IPH Limited (IPH) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the IPH Half Year Fiscal Year 2022 Results. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. -- Dr. Andrew Blattman, CEO. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to the IPH results presentation for the half year ended 31 December 2021. My name is Andrew Blattman, I'm the CEO of IPH. With me today is John Wadley, our CFO. As always, thank you all for joining us for today's presentation and for your continuing interest in IPH. Before commencing the formal presentation, I would like to acknowledge and thank the IPH executive team and Board for their support and, of course, all of our people across the group for their ongoing contribution during the half. We've delivered another strong result. And as you will see, the result demonstrates the benefits we can derive from liberty on our network and integration with our Australian business footprint. This good result is a testament to the efforts of all of our people across the group, and I thank them for their wonderful contribution. So moving to Slide 3. For today's presentation, I'll provide an overview of the operational highlights for the half. John will discuss the financial results in detail before handing back to me to provide some commentary in our key markets, especially those in Asia, which have driven some wonderful organic growth. In addition, I'll give a brief review of our operations, especially in light of the integration of Spruson & Ferguson and Shelston IP in the half. I will conclude with some comments about our ongoing strategic focus and how we are building a stronger platform for growth. As always, very happy to answer your questions at the end. So starting with a recap about IPH. As many of you will know, we're the leading IP services group in the Asia Pacific region and #1 patent market position in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore and the #1 trademark position in Australia and New Zealand. The keen eyed amongst you might note that Shelston IP, the Shelston IP brand, has now been retired following its successful integration into Spruson & Ferguson Australia, cementing Spruson & Ferguson as the largest IP firm in the country. And I'll talk more about this later. In terms of highlights, I will step through some of the highlights for the half. I will speak to these at an operation level. And of course, John will speak on matters financial. So going to those highlights on Slide 6. We have delivered a strong result for the half. It's a result that, once again, demonstrates the power of the IPH network, particularly our ongoing organic growth in Asia and the importance of integration outcomes in Australia. On an underlying basis, we reported a significant uplift in earnings with underlying EBITDA up 11% to $68.3 million. This has come from solid organic growth and cost synergies captured from integrations, but also assisted in part from a foreign exchange gain in the half compared to a foreign exchange gain -- loss in the prior corresponding half. John will expand on that further in his address. Importantly, on a like-for-like basis, which removes the effects of FX, we generated solid revenue and earnings growth with underlying EBITDA up 5%. As John will also explain in a moment, we had like-for-like revenue and earnings growth in both our Australian, New Zealand and Asian segments, which is a very pleasing outcome. Once again, that reflects organic growth and the continued capture of synergies, which, of course, has been the hallmark of IPH's strategy and success over the past few years. However, our acquisition and integration strategy is not just about synergies. It's about how we can grow our client offering, increase referrals from one IPH business to another and expand our reach. So I'm very pleased to see how we are harnessing the power of our network, which has again resulted in an increase in client referrals into our Asian hubs, this time up 17% for the half. We experienced continued momentum in patent filings across our Asian network, and our filings are up 16% across all key Asian jurisdictions outside of Singapore, including the translation jurisdictions in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and, of course, China. China was again the standout with patent filing growth of 17%. Our robust financial position and excellent cash flow generation, a hallmark of our business, I may say, has enabled a 4% increase in the interim dividend to $0.145 per share, 40% franked. As I mentioned earlier, we successfully completed the integration of Spruson & Ferguson and Shelston IP in December last year. This integration sees Spruson & Ferguson further extend its position as the leading IP firm in Australia. Integrations of this scale can be a little distracting in the short term, and we did experience some minor disruption in September, October in the initial stages as we combine the 2 firms. However, I am pleased to report that we enjoyed a stronger finish to the period over November and December, and that has assisted in an increased revenue and earnings result for our Australian and New Zealand businesses for the half. So in summary, we are very pleased with the half year result, not just the numbers, but also the progress we continue to make to strengthen the network, which is enhancing our client offering and generate increased returns to shareholders. I'll now hand over to John to step us through the matters of the financial results in more detail.

