Kelly Partners Group Holdings Limited (KPG) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Great to have everybody with us today to our 2024 AGM of Kelly Partners Group Holdings Limited to 20th of November 2024, and my name is Brett Kelly, the Founder and CEO. Today, we were just going to have a quick presentation. Much of this information, I think all of it is in the public domain. And so just as a very quick run through, we'll share that information again and then move on to the meeting. The business today is approximately 600 team members, 100 equity partners across 37 businesses in 4 countries and June '24, revenues $108 million, the revenue run rates, at least $134 million with 44.9 million shares on issue, and with $0.174 per share of free cash flow and a 28% return on invested capital plus organic growth. We've adopted this front page now as our sort of new version of Kelly partners in 10 seconds. So that's the 10 seconds. In terms of impact, and I'll watch it, great. I shared on Twitter the other day, a great presentation by Mohnish Pabrai that had been forwarded to me by one of our excellent quality shareholders, just talked about looking for businesses that are win-win-win and the thing that I've always loved about the business that we're in is when we help our people to help our clients, they help their clients, team members and family and that has a positive impact on the community. So there really is this flywheel of winning that is great. And so today, we estimate our 600 people that there's some thousands of families and friends, client groups, employees of the clients and their families and friends. So there's some millions of people that we can directly and indirectly impact by doing very high-quality professional work. And so that delivers a real sense of meaning to all of us involved in the business. And we do believe that, that in a core of sort of values and meaning is what sort of drives the outperformance of the business, as you can see. So on Slide 3, on our Kelly Partners Group Holdings, so Kellypartnersgroup.com.au website. For the first time recently, we published our performance since inception and since IPO, really focusing on compounding book value over that time. And so you can see that the business has an ability to focus on adding value at rates that are, I think, quite good and a 36.8% compounded annual gain is not too bad over what is an extended 15-plus year period of time. The business has been operating now for more than 18 years. On Slide 4, you'll see some graphical representations of that, that our adjusted -- compounding of our adjusted book value has done a little bit better than other things. And most importantly, this emphasizes 2 things. I think we've got a business model, a set of a commitment to mission, values and vision with a business model that we think can perform well long term. And that as you can see from this graph, it takes more than 10 years to experience compounding in any endeavor of life of business, which you can sort of start to see in these numbers. On the next page, we're proud that we've raised very little equity capital over time, external equity capital, AUD 14 million is less than USD 10 million, and we continually buy shares back. And there's sometimes commentary as to whether the price we pay for these shares is good, bad or indifferent. We might add some average prices there, Kenny. But we do know the business as well as anyone, and we're happy to continue to reduce the number of shares on issue when that makes sense. There's a new owners manual that we published in October 2024. I'd recommend that to our shareholders to have a good look at. We try to, in a transparent way, give you the information that you need to understand the business. In terms of metrics, here are some general metrics that I think most people are familiar with across our people, clients and shareholders. I think, quite good numbers, and that is probably more today than it was at the time of this being first published. Geographically, fundamentally, we think that our partner owner driver business model is very attractive to people that founders that own firms and care about their people and clients and want a business model that's fit for the next 25-plus years. and we're finding some very good interest on a global basis for us to help people with their businesses. We haven't lost focus on continually growing in Australia. You might have seen the partnership we announced last week. We have a full pipeline in Australia as well as many other places, which gives us an ability just to choose the best situations for us to get involved with. The next slides just demonstrate we've been doing what we're doing in a consistent way and innovating and improving what we do for a long time now. This is not a start-up business. The model we think is -- should be able to be well understood by a quality shareholder, and we see no reason that it can't continue to perform and become the preferred way to operate this type of business over the next 25 years. In terms of our plan, graphically represented on Page 10, you can see that there was a start-up phase in the business, a good foundation building since IPO and accelerating that growth. That's really much of that growth just coming to us, which is, I think, of more people interested in a partnership than anything more interesting than that. On the next slide, Page 11, there's some metrics you've seen before. Nothing too exciting there, just some good performance, just a really good performance of our team for a very long time, I guess, is the message. In terms of strategy on the next page, our objective is to be a top 10 accounting firm in Australia and then to take that Australian ethos and approach global. We would consider that the business today is very close to that top 10 number, which is an artificial number in a sense, but it means to be a sustainable business that's leading in its industry and can continually outperform its relative peers. If you look at the group of accounting firms without being disparaging of anyone, the big 4 are not in our business. They're really a different business today than the business that we're in and service different talent segment and a different client. The second-tier firms have been around a long time and are not integrated global firms with a consistent business model to a consistent client with a consistent people and client experience. So we just think they're a different thing. And so we think we occupy a bit of blue ocean in Australia where we can continually grow and we think that there's quite a lot of opportunity to do that in other places. We might slide down, Kenny, through these numbers. I guess, on Page 18, it's worth -- I'm often asked how much opportunity is there? Well, there's 50,000 firms at least that we can identify. We've got a consistent cadence of finding firms to partner with and doing a good job of that integration. We think that there's 10% of those firms generally that are probably the part of the bell curve by mission, values and vision that we would be looking for and that there's probably quite a number of those that will join us over time. But we've been very careful sort of in the words of one of my great heroes to judge us in 5-year periods, not 5-minute period. So we don't feel any particular stress to move particularly quickly. We want to be programmatic in our methodology and opportunistic to just partner with the right people in the right situations. Ken, I don't know if you'd like me to hand over to you, and you want to run through some of these financial slides. We did them at the results, but if there's some things that you want to share there in particular and call out.

