Propel Funeral Partners Limited (PFP) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Thank you, Mike, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining Propel's 2020 Full Year Results Briefing. I hope wherever you're listening to this, that you and your family are safe and well. With me are my colleagues, Lilli Gladstone and Fraser Henderson. And together, we'll take you through the presentation lodged with the ASX this morning. The emergence of COVID-19 has been the defining event of 2020 and has impacted most industries, including the funeral industry. So before we start, I'd like to thank all of Propel's dedicated staff in Australia and New Zealand for their hard work, professionalism, flexibility and commitment to providing essential and caring services to their communities throughout FY '20, especially since the start of the pandemic. I also acknowledge and express my sympathies to bereaved client families, many of whom have farewell loved ones in particularly challenging circumstances in recent months. Turning to today's presentation. In terms of the agenda, I'll summarize the key highlights of FY '20, the impacts of and our responses to COVID-19, and I'll then provide a brief overview of the business. Lilli will cover the financial results in more detail. Fraser will touch on industry trends and acquisitions. And finally, I'll make some concluding remarks before taking questions. The 3 key takeaways from today's presentation are: firstly, FY '20 was another record year for Propel, with the company exceeding guidance and generating significant revenue and earnings growth; secondly, the company's diversification in providing essential funeral and related services across 7 states and territories of Australia and New Zealand, including regional and metropolitan markets delivered considerable resilience in operating earnings and cash flows, particularly in recent months; and thirdly, with a strong funding position, no near-term debt maturities, the support of our dedicated staff and the understanding of our client families, Propel is well placed to navigate COVID-related disruptions and uncertainties and to continue its disciplined acquisition-led growth strategy in what remains a highly fragmented industry. Please turn to Slide 6 for the key highlights. Propel's revenue exceeded $100 million for the first time in FY '20, increasing by 16.5% to $110.8 million on the back of a 17.6% increase in funeral volumes, including contributions from acquisitions. Average revenue per funeral was up 1.6% on the prior year and up 2.1% on a comparable basis. Propel continues to grow earnings with operating EBITDA up 36.4% to $32.4 million and operating NPAT is up 6.5% to $14.2 million, including the impact of the new accounting standard for leases, AASB 16, which the company adopted on 1 July 2019. Lilly will step through those impacts shortly. However, it's important to note that this noncash accounting change has had no economic impact on the company, its cash flows or its operations. And on a consistent accounting basis, excluding the impacts of AASB 16, operating EBITDA and operating NPAT both increased materially, growing by circa 20% and 8% on the prior year, respectively. Cash conversion remained strong at 103.4%, which is pleasing. From a capital management perspective, in FY '20, Propel expanded its senior debt facilities with Westpac to $150 million, providing additional funding capacity to support the company's growth strategy, which Lilly will cover in more detail. During the second half of FY '20, the company prudently increased its liquidity position, and as at June 30 had cash at bank of approximately $54 million and a net leverage ratio of 1.7x, well below the covenant limit of 3x, which can be increased to 3.5x at the company's election. And the Board has declared a final dividend of $0.06 per share, fully franked, resulting in total dividends of $0.10 per share fully franked in connection with FY '20, representing a payout ratio of 85%. Since its IPO in November 2017, Propel has declared fully franked dividends totaling $0.279 per share or circa $0.40 per share on a pretax basis. In terms of growth, Propel added 10 locations during the year, bringing its total network to 130 locations as at 30 June 2020. Management has been focused on executing Propel's acquisition-led growth strategy, committing approximately $126 million on acquisitions since the company's IPO. During the year, we expanded in Queensland, completing our largest acquisition to date, Gregson & Weight. We also expanded in New Zealand with the acquisition of Grahams Funeral Services. And we purchased 3 freehold properties, 2 of which were previously tenanted by Propel. We're also pleased to announce today that Propel has executed a conditional sale agreement to acquire the business assets and freehold property of Mid West Funerals in Geraldton in Western Australia, which Fraser will touch on. Completion of the Mid West Funerals acquisition and the previously announced acquisition of the Dils Group in New Zealand is expected to occur during the second quarter of FY '21. In terms of our outlook, Propel's earnings resilience in FY '20 has continued into the start of FY '21. And the company expects to benefit from favorable demographics, a strong funding position, acquisitions signed and completed to date and other potential future acquisitions. I'll talk more about our outlook towards the end of the presentation and will now