Thank you, Andrew, and good morning, everyone. Our financial highlights on Slide 8 reflect the continued growth of our Asian business as well as an improving EBITDA contribution from the Australian businesses as a result of business integrations. The results should be reviewed with an understanding of the foreign exchange impacts. The average AUD-USD in the 6 months averaged $0.732 versus $0.723 in the comparative period, representing a headwind to our reported results. We have previously advised that a $0.01 weakening in the USD equates to a $1.9 million reduction in service charge revenue. Further, the strengthening of the Australian dollar versus the Singapore dollar has had the impact of reducing the profits of our Singapore business when reported in Australian dollars. However, the results do include FX gains of $2.1 million recorded in our P&L, i.e., those results derived by the revaluation of U.S.-denominated cash and receivables as well as banking receipts at a more favorable rate than booked. This compared to a $2 million loss in the comparative period. Both sides of this slide reflect these FX impacts. The underlying results reflect a number of adjustments I will address in a later slide. Pleasingly, we have shown growth in all of our underlying headline financial metrics against the prior comparative period. It includes 3.5 months of acquisitive growth from the Baldwins acquisition and 6 months of acquisitive growth from Applied Marks. But the acquisitive and organic growth factors have assisted to deliver a group underlying EBITDA of $68.3 million, up 11% on the prior comparative period. Underlying NPAT has grown by 15%, and the underlying diluted EPS has risen by 13% to $0.197 per share. A particular highlight was the cash conversion in the period of 111%, reflecting the collection of invoices from the last quarter of FY '21. Moving on to Slide 9, being the like-for-like revenue and EBITDA. The like-for-like basis eliminates the impact of acquisitions and the foreign exchange impacts I discussed earlier. Group-wide, revenue increased by 3%, and EBITDA grew by 5% on this like-for-like basis. These metrics removed from the half year results a 3.5-month contribution of the Baldwins business and the 6 months from Applied Marks. This is a representation of the corresponding period prior to IPH ownership and does not include additional contribution generated under IPH ownership. Like-for-like revenue shows a small improvement in ANZ from the picture outlined at the AGM. And pleasingly, the like-for-like EBITDA has shown growth as a result of the integration-related cost reductions. Asia grew both like-for-like revenue and EBITDA as a result of filing growth, which will be illustrated later in the presentation, particularly in those countries where translation is necessary. As outlined in the segment note, corporate costs have grown from $4.4 million to $7.2 million. However, excluding movements in foreign exchange on the revaluation of U.S. debt and cash of $2 million compared to the prior period, the remaining increase is predominantly explained by increased insurance costs and continued investment in corporate functions. Moving on to Slide 10 and our underlying NPAT and EPS. Slide 10 shows the calculation of the underlying results, which is on a consistent basis with prior periods and reconcile these to the reported statutory half year '22 results. The main adjustments to the statutory results in the current period include the cost of equity-based remuneration. This is higher than the prior period as a result of shortening the restriction period on vested shares in the employee share plan from 3 years to 2 years. It includes restructuring costs related to the integration of Shelston IP into Spruson & Ferguson. As a result of the integration, the valuation of the Shelston IP brand of $4.6 million was written off. It includes costs related to potential acquisitions and the expensing of a one-off cost associated with the implementation of a SaaS-based general ledger and HRIS. This follows an interpretation issued by the accounting standard setting body during the last financial year. The previous treatment would have been to capitalize these costs and then amortize. Amortization of acquired intangibles has marginally increased as a result of the finalization of accounting for prior acquisitions. On an annualized basis, this noncash expense will be circa $23 million. The underlying effective tax rate is marginally lower at 25.4%, reflecting the greater proportion of the result recognized in lower tax jurisdictions. Slide 11, the cash flow statement. Now reviewing the cash flow statement, cash conversion was particularly strong. The first half of the year tends to show a stronger cash conversion metric as the invoicing of the last quarter of the financial -- of the prior financial year is collected. Strong cash flows allowed a reduction in leverage to 0.4x net debt to EBITDA, and it also continues to support a high dividend payout, which is reflected in the payout ratio of the interim dividend, which is circa 90% of cash NPAT. Looking at the balance sheet on Slide 12. We made movements related to movements in Australian dollar valuations as a result of FX fluctuations as well as intangible asset movements from the Applied Marks acquisition and write-off of the Shelston brand name. On Slide 13 is the impact of foreign currency. Based upon the USD profile in fiscal year '21, a $0.01 movement in the AUD-USD exchange rate equates to approximately $1.9 million of revenue on an annualized basis. As the USD costs are minimal, the majority of this reduction falls to the EBITDA line. As I mentioned previously, our first half results came through at an average of approximately $0.732 versus the comparative period of $0.723. The AUD has also strengthened against the Singapore dollar, reducing the reported profits of the Asian business in Australian dollars. Looking ahead, the second half average USD rate in the prior year was $0.771. Therefore, current spot represents a tailwind for the second half. I'll now hand back to Andrew for a closer look at the business.