Sure, sure. I mean, as Brett, you've suggested all the slides here were published in the annual results deck, but I'll just run through quickly just high level of the results that were there for the financial year 2024. Just some of the highlight numbers. So our revenue for 2024, as Brett said previously, is $108.1 million, and it increased 29.2% on the prior year. EBITDA was at $30 million with a margin of 27.8%. That's after the additional investment of the parent without those parent additional investments, so the EBITDA margin of the operating business is at 29.6%. Our underlying NPATA there on the right in relation to the parent was $8 million for the financial year 2024, and that increased 52.3% on the prior year. I just want to also obviously point out the earnings per share has increased proportionally as well, 48.6% on the prior year. Our cash conversion was strong, 96.9%. And our gearing has decreased to 1.28% as we received the full year contributions of the business and outlook required. On to the next page, income statement covered most of these metrics. As Brett said before, our run rate currently is $134 million in revenue and EBITDA of $45 million in EBITDA for the consolidated group. In terms of the profitability of the various operating business in their cohort, I think this is a great summary of where each of our businesses are placed. So you can see that our established accounting businesses are at 38.8%, and our growth business is at 17.1%. Our acquired businesses there. The Australian businesses did very well in 2024, 33.3% and the U.S. at 20%. And our total EBITA margin, as I mentioned previously, is 29.6% for all operating businesses. In terms of balance sheet, our lockup is at 56 days as of 30th of June 2024. And I think what we've done very well is the WIP is down to 3.7 days, which I think is industry-leading. And as I mentioned, our net debt to underlying EBITDA has dropped to 1.28%. And also good to note there at the bottom there, net debt increased 13.1%, while our revenue has increased 29% and our bottom line has increased 52%. In terms of debt and liquidity, in June 2024, we secured a $22 million facility for our U.S. expansion and for general corporate purpose use. So that gave us a significant headroom in terms of our facilities. And at 30th of June 2024, we had $40.4 million of cash in headroom, which gives us plenty of firepower and also liquidity in achieving growth that we want to achieve. Cash flow grew 30.7% compared to the prior year. Free cash flow grew 44.1%. And as I mentioned, the cash conversion is very strong at 96.9%. Also want to point out what we like to look at is the debt reduction. If you look at the -- in this cash flow table here the scheduled debt reductions and additional debt repayments at total $10.5 million for FY '24. And we're repaying all our debt over a 5-year term. And finally, the parent and NCI waterfall. So this shows the -- we often get asked why the bottom line in the statutory financials are not reflective of the ownership interest of 51%-49% and this slide, I think, gives a good breakdown of how that reconciles together. And I'll leave that again to everyone to look at.. That's it, Brett.