touch on key COVID impacts and some of our responses. In late March, the Australian and New Zealand funeral industries confronted unprecedented disruption and uncertainty following the introduction of funeral attendee limits. As you can see from the illustrative time line on Slide 8, limits on funeral attendance and other social-distancing measures resulted in what I would describe as a ground zero event for the funeral industry in the month of April when funeral attendance was limited to just 10 mourners throughout Australia and was prohibited throughout New Zealand, a very difficult time for client families and our staff. I won't go through each of the dates, but you can see that funeral attendee limits changed frequently during the final quarter of FY '20 and our staff and client families had to adapt quickly to these changes. As of today's date, you can see the restrictions differ between states and territories in Australia and New Zealand, with funeral attendance in Victoria and Auckland, currently the strictest, limited to 10 mourners. We expect those restrictions to ease over the coming days and weeks. And we welcome yesterday's announcement in New Zealand that funeral attendance in Auckland will increase to 50 mourners from next Monday. Turning to Slide 9. These restrictions affected the company's ability to offer a full range of services to client families and temporarily resulted in a higher mix of lower-value funerals performed across Propel's network. As illustrated in the chart at the top of this slide, average revenue per funeral was impacted in the final quarter of FY '20. In the month of April, when funeral attendees were limited to 10 mourners throughout Australia and prohibited throughout New Zealand, average revenue per funeral declined by circa 14% compared to the prior 9-month period. However, as restrictions began to ease from late April onwards, funeral mix improved significantly and average revenue per funeral increased in the 2 subsequent months, reverting to pre-COVID levels in June. Funeral volumes were also impacted. As illustrated in the chart at the bottom right of this slide, in the final quarter of FY '20, flu cases in Australia were more than 95% below the prior 5-year average, and unusually, there was only 1 flu death in the quarter. Although there were 106 COVID deaths in Q4 across Australia and New Zealand, this is significantly less than the number of flu and flu-related deaths historically experienced in that 3-month period. In Q4, Propel's funeral volumes also cycled a strong PCP and were approximately 350 below our pre-COVID expectations. We experienced a swing in the company's 12-month rolling comparable funeral volume growth, from positive 1% as at 30 April to negative 2.2% as at 30 June 2020. Social-distancing measures, travel restrictions and increased focus on personal hygiene and effective flu vaccinations in recent months have contributed to a benign 2020 flu season to date and may result in a deferral of death volumes into future periods. Slide 10 sets out some of our responses to COVID and how we, our staff and our client families have had to adapt. Our focus has been on people safety, essential service continuity and financial resilience. I won't go through each point listed on this slide but the measures implemented range from ensuring access to sufficient PPE supplies, staff working from home where feasible, reducing and rearranging seating capacity in our chapels, increasing the scheduled time between services, increased online streaming of funerals, changing the way funerals are arranged, reducing operating costs, ceasing nonessential capital expenditure, accessing government subsidies where eligible and prudently increasing the company's liquidity level. I want to particularly highlight and thank those staff who agreed to temporary changes in their employment terms during the months of April and May, such as reduced hours and more flexible working arrangements. Those temporary changes helped to ensure the company maintains staffing levels during what was a very uncertain 2-month period and a return to normal staff settings in June. I also acknowledge and thank our independent directors and the manager, who at the time we were asking some of our staff to temporarily change employment terms, agreed to waive 100% of their fees for the month of April and May. I'll now provide a brief overview of the company. Slide 12 illustrates how Propel's network has evolved over the past 7 years. We started with one funeral home in Queensland, and today, we operate from 130 locations across Australia and New Zealand, including 31 cremation facilities and 9 cemeteries. Of those 130 locations, the company owns 72 of the properties. Slide 13 shows Propel's main operating brands in Australia and in New Zealand. Each brand has a distinct identity and is well-known in their respective markets. Some have been around for many decades. For example, in Tasmania, Millingtons has been operating in and around Hobart for over 100 years. And in New Zealand, Davis Funerals has operated in and around Auckland since 1875. The green dotted lines show those brands added to Propel's network in FY '20 and those expected to be acquired in Q2 of FY '21. These brands are an important part of the goodwill of each business. The charts on Slide 14 illustrate Propel's historic growth in funeral volumes and revenue. As you can see on the left, the company performed over 13,000 funerals in FY '20, up 