Thanks, John. Over the next few slides, I'll provide an update on filing activity for the year. And the first one of those is Slide 15, an update on patent application filings in Australia. As we always remind you, filing activity should not be assessed on a 6-month cycle. And as is the case this half, filings are always subject to an individual client's filing patterns, which can distort the picture over a short time period. Overall, total Australian patent filings increased by 10.8% compared to the prior corresponding period. This is strong growth for a mature market. However, this also includes innovation patent filings, which were phased out from August 2021. These innovation patents, as I've said in the past, do not constitute a large part of IPH Group filings. Once these innovation filings are removed, total Australian patent filings increased by 8.9% for the period. IPH has maintained our #1 position with group market share, ex innovation patent filings, of 33.9%. IPH's group filings increased by 1.4% for the period. I mentioned earlier the short-term disruption in the integration of Spruson & Ferguson and Shelston's. And excluding the newly combined Spruson & Ferguson, IPH's filings increased by 8.3% for the period, which is broadly in line with the market. The combined Spruson & Ferguson's filing numbers were impacted during the period by a decline in filings from the Australian patent market's largest filer, a legacy Shelston client. This client hasn't moved its representation. It simply stopped filing in the half. If filings from this client are removed from IPH and from the overall market, IPH filings increased by 4.3% for the period, and the market increased by 10.5%. As I mentioned earlier, short-term disruptions from integrations are to be expected. We have seen it in previous integrations, most recently at Griffith Hack, where the firm experienced an initial loss in market share as a result of the integration of Watermark before rebounding and showing growth. The newly combined Spruson & Ferguson is running well. The expected synergies are being delivered as planned. And as the largest IP firm in the country, it has a very solid platform to rebound and continue to grow. Moving to Slide 16 with Singapore. On preliminary data, the Singapore patent market increased by 8% in the calendar year '21 compared to the prior year. The Singapore market grew strongly in each of the first 3 quarters of calendar year '21, up 11% on the prior corresponding period. And that is consistent with our commentary at the AGM in November. Filings declined in the fourth quarter by 1% due to applicant filing patterns and a significant decline from one of the largest filers in the market, which is also a client of IPH. As always, there is [indiscernible] in obtaining of final data, which is why the calendar year '21 data is preliminary. But based on this preliminary data for calendar year '21, IPH filings increased by 13% compared to the previous corresponding period, reflecting solid and above-market organic growth. IPH market share in Singapore has increased from 23% in calendar year '20 to 24.2% in calendar year '21, strengthening our #1 position. So all in all, a very solid result in Singapore, good filing growth and further increasing our market-leading position. Moving to Slide 17, Asia, looking at patent filing across Asia. And this is also a good result. I mean, this is a great slide, in my view. We've had a good momentum in filing across our Asian network. They're up 16.2% in the key Asian jurisdictions outside of Singapore with growth in each of these jurisdictions, except Hong Kong. China was again a standout with patent filing growth of 17%. As I mentioned earlier, one of the key highlights of this result is our continued ability to successfully leverage our network with an increase in client referrals into our Asian hubs. And the client referrals from our AU and New Zealand businesses into our Asian hubs were up 17% for the period. IPH continues to be effective to large clients. We continue to see multiple large clients increasing filings across a number of jurisdictions across our network. Another point I'd like to reiterate here is the 17% increase in translation service revenue, primarily in the -- in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and China, which are all translation countries. Slide 18, looking at trademark filings in Australia. We also maintained our #1 position in this market. The overall trademark market in Australia, excluding international registrations, was slightly down over the period. Excluding self-filers, trademark filings through agents increased by 8.7% in the first half with the top 50 agents increasing by 13.7%. IPH trademark filings in Australia increased by 4% in the first half FY '22. That includes the Applied Marks business, which we acquired in July 2021. Applied Marks grew by 26.8% in the first half of FY '22. Looking to Slide 19 on strategy. I'll spend the next 2 slides detailing our strategic progress. I'll concentrate today on organic growth and the consolidation of acquisitions. So Slide 20. First, the organic growth. What