DLX upcoming result - what to expect

After its recent strong run, DLX now seems to be priced for a bit of perfection.

To justify the current lofty valuation of 20x P/E and 12x EV/EBITDA (on FY2018 prospective forecasts), I think the market will be looking for EBITDA of at least $122m (up 6% on FY16's interim) EBIT of $105m and Pre-Tax Profit figure of at least $95m (up 9% on FY16's interim).

Seasonally, the March half is the weaker period in terms of operating cash flows. This, combined with the elevated level of capital investment for the new paint factory, means that Net Debt will come in higher (probably around $420m to $440m) than March 2016's $385m figure. This will reflect the peak funding requirement for the company, and will correspond to a comfortable NIBD-to-EBITDA metric of 1.7x.

I expect an interim dividend of 11.50c to be declared.

Result out on 17 May.