Tremendous. Thank you, Kenny. I'm often asked what was the favorite book of mine that I've read this year, The Magic of McDonald's, Peter Ritchie, who is the person who led the growth of McDonald's in Australia and was the CEO for many, many years, published a book this year, The Magic of McDonald's: Bring It to Your Business, fantastic book. On Slide 31. It's a great little photo there of some of the shareholders from our shareholder catch-up at the Berkshire Hathaway week in Omaha. So thanks to -- there was about 85 shareholders in total that turned up during that event, which was terrific. So things are moving on nicely. Now to the formal part of the meeting, I hope everyone's got their information, maybe we can go to 33, Kenny, which I think Scott got the formal part. Steve, do you want to run this piece or what would you like to do?

Yes, I'm happy to do that for you, Brett. That's okay.

Everyone will get sick of my voice soon enough, Steve, is -- including me. So I thought I'd let you do that bit.

Okay. Well, the first bit of business. Okay. We will now move to the formal part of the business as it's set out in the notice of meeting. The Notice of Meeting has been distributed to all registered members on the 21st of October and is to be taken as read. Voting on all resolutions will be conducted by poll. For the purposes of the poll, I appoint Chris [ Czawursky ] of Computershare Investor Services, the company's share registry, who have examined and prepared the summaries of proxy forms received to act as returning officer and to conduct the poll. Shareholders in attendance via Zoom that have already submitted a vote by proxy should note that your votes will already be counted towards the poll. You do not need to lodge another vote unless you wish to change your instruction. Ken, can we go back to Slide 31? Okay. That was that one. Shareholders in attendance that have not submitted a vote by proxy and wish to vote on the resolutions being put to the meeting today can do so by following the instructions provided in the Notice of Meeting. On your screen are the instructions for how to log into online voting portal. Please note that the online voting portal is now open and will remain open until the poll is declared closed. Your votes must have been submitted prior to the poll being closed for them to count. On your screen, there are instructions for how to register the vote using the online voting portal. All undirected proxies or open votes that you have nominated the Chair of the meeting as their proxy will be cast in favor of each resolution in the Notice of General Meeting. Are there any questions in relation to the voting process? I guess they'll get lodged on the Q&A. Okay. I haven't got any questions, so I'll move on. Proxies have been inspected and all those validly lodged have been accepted. Proxies have been received representing $4.8 million -- 4.8 million shares or about 10.7% of the issued capital of the company. We'll now proceed with the resolutions. The first item of business is the -- to receive the company's annual financial report for the year ended 30 June 2024. The financial report and the reports of the directors and the auditors are now laid before the meeting. There will be no vote on this item and is a discussion item only. The company's auditor for 2024, Leo Tutt of William Buck Accountants and Advisors is present to take questions relevant to the conduct of the audit and the preparation and contact of the independent auditor's report. So I'll just ask for any questions or comments on the financial report or the reports of the directors and auditors. Are there any questions and comments on the management of the company? Are there any questions relevant to the conduct of the audit and the preparation and conduct the content of the auditor's report to be put to the auditor? Okay. If we've got no questions at this stage, I will move on. The first resolution is the adoption of the remuneration report. Resolution 1 is as follows: to consider and if thought fit, pass with or without amendment, resolution 1, adoption of the remuneration report as an ordinary resolution that for the purposes of Section 250R(2) of the Corporations Act and all other purposes, approval is given for the adoption of the remuneration report as contained in the company's annual financial report for the financial year ended 30 June 2024. If you have any comments or wish to discuss this, please submit your questions via the Q&A. We don't appear to have any questions there. If we can go to slide -- we're right there. Okay. We're on 32. No, we're not. Can we go to slide -- next slide. 