17.6%. The chart on the right shows that Propel generated revenue of $110.8 million in FY '20, up 16.5%. The charts on Slide 15 illustrate Propel's historic growth in operating earnings. As you can see on the left, the company generated operating EBITDA of $32.4 million in FY '20, a more than tenfold increase since FY '15 and up 36.4% on the prior year. On a consistent accounting basis, operating EBITDA growth was approximately 20%. The chart on the right shows the Propel generated operating NPAT of $14.2 million, up 6.5%. On a consistent accounting basis, operating NPAT growth was 8.4%. The chart on Slide 16 shows Propel's average revenue per funeral since FY '14, which has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 2.5%. In FY '20, average revenue per funeral was up 1.6% on the prior year and up 2.1% on a comparable basis. Turning to Slide 17. Cash conversion continues to be a key focus. As you can see from this chart, Propel's cash conversion has remained consistently high, averaging approximately 99% during the last 6 years. In FY '20, cash conversion remains strong at approximately 103%, which is pleasing, particularly given the continued growth in operating cash flow. Turning to Slide 18. Before I hand over to Lilli, I want to briefly touch on the company's performance since its IPO. Propel listed on the ASX in November 2017. And as you can see from the chart on this slide, as at 30 June 2020, Propel's share price has materially outperformed the ASX Index and its only listed domestic peer. Investors who participated in Propel's IPO and who have retained their shareholding at 30 June 2020 have received a total shareholder return of approximately 23% on a pretax basis, including dividends. This equates to total shareholder value accretion since IPO of approximately $63 million pretax. On behalf of everyone involved with Propel, I thank shareholders for their ongoing support. I'll now hand over to Lilli, who will provide some further detail on the FY '20 financial results.

Thanks, Albin, and good morning, everyone. Propel's FY '20 financial results proved resilient, despite COVID-19-related disruptions in Q4, and pleasingly, the company exceeded full year revenue and operating EBITDA guidance. Today, I will cover off on 5 key areas. Firstly, I'll provide an overview of the company's statutory financial results by an analysis of the income statement. Secondly, I'll highlight the key impacts of the accounting standard for leases, AASB 16 on the FY '20 results. Thirdly, I'll touch on key growth drivers of revenue, operating EBITDA and margin. I'll then provide an analysis of the cash flows and wrap up by touching on the balance sheet and capital management. Please turn to Slide 20. Propel generated revenue of $110.8 million in FY '20, an increase of 16.5% on prior year. The increase was driven by the full year impact of 5 acquisitions completed in FY '19 and the part-year impact of 2 acquisitions completed during the year. Furthermore, the performance was impacted by growth in average revenue per funeral, partially offset by lower-than-expected funeral volumes in the last quarter. Propel reported a gross margin of 71.8%, which was 110 basis points higher than FY '19. The increase was primarily due to the financial profile of recent acquisitions, which included cremation facilities and funeral mix in Q4. The company generated statutory operating EBITDA of $32.4 million in FY '20, an increase of 36.4% on the prior year. It was positively impacted by the adoption of AASB 16, which I'll cover shortly, acquisitions and measures introduced to mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19, including recognition of waive subsidies for eligible businesses in Australia and New Zealand of approximately $1.5 million. In terms of other items of note on the income statement, as disclosed in November last year, a $4.1 million performance fee was paid to the manager following a total shareholder return of 24.2% during the second calculation period, which exceeded the benchmark of 8%. Acquisition costs of $1.6 million were in line with the prior year and primarily related to stamp duty. Net interest expense increased materially as a result of AASB 16 and the company increasing its borrowings. Propel generated operating NPAT of $14.2 million in FY '20, up 6.5% on the prior year. Income tax expense was positively impacted by the reinstatement of tax depreciation deductions on nonresidential buildings in New Zealand, which have resulted in a reduction in Propel's deferred tax liability and income tax expense of $1.1 million. The adjusted effective tax rate for the year was 29.7% after accounting for nondeductible expenses, nonassessable income and the one-off restatement of the New Zealand deferred tax liability. The next 2 slides summarize the impacts of AASB 16 on operating EBITDA and operating NPAT. Propel adopted AASB 16 on 1 July 2019 under the modified retrospective approach, and therefore, the prior year has not been restated. For ease of comparison, on Slide 21, we have shown operating EBITDA on a consistent or pro forma accounting basis compared to the prior year. That is excluding the impact of AASB 16. On that pro forma basis, operating EBITDA growth was 19.7%. Under AASB 16, occupancy and other lease expenses are excluded, and therefore, operating EBITDA increased by $4 million during the year. This partially contributed to the 36.4% increase in statutory operating EBITDA. Slide 22 sets