sets IPH apart is our unrivaled IP network across the region. Once again, this half, we have successfully leveraged our network to generate organic growth. As I mentioned earlier, we have seen a 16.9% increase in patent filings in China, together with a 13.4% filing growth in Singapore. Also, across our key jurisdictions outside of Singapore, we've seen a 16% growth in filings. And as I say, we continue to see an increase in client referrals from IPH businesses into our Asian hubs, up 17%. We're generating growth in adjacent areas of IP that comes with this with translation service revenue up 17% for the period. This is a higher-margin service offering and represents a good adjacent revenue opportunity for our network outside of traditional filing and prosecution. Slide 21. IPH has a consistent track record of integrating businesses to deliver growth and margin accretion. It has been a hallmark of our success, and it remains a fundamental part of our strategy. Last year, you will recall the integration of Griffith Hack and Watermark into one business, which helped to deliver synergies and margin accretion. More recently, the integration of Spruson & Ferguson Australia and Shelston IP into one firm has been successfully implemented. The integration was completed in December '21, with the combined entity now operating as a fully integrated firm under the Spruson & Ferguson brand. As we outlined at the AGM, we expect annualized net synergies at the EBITDA line of $2 million to $2.5 million with further saving of annualized rent costs of approximately $1 million. We remain on track to deliver expected $1 million to $1.25 million of EBITDA savings and around $255,000 -- $250,000, rather, of rental costs in FY '22. David Kennedy was appointed in September as Managing Director of Spruson & Ferguson Australia, and we have a highly experienced leadership team managing the business. It's the largest IP firm in Australia with over 100 IP professionals, and we're excited about its continued growth potential. We're also undertaking a major investment in business development and marketing, and that includes establishing sales offices in the primary markets of Europe and the U.S. in early 2022. I look forward to keeping you updated on that progress. So Slide 22. Looking ahead, let me conclude with some final comments about our progress and outlook. So in the first half, we continue to demonstrate our ability to integrate businesses to deliver margin accretion and earnings growth. However, we also have delivered organic growth, and that remains a focus as we continue to deliver into our network for increased client referrals and targeting new business opportunities. To further support our firms to grow and of the recent arrival of our Chief Commercial Officer, we are investing heavily in a group-wide business development function, including our new sales offices, as I say, in the U.S. and Europe. We're very happy with the acquisition and progress of Applied Marks into the group. Following a successful expansion into New Zealand in 2021, Applied Marks will look to expand into key Asian markets this year also. That acquisition, however, has also enabled the creation of our digital services function, which is focused on harnessing digital expertise and software tools that generate growth and efficiencies for all our teams and clients in each of the regions we operate. The future landscape of IP is changing, and we are investing ahead of the curve by ensuring we have the digital expertise and capability to respond to these changes. Finally, we maintain a solid financial position, low gearing and wonderful cash generation, which enables us to continue to assess further growth options. And that, of course, includes potential international acquisition opportunities in core and secondary IP markets and IP adjacencies. In closing, I would like to again acknowledge the hard work and contribution of all of our people across the group. Before I hand over to our moderator for questions, many of you also know that Richard Grellman has announced his intention to retire as Chairman of the company this year. And I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Richard for his outstanding leadership and guidance as Chair of IPH over the past 7 years. Richard has led the business through a successful transition to our ASX listing in 2014 and has been instrumental in leading the business from a market capitalization at listing of $330 million to approximately $1.9 billion today. Over the same period, IPH has conducted 10 strategic acquisitions, and our total staff numbers have grown from 300 to over 900. Richard has led the Board with distinction, and we are grateful for his significant contribution in helping to create the strong and sustainable business that IPH is today. On a personal level, I want to record my particular thanks to Richard for his encouragement, steadfast support and guidance to me as CEO, and I wish him every future success. Many thanks to all of you for your continued interest and support. And of course, over to our moderator, Larin. John and I are happy to take some questions.

