The kings of cash generation. St Barbara, Northern Star and...

The kings of cash generation. St Barbara, Northern Star and Evolution have so far stood out as the cash generation performers over this reporting period. Highlights of financial reports below:

•  SBM has presented as a leader in cash generation of our coverage universe so far this reporting season. SBM reported underlying EBITDA of $321m within 1% of our forecast. NPAT of $158m was 8% lower than our forecast due to a slightly higher D&A charge. Operating cash flow of $303m and an impressive free cash result of $250m were both in line with expectations. SBM repaid $228m in USD notes during the year, leaving the company debt free with net cash of $161m.
  
  
•  NST delivered a quality FY17 result in line with our expectations. The company delivered Npat of $215.3m and generated free cash flow (after exploration) of $154.3m, both in line with our expectation and demonstrating the cash-generative capacity of the business.
  
  
•  EVN’s strong result was driven by a strong beat at Ernest Henry. FY17 earnings were stronger than we forecast, with higher earnings delivering Ebitda of $704.8m—12% better than the forecast—and Npat of $217.6m, a 27% improvement on our expected