33, perhaps is it Slide 33, Ken. Okay. The proxies received in relation to this resolution are shown there on the screen. I now put the resolution to motion. Shareholders can vote via the Computershare online portal. Resolution 2 is to consider and if thought fit to pass with or without amendment resolution to reelection of Mr. Ryan MacNamee as Director as an ordinary resolution. And the resolution is that Mr. Ryan MacNamee, Director, retires by rotation in accordance with the company's constitution and ASX Listing Rule 14.4, be eligible and offers himself for reelection as a director of the company effective immediately. If you wish to discuss this resolution, please submit your questions via the Q&A. I can't see any questions. So I now put this -- sorry, the proxies received on the screen. And I will now put this resolution to motion. Shareholders can vote via the Computershare online portal again. The next resolution, Resolution 3 is the election of Ada Poon as a director. The -- rather than the resolution has been set out in the Notice of Meeting that Ms. Ada Poon, a director who retires by rotation in accordance with the company's constitution and ASX Listing Rule 14.4 and being eligible, offers herself for reelection as a director of the company effective immediately. If you wish to discuss this resolution, please submit a question. We have a question. Okay. That's one, I think, for the question we have there is something that we -- Brett will answer at the end of the meeting. Okay. The proxies received for the reelection of Ms. Ada Poon are shown on the screen. I will now put this resolution to motion. Shareholders can vote via -- once again via the Computershare online portal. The next resolution is Resolution 4, which is once again set out in the Notice of Meeting is to consider and if thought fit to pass with or without amendment Resolution 4, renewal of the proportional takeover approval provisions in the constitution. The basics and all the information about that is set out in the Notice of Meeting. So the resolution to be put is "That for the purposes of Section 648G and 136(2) of the Corporations Act and for all other purposes, proportional takeover approval provisions set out in Clause 11 of the company's constitution be renewed for a period of 3 years from the date of the meeting "If you wish to discuss this, please lodge questions through the Q&A. There's no questions, then the proxies are shown on the -- proxy votes are shown on the screen. I now put this resolution and shareholders can vote via the online portal. Resolution 5 is in relation to the approval of the provision of financial assistance to the KPGH subsidiary. The resolution is shown in the Notice of Meeting is to consider and if thought fit, pass with or without amendment, approval of financial assistance for the -- to the KPGH subsidiary as a special resolution. "That for the purposes of 260A and 260B of the Corporations Act and for all other purposes, approval is given for KP Sydney to provide financial assistance to the company and the equity partner in connection with the purchase of the issued shares in the capital of Kelly Partners, Sydney by way of entering into a new loan facilities and granting certain guarantees and security interest in favor of Westpac to facilitate the funding requirements of the share purchase. If you wish to discuss this resolution, please submit your questions via the Q&A. Okay. If there's no questions, the proxies in relation to this resolution are shown there on the screen. I now put this resolution to motion. Shareholders can vote via the Computershare online portal. That now concludes the resolutions to be voted on today. As noted, we are conducting a poll on all the resolutions. I note that the poll is already open. Can all shareholders now ensure that they have submitted their votes. I will allow another minute before the poll is closed. If you have any questions in relation to the submission of online votes, please send them through now. We don't appear to have any questions in relation to that. The staff of Computershare Investor Services will now process the poll. The results of the poll will be announced to the ASX once they are available. I declare the poll closed. Now for other business, is there any other business that can lawfully be brought forward? Please, if there's any questions, if there are any questions, please lodge them on the Q&A. And while that's happening, Brett, maybe you would like to answer the question that's already there.

