acquisition, how is it going so far? I know it's only
been about a month, but do you have any idea about synergies, growth? And how does that relate, I guess, to the rest of the business in terms of
your expectations?
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