out the impact of full ASB 16 on operating NPAT. Essentially, occupancy and other lease expenses have been replaced with depreciation and interest charges. On a consistent accounting or pro forma basis, operating NPAT increased 8.4%, and on a statutory basis, it increased 6.5%. Importantly, the adoption of AASB 16 had no cash impact and resulted in no change to Propel's operations. Please note that more detailed disclosures relating to AASB 16 are set out in the appendices of today's presentation and the annual report. The waterfall on Slide 23 sets out the sources of revenue growth on the prior year. The chart shows the full year impact of 5 acquisitions made in FY '19, the part-year impact of 2 acquisitions completed during the year and organic for businesses held for 12 months or longer. Propel generated significant revenue and margin growth despite COVID-19 impacts in Q4. For the full year, as you can see from the comments on the bottom left of the slide, average revenue per funeral increased 1.6%, and funeral volumes increased 17.6%. In terms of organic, in the center of this slide, comparable businesses experienced a 2.1% increase in average revenue per funeral, which was positively influenced by sales mix and pricing, offset by funeral mix in Q4. As disclosed in May, Propel's rolling 12 months comparable funeral volume growth to 30 April 2020 was circa 1%. However, in the final 2 months of FY '20, the company cycled a strong PCP of comparable funeral volumes. Reported flu cases in Australia were more than 95% below the prior 5-year average. And as Albin said earlier, Propel's funeral volumes were circa 350 below our pre-COVID expectations. This resulted in comparable funeral volumes being 2.2% lower than FY '19. As you can see from the bottom right of this slide, the operating EBITDA margin was 29.2%, 420 basis points above the prior year. The margin was influenced by the impact of AASB 16, which accounted for 350 basis points, improved gross margin, the financial metrics of recent acquisitions and good cost control with comparable funeral OpEx in line with FY '19. On a pro forma or consistent accounting basis, the operating EBITDA margin was 70 basis points above FY '19. As you can see on Slide 24, cash flow from operating activities increased by circa 24% to $21.5 million. It was positively impacted by higher earnings and lower outflows in respect to reclassification of lease payments net of interest due to AASB 16. It was partially offset by the payment of the performance fee and increased interest paid on borrowings. Management focus and positive movements in working capital contributed to strong cash flow conversion of 103.4%. In respect of investing activities, Propel deployed approximately $46 million in connection with acquisitions; acquired 3 freehold properties, 2 of which were previously leased; and incurred capital expenditure of $4.1 million. I note that maintenance CapEx represented approximately 3.1% of revenue, within our target range of 3% to 5%. The financing activities largely reflect senior debt drawn down to fund acquisitions and to prudently increase cash at bank in Q4 in light of COVID-19 and dividends paid during the year. In respect of AASB 16, the cash flow statement was impacted by the reclassification of lease expenses to interest and other financing cash flows, but as mentioned earlier, this did not impact cash flow conversion. Moving to Slide 25. There are 4 main points on the balance sheet. One, as at year-end, Propel had cash at bank of approximately $54 million and net debt of $55.9 million. Two, the 72 freehold properties owned by Propel are held at cost at approximately $103 million. Three, in connection with AASB 16, Propel has recognized right-of-use assets of $39 million and lease liabilities of $41 million, resulting in an immaterial change to net assets. And four, Propel's prepaid contract funds totaled $47.5 million. The funds associated with prepaid contracts are principally invested with third-party friendly societies who largely invest the funds in cash and fixed interest. In accordance with accounting standards, the asset increases by the investment return generated during the reporting period and the liability increases by the financing charge. The difference between those 2 amounts is recognized in the income statement. The contract turned at need when the service is delivered. At that time, revenue is recognized and the liability is extinguished. In FY '20, approximately 9% of Propel's Australian funeral volumes were attributable to prepaid contracts that turned at need, similar to FY '19. And I note that there are no prepaid contracts in the New Zealand business. Turning to Slide 26. In respect to capital management, Propel expanded its senior debt facilities to $150 million in December 2019, which now comprises of 4 tranches. Tranches A, B and C mature in August 2022 and tranche D matures the following year. After allowing for funds required for binding cash commitments, Propel has available funding capacity of approximately $67 million. And as at 30 June 2020, Propel remains comfortably in compliance with its debt covenants, reporting a net leverage ratio of 1.7x. Earlier today, the Board declared a final dividend of $0.06 per share fully franked, resulting in total fully franked dividends of $0.10 per share in connection with FY '20, representing a payout ratio of 85%. I'll now hand over to Fraser, who will cover industry trends and acquisitions.