Absolutely, Steve. Thank you for doing that. It was remiss of me at the beginning of the meeting not to introduce our board: Steve Rouvray, Ada Poon. So Steve Rouvray, non-Executive Director; Paul Kuchta, Exec Director, Ada Poon Exec Director; Lawrence Cunningham, Non-Exec Director; Ryan MacNamee, Non-Exec Director. Thank you, everyone, for being here today. Kenneth Ko, our CFO, who heard speak; Joyce Au, our General Counsel; Mr. David Franks, our Company Secretary; and our auditors from William Buck, Mr. Leo Tutt and Mr. Lloyd Crawford. Thank you, everyone, for being here today and no apologies were noted, which is great. On to those questions. There were 2 prelaunch questions. Maybe we can go to those, Kenny.

yes.

I read the annual financial report question one, and so that KPG acquired nowadays many big accounting businesses using partner-owned driver model. I think this investor Ken is from Korea. Is that right?

That's right, Brett. Yes.

And I understood the model of Partner-Owner-Driver acquires 51% of an accounting business, then the total revenue of the acquired business will be included in KPG's revenue, but Kelly Partners owns a 49% interest in the operating business. Therefore, the 49% and net profit of the acquired business will be included in the KPG's net profit. Yes, it's a 51%-49% model. As I know, it's a good strategy to grow up the business. However, I think the gap between EBITDA and net income could widen further because of this model. Nevertheless, could EBITDA still be a valid measure. Look, it's probably worth Kenny, that sort of could the EBITDA still be a valid measure of KPG's intrinsic value? I think that's a long question that we've spoken a lot about. really, you have an EBITDA at the practice level that I think is indicative of the quality of the operations of those businesses. And then we have our share of those earnings coming into KPG and then we choose to use them in particular ways in terms of our capital allocation policy. Perhaps, Kenny, you can flick to that waterfall that we shared earlier for the benefit of this shareholder. There's a 51%-49% split of the parent net profit before tax, before parent entity costs. And then what you can see is that the parent entity pays tax as a company. The noncontrolling interest takes their interest and pays tax away from the company. And then there's the various ways that we allocate this capital. So there's interest on debt that is attributable to the holdco. There's depreciation that's attributable to the holdco that is rapidly sort of disappearing. Additional investments. So that's where we decide at the holding company level to invest in the group above the 9%, the 6.5% services fee and the 2.5% IP fee. We invested nearly $2 million in this period. We undertook a strategic review, about $1.3 million. And then there's the acquisition costs associated with deals that have been done during the year and any retention reversals or otherwise. So that's a good way to understand how that $11 million of net profit before tax, we have control of. And then what we don't have control of to any great degree is we've got to pay some tax, but that gives us a net $10.8 million to invest to make the best long-term returns for all shareholders. And so that's the way that we have sort of gone about that. I would consider that the parent depreciation numbers moving to 0 relatively quickly. The interest is probably doing something similar and our additional investments plus strategic reviews is $3.2 million, which we think is a good use of the capital in this period, but certainly aren't recurring expenses by any measure. And you can see the outsized growth in the last couple of years, and we expect that, that will probably continue that level of growth. So we've invested to make sure that we can manage that well. In terms of -- I hope that answers that question. In terms of the second pre-lodge question, Brett Kelly is the CEO and the founder. You could have put a graphic here, Ken, like a skeleton or something. I think it's a huge advantage for business growth. But I wanted to ask what could happen at KPG if something happens to Brett Kelly EG debt. Thank you for pointing that out. Well, I'm happy to report that I'm fit and healthy and that I do contribute to the business. But we have 3 core values at Kelly Partners. One, we want people that act in the interest of others that keep their word and play as part of a team. I'm most proud of the fact that our team is delivering these results that includes more than 100 equity partners, more than 500 team members, 20,000-plus client groups. And really, while I appreciate that I am a relatively verbally gifted spokesman, for the group, I have so many good things to share with you because of the quality of our people and their contributions. So you're probably right that I do make some difference, but the world will turn whether any of us are here or not. And I'm confident that the business has been put together so carefully and that the business model so long as it's maintained with integrity is likely to outperform in the very long term without -- whether any of us are here. So -- and in terms of back story, I think that you can see long-term good performance of so many of our people coming through in all of the activities we're involved in. And I'll try not to answer that question each year. Now there is a question. If anyone has a question, we do. We're here. We've got time. Lillian Chen has asked the question, Brett, can you share some progress regarding Kelly Partners Mumbai, Texas and Kudos. Mumbai has about 36 team members in it today, give or take 1 or 2 working for our firm. So it's simply a branded office working with people working seamlessly as part of our offices. We have also started to build a similar situation in the Philippines. We believe that the world is flattening and the global market for talent, we should access. But I'd stress that this number is less than 5% of our total headcount and probably will remain that way for the foreseeable future. In terms of Texas, we're banging away there. I expect that we now have an office and a very small operation moving forward. We've got a couple of deals at term sheet stage. And I think one is not happening, I think one will. And so let's see where we land there, which is exciting. It's a big market. It will take some time, but I remain very positive on the opportunities there. And out of our Florida and North Carolina offices, we are doing business in Texas through those offices, which is terrific. And then kudos International, it's approximately 60 firms, 48 countries. We've completed that partnership. We've put in a new website at -- one of our team members built a fantastic new digital platform app and a whole infrastructure for that community of firms to work together, to refer, to do training and to do events. It's very, very exciting and has been very well received. I think you'll see the thesis on that opportunity prove itself out imminently, and I couldn't be more excited. If we want to build Australia's global accounting firm, then we need to be in probably a dozen markets where the Australian expatriate community are most present, but our focus remains Australia, the U.S. and those other markets as and when the right people present the right opportunities, which is pretty exciting. David Fitzgerald has asked the question, is the current and future debt structure held at the headco or within each trading business? David, I hope you haven't been a shareholder for long. We've spoken about this a lot. It's in the owner's manual. The overwhelming amount of debt is in each special purpose vehicle to fund the development and growth of each individual business. There's a small amount of debt that we hold at the headco level that is typically drawn up and drawn down. And that's all in the numbers, and I think is very, very manageable. Recently, I saw a larger private equity-backed firm here in the U.S. doing a refinancing at 6.5x net debt to EBITDA. Our net debt to EBITDA is 1.5x. I think I'm right, Kenny, 1.28x.