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Mike Peet from Goldman Sachs.

Andrew and John, just my question is on the market share side. Could you just help sort of explain a little bit about the process of the disruption with Shelston? Do you actually sort of just -- does the backlog sort of build up for filings just as you're sort of integrating, which is the kind of delay? Or is it actually -- I'm just looking at Slide 28. I'm wondering also if it's that mix between the U.S. and China, which clearly, U.S. hasn't really grown for much of the -- since 2014, yet China continues to sort of grow at pretty strong double-digit rates. Is that explaining partially also that market share? Just interested in a bit more color on that.

Look, thanks, Michael, for the question. It's a good one, and it's something that we've looked at pretty carefully, of course. And it's something we've experienced in every integration we've done. And really, a lot of it comes down to, in this case, 2 matters. Firstly, as I mentioned, there was a legacy Shelston's client that last year was the largest patent filer in Australia. So you take them out of the mix, which they haven't dropped out of the mix totally. They haven't gone anywhere. As I said, they just stopped filing. So that takes a bit of edge off regardless. And then when you integrate 2 businesses of the scale of Shelston's and Spruson's, you do come across client conflict, just by definition. And we saw that with Griffith Hack and Watermark. We saw it with FAK and Cullens into Spruson's 3 or 4 years ago, and we've seen it again now with Shelston's into Spruson's. So there is scenarios where acting for 2 clients under the 1 brand becomes problematic for 1 or both clients. And on that basis, we dropped a bit of market share. And we saw that, as I say, last year at Griffith Hack, dropped market share when Watermark came in. But what was wonderful about the Griffith Hack story, it continues in this direction, is it rebounded and is gaining market share. So look, I expect we'll see something similar going forward in this revised or the Spruson's business. We're aware of it. We've even put some investment into it in the context of those U.S. and European sales offices. And look, as Griffith Hack was poised for growth and delivered, I expect the same for Spruson & Ferguson.

Our next question comes from Scott Murdoch from Morgans.

Great result in the Australian division, up 5% like-for-like, obviously, coming off that flat first 4 months. Just interested -- you've touched on it a bit, but just interested in, I guess, some of the factors behind the Australian result in the last 2 months and the sustainability of those factors that you saw in the close of the year into the year ahead.

So I think as we called out at the AGM, it was really October that really dragged. And up until October, the first quarter looked quite positive. So it was really -- and what's turned out to be that October is kind of an outlier, some of which would have been due to the disruption of Spruson and Shelston integration. But looking at the last couple of months, we certainly benefited from improved performance in that business, but also some of those integration synergies coming through, even if it's just 1.5 months' worth or a month's worth. But that's helped us along the way and will be of an assistance in the second half as well.

Our next question comes from Tim Lawson from Macquarie.

Just can you expand on the comment around M&A? It's pretty consistent in the last couple of packs. It would be good to hear that. And how that relates to that U.S. and European office expansion, would that footprint make some difference on that side?

Yes. Look, it's a good question, Tim. I thought some of the -- you don't miss, you blokes, with this acquisition question, and I expected the same. Look, we -- it still continues to be a focus of the business, but it's not -- I'm hoping it's a bit easier now and given that we can actually, as from November, get on an airplane. But look, it's a very different scenario between an international acquisition as another brand in the stable and the sales offices. I mean, what you're always going to be careful of and what we -- why we always say we're in the secondary markets is we don't want to be seen as a competitor in a primary market. Now that's where we get most of our work from. So of course, we'll have the sales offices there, but they're not providing patent trademark, attorney services. We don't want to be cutting off our referral space. So that's a purely BD offering. It's good to have someone in the timezone and in the space where the word comes from as opposed to sending principals and professionals out from Australia when you couldn't send them anyway because, of course, once they step out of the office, their billings drop and they're away from the desk. But we've got people that are dedicated for opportunities in those sales offices and are hopefully converting and are certainly assisting in -- for the principals of the underlying businesses to convert. So yes, international acquisition remains a focus. You've heard me say that before. Nothing has changed. And the sales offices, they're about generating sales.