Yes. 1.3x last year. It's around 1.6x now.

Yes. So 1.28x at June, 1.6x now. I'd consider ourselves extraordinarily lately at this point. And we'll change that if it makes sense for the a right opportunity over time, but maintain our methodology. Now if there are no ore questions, I can't see any. We've got a really great group of attendees today. I can see a bit long list. We're certainly here and happy to answer -- answer any questions that anyone might have. While we wait for a question, give you a quick update on our efforts generally. The business hasreceived more incoming opportunities over the last 12 months and any 12 months previous, not just in Australia but everywhere. And I see us as a business has been very advantaged by the additional interest in this sector globally. When I started with our small team, Joyce and Ada and others Scotty in 2006, it was considered the way we went about partnering with accounting firms is very, very odd. I think that we've resoundingly answered the question as of today that it makes sense to get under firms and put significant resource under the partners and our team to help our clients and deliver a better situation for everyone. So that's very gratifying and fills me with great excitement about the opportunities that come from here. Question from Tristan Wayne, do you have any view on the CBIZ's acquisition of Marcum. I would say, Tristan, that you won't see us do that type of transaction. That's a $700 million revenue transaction on a company with, say, $1 billion plus of revenue. Our methodology is $2 million to $10 million revenue accounting firms on a programmatic basis over a long period of time. I do think CBIZ is a good business. It's grown by 10x. -- and grown its market cap by 10x over the last 10 years. But I regard transformative acquisitions using that term very advisedly as certainly according to Mackenzie's research has often been transformative in the wrong direction for shareholder value. So I don't consider myself smart enough to do a large deal like that. And so for us, we want to stay a hedgehog and just get better and better at the thing that we know how to do. There's an obsession in our industry around size. I can't imagine where that comes from. But we will we will try and grow within the playbook and the structure that -- where we feel strictly within our circle of confidence and very expert and I guess our overlay is always to take no risk. To Quentin Welch's asked a question, are there any risks that keep you up at night? Well, the good news, Quentin, when I came to America I did experience for the first time in my life, a little bit of my sleep patterns being messed about a bit. because I worked out after about 6 months, I went to the doctor and he said how you're feeling. I said a little tired. He said, "Well, what's your data routine." I said, well, I'm up at 6, so go better midnight and I tend to work all the time. He said, well, other than Sunday, he said, "Well, you should stop that. So I've kind of got my structure better. I'm sleeping much better. Nothing to do with the rest of the bids just mind you, but more my sort of over overindulging in the opportunities and the excitement of what we're doing. So personally, much better sleeper team is very important for your health. But in terms of what keeps me up at night, Jim Collins is a real favorite of mine. I was very lucky last year to spend a week with him 4 days at a training for about 10 firms. And I consider that as like a singular privilege, I think is a wonderful person that's made a huge contribution to the world and certainly my thinking. He has written a book: How the Mighty Fall " Step 1: Hubris. So if there's something that we should guard against over my life, I've seen that when people know how to do 1 thing, they assume they know how to do 2 things. And so we're really hedgehogs. We know a lot about how to add value to $2 million to $10 million revenue accounting firms to look after private business owners using our 51%-49% Partner-Owner-Driver model. We don't know very much else. And so as long as we stick to our knitting, we'll be okay. Other than that, genuinely, nothing I'm a good sleeper have been on my life group in a noisy house. I hope that answers your question. Matthias Rickard has asked a question. Brad, can you share an update on the progress of U.K. region to grow through M&A. Matthias, great to hear from you. And what I can say is that it remains an area of focus for our future growth. There is far more opportunity here in the U.S. than even I could ever have perceived. And so we are deeply engaged in looking after the firm sort of joined us and really delivering on what we've promised to do there. And so that is by far our overwhelming focus. We have an increased level of interest out of that region. I don't know why. But we've got a number of firms that have come to us. We continue to talk to them, 2 firms in the north of England, 1 in Scotland, 1 in Ireland. I expect that at some point. We'll be doing a little bit more over there. But again, trying to be sensitive to the right people at the right time. We have no doubt that the opportunity exists in that market. That said, I love the guys that have joined us in our businesses here in the U.S. I want us to deliver enormously in terms of what we've undertaken to do here and will not get distracted in the meantime. Robert Miller, question, hi team, congratulations on a strong FY '24. I was wondering if we could briefly hear from KPG Ned, Lawrence Cunningham about his general views on KPG and the strategy, given his knowledge and experience about high-quality founders and high-quality compounding businesses and I'll hand that to Lawrence and just generally say, guys, I'm here, but the whole board is here, Ken, our CFO here, certainly pop in here. Any question for anyone that you would like answered. Over to you.