Our next question comes from Wassim Kisirwani from Jarden.

Andrew and John, my question relates to the client referrals in Asia. Obviously, it's a good tailwind to the business. Can you give us a sense of how much opportunity remains, i.e., how much is leaking outside of the network currently and the outlook for capturing more of that work? And does M&A need to play a role in that?

Well, Wassim, good to hear from you. Look, I think we're just warming up on this because most of these referrals to date are primarily domestic clients of the Australia and New Zealand businesses when they file their domestic innovation and they do an international application going out. Of course, where the client is comfortable, they're happy to file through our business unit in Asia. But the biggest opportunity -- I mean, that's just scratching the surface. The biggest opportunity are those other non-Spruson's international corporate clients and indeed, in some cases, associates that are different to what Spruson & Ferguson Asia users. And there's plenty of that. But in terms of the corporate relationships like Griffith Hack or AJ Park or others have had in the past, Pizzeys, of course, has their own Singapore opportunity that's underway, but say, the Griffith Hack corporate client would never have been a client of Spruson's. But now we have the opportunity to the network to take them into Asia. And that's the biggest opportunity. So there's more to go there. And that's what we're focused on with the Chief Commercial Officer who joined last -- late last year. The U.S. sales offices and the European sales will be part of that, but that's pretty much a Spruson's story at the moment, where hopefully, if that goes well, we'll extend it into the other brands also.

Our next question comes from Sam Haddad from Bell Potter.

Congratulations on the strong result.

Good on you, Sam. Good to hear from you.

Yes. My question is just on the inflationary environment in terms of labor. Given the relatively tight labor market, what are you seeing in terms of the outlook for inflation? And how are you positioned versus the market?

Look, you're right in the context of the labor market. It's always a challenge for patent attorney services, inflationary or otherwise. I mean, it's -- there's only so many people that want to join the profession or in the profession. So we've always worked around that, and we're mindful of the price of entry into that space. We're doing a lot of work in -- with the HR team. The Chief People Officer is doing a learning development. And the programs in place there to try and attract and retain and motivate staff is significant and probably more so now than ever. To the inflationary point, it's not just in terms of staff as well. It's also in terms of opportunities for us. And from a pricing position, we'll have a look at that in the future. So look, I think it's an interesting time for us to be in business because we've got this wonderful cash generation as well, which we've highlighted throughout the course of this result. So I think in many ways, the inflationary piece doesn't faze me too much.

Our next question comes from Michael Peet from Goldman Sachs.

Andrew, just another follow-up. Just thinking about seasonality, I know you're not -- you don't give explicit guidance. But if I'm looking at the EBITDA line historically in the last sort of 4, 5 years, it's been second half weighted anywhere from sort of 55% to maybe just over 50%. Thinking about FX, it looks like at the moment, it's in your favor. You've got synergies building, probably the integration settling down and things sort of hopefully improving there. Should we think about it maybe getting back more to that sort of 55% second half contribution in this year?

I think traditionally, we've been more -- probably maximum 48-52 or 49-51, taking out the effect of any acquisitions through that time. So I think if you're seeing a 45-55, that may have been some acquisition-related or integration activity-related. So I'd say, this year is potentially a more standard year. But with those in the second half, some of those further Shelston-Spruson synergies coming through, which we provided guidance at the AGM, so that should represent another, I think, $800,000 to $1 million we've guided in the second half.

If I may clarify that, John. So first half -- second half versus first half is $800,000-odd extra. Is that correct from the integration?

Yes. Correct.

Our next question comes from Sam (sic) [ Scott ] Murdoch from Morgans.

Just, Andrew, I know you like more than one question on acquisitions. So just interested if you can give us a snapshot, I guess, of what conversations are like now compared to what -- the COVID period that we've been in. Just is there higher engagement from potential vendors? Or is there potentially higher expectations also from them?

Look, I think, I wouldn't say there's any great distinction in that context, Scott. I mean, I take where you're coming from. But no, we haven't seen any market change in that environment-type question. Look, it has always been from day 1 part of our strategy, and that hasn't changed. But we're pretty -- we're a cautious bunch, and we do things cautiously. And when they're right to do, we're not jumping around. So if it takes a bit of time, so be it.