It's a pleasure to be here. I joined the Board a few years ago after studying the company and meeting many of the team. And since then, I've studied it more carefully, obviously, and pay close attention to everything Brett does and have been down to Australia and met the wider team. And I can attest to the quality of the company, the validity of its business plan and strategy, its leadership, its philosophy, its engagement. I enjoy working with the company and being on the Board. I think you also have a good Board, very talented insightful people who know this industry, know this business well. So yes, I'm also a shareholder of Kelly. So -- and I think the strategic direction is very attractive. This model works across geographies. That's really the test. They've done it in Australia for 20 years in the past several. They've begun to show that it actually works in other jurisdictions and other places. And I think there's some general operating principles at work. And I think the whole team, but Brett, in particular, has been studying and applying them for a very long time. So yes, I would consider it a quality company, and I think it has also succeeded in attracting a fairly high-quality shareholder base.

Thank you, Larry. Now I would add just to Robert, it's been tremendous to have Larry on the Board. He's a great font of wisdom and has introduced us to many very interesting people that help us. I would consider our senior team and our directors and our people as if having no other qualities, certainly, the curiosity and enthusiasm to learn and most importantly to apply that learning and Larry has given us great access to a huge amount of learning, which is helping the business tremendously. And so step at a time, but we are confident that if we stay humble and stay focused and energetic on what we're doing then things will continue to move along nicely. No, I can't see any more open questions, but I'm happy to take any. I often get asked, do I consider the business undervalued? Well, no, I don't. But you've all been given enough tutoring by us over time as to how to value such a business. And our job as senior management is to continue to drive value for all stakeholders, and we remain committed to that. Now if there's no other business and no one's got any other questions, I'll close off the meeting, but I'm very happy to take any questions. I might give you another moment going once, going twice. Yes. With the growing size of the U.S. proportion of the business, Tristan, is there any thought to report more comprehensively in the annual report the revenue and earnings by geography? Absolutely. Yes, definitely. We expect that there'll be more of that when it's appropriate. And I think that makes a lot of sense. So we'll continue to share the good, bad and the ugly as we roll along as we always have in a very transparent way. And I think you saw a little bit of that today, and you'll see a bit more as we go forward. Great question. I appreciate that. And I'd like to thank everybody for their time today. I think we're on time. And as I love to say, have a great day. Thank you, everybody.

Well done Brett, well done Ken.

Anytime, Polly, I hope everyone...

I think we might still be live because we still attendees in the room.

It feels like we're still got attendees.

I think we need to close the whole Zoom to.

Guys, thanks so much for making the time today. Thanks, Dave. I hope we've done all the things that we should do. And let me know if there's anything else to do. I think we've got a Board meeting now. I'll see everyone at that. Thank you.

Thank Brett. Bye.