Our next question comes from Sam Haddad from Bell Potter.

My question is on margins and -- so second question is on margins. So obviously, as I understand it, like patent filing work is higher margin, materially higher margin. So is there a sales mix benefit to the margins we're seeing today? And as examination work ramps up on the back of these filings, can you hold those margin levels?

Sam, I've been asked about margins since 2014. You guys have never kind of believed the margin, that it's going to drop like a stone. But look, in terms of our margin journey, the story has been told in a way in that we buy a business with lower margin, it brings down the group, and then we integrate and restore efficiencies and slowly bring it back up. And that's what we've done. I was pleased to see margin impact and accretion in the results of the first half. It's something we always look at because it underpins what we do. The integration work is looking at margin expansion. Look, sure, there's a mix of high-margin and low-margin work in the business. But that's just the beauty of the business is we've got hundreds of thousands of small bills, some are at higher margins, some are at lower and some in the middle. It doesn't really move the needle in that context. I mean, what we do is look for efficiencies in how we operate the businesses. We've looked at it in a lower growth environment of Australia primarily and New Zealand in the last 4 or 5 years, and that's what's driven our decisions to make those integrations, again, with looking at a whole lot of metrics and ratio, people to service charge and principals to support staff and just simple things, which drives the margin outcome for us, more so than business mix.

I was just wondering if there was an unusually larger contribution from filings this time given the strong numbers we're seeing and whether that sort of buoyed the margin. That's all.

Not really because the filing mix all comes with the mix of price points as well. And a lot of it really, that's come through probably the big thing that's -- and I made a point of it a couple of times in the presentation. What I've seen or the group has seen in the last half that was material to the result, which I think is a great tailwind for us, is seeing those Asian jurisdictions come back online in terms of filings, particularly the non-English, the translation countries. So we've got good growth in places like Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and, of course, China. And those translations, that is high margin. So if that's coming through, then we're in good shape. And it's coming back, so that's what we like.

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from Michael Peet from Goldman Sachs.

Andrew, I won't let you off on the acquisition questions. Just I hear you mentioned translation quite a bit there. And I know that's something you've probably outsourced more. Is this something you're looking potentially to in-house? And maybe a little bit more color on some of the sort of more front-of-mind adjacencies that you're focused on.

Look, we've always talked about adjacencies, again, from day 1. And look, our translation mix is a combination of things. We have outsourced translation in Asia. We also have internal resources to do quality control, and it's a whole combination. Look, there are translation opportunities in the adjacent market. We look at them, but we look at a whole lot of things. So we're not necessarily pushed to one way or the other. It is a nice part of the business. But you know what? It's [ business company ], a nice part. So that's the beauty of it. So we've got a lot of opportunities. I wouldn't say we're necessarily directed towards -- to that aspect at this point.

Our next question comes from Scott Murdoch from Morgans.

Just one last question. I mean, the Australian filings impact from the Spruson-Shelston merger, you've explained that and gone through the impact in the last couple of months of the year. Just interested in -- if you're confident that has settled down now. And when you're looking at those particular entity's -- or that one particular entity's data at the moment, if you're confident that's rebounded, acknowledging we've only had 5 or 6 weeks of the year?

Yes. It's pretty early, the first swallow of that summer, I think. But look, what I will say is we have an excellent team at Spruson & Ferguson. And as Managing Director, he's absolutely first-rate, David Kennedy. His leadership team is first rate, and the principal group and all the staff members of Spruson are in good shape. We've got new offices here in Darling Park. We got -- IPH has moved down to level 22. They got the full level 24 of Darling Park to come into. It's refurbished, ready for the hybrid work of the future. And we've got people ready to go. We can get to -- travel going again. We've got good BD work in the pipeline. So we -- the table is getting set. And hopefully, it's a good outcome.

There are no further questions at this time. I'll now hand it back to Mr. Blattman for closing remarks.

Not much more for me. Thanks, everyone. It's been -- look, we're very pleased with the result, continues to show the strength of the business. We're likely to be part of it, always have been. And as I'd like to say, we're just warming up. So we'll keep going, and we'll probably meet some of you in the next few days. Thanks again.

That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.