Thank you, Lilli, and good morning, everyone. Some of you may be familiar with the graph on Slide 28, which shows the number of deaths is forecast to both increase and accelerate in the countries in which Propel has operations namely: Australia and New Zealand. Death volume is the most significant driver of revenue in the death care industry. In Australia, the ABS forecasted death volumes will increase by 2.5% per annum from 2018 to 2029 and 2% per annum from 2029 to 2050. Whereas in New Zealand, Stats NZ forecasted death volumes will increase by 1.1% per annum from 2019 to 2030, accelerating to 1.8% per annum from 2030 to 2050. Few industries have the benefit of the certainty of that sort of tailwind. However, death volume growth is not necessarily linear and can fluctuate from time to time. As Albin mentioned, social-distancing measures, travel restrictions and increased focus on personal hygiene and effective flu vaccinations in recent months may result in short-term volatility and the deferral of death volumes into future periods. Funeral industry is highly fragmented in both Australia and New Zealand, with Propel the second largest in both countries. Slide 29 shows how Propel's estimated market share in Australia, based on reported number of funerals performed and estimated Australian death in 2019, has grown in the last 4 calendar years from circa 1.2% in 2015 to circa 6.3% in 2019. However, it is worth noting that notwithstanding that significant increase, over 70% of the market is still owned by entities other than Propel and the largest operator. Turning to Slide 30. Propel remains focused on executing its acquisition-led investment strategy. Since its IPO in November of 2017, Propel has deployed and/or committed over $125 million on acquisitions. As illustrated in the table on this slide, the acquisitions in aggregate are on an annual basis expected to contribute more than 5,500 funerals and over 3,000 third-party cremations to the group and over $50 million in revenue. The acquisitions are geographically spread across Australia and New Zealand. Our brands with distinct identities are well-known in their respective markets. We're delighted that our new partners have joined or will shortly join the Propel network. During the year, we expanded in Queensland, completing our largest acquisition today, Gregson & Weight, and we also expanded in New Zealand with the acquisition of Grahams Funeral Services. It's also pleasing to announce today the proposed acquisition of Mid West Funerals in Geraldton in Australia, which we expect will complete in Q2 of FY '21. Mid West Funerals performed approximately 120 funerals per annum and will be a bolt-on acquisition for Seasons Funerals, our Perth-based business in Western Australia. Finally, in relation to the Dils Group, the period between exchange and completion have been longer than either party expected, but we are pleased with the recent progress on the subdivision application, which is the final condition precedent involving third parties, and as Albin mentioned, we expect it too to complete in Q2 of FY '21. From an integration perspective, many of the matters that would usually occur only post-settlement are well advanced. The integration of the Dils Group should be quite seamless. Moving forward, management will continue to explore other potential acquisition opportunities, but the timing of any future acquisitions, as you would appreciate, remains uncertain. I'll now hand back to Albin.

Thanks, Fraser. In terms of the outlook, Propel continues to be well positioned to generate sustainable long-term growth and value creation. Propel operates in a fragmented and essential service industry with assets and infrastructure that is difficult to replicate, which stands to benefit from favorable demographic tailwinds. Although death volume growth is certain, unavoidable and predictable over the longer term, it's not linear and it fluctuates over time. In other words, death is certain, but its timing is not. Historical experience suggests that the lower-than-expected death volumes in recent months should be temporary, given prior period declines have rebounded quickly and the growing and aging population. Encouragingly, despite a soft market backdrop and COVID-related disruptions, the financial resilience demonstrated by Propel in the final quarter of FY '20 has continued into the start of FY '21. In the month of July, average revenue per funeral continued to improve, with growth over the PCP within the company's 2% to 4% target. And Propel performed approximately 1,200 funerals in the month, which was in line with the PCP but was below expectations across most markets in which the company operates, suggesting a potential deferral of death volumes into future periods. However, it's still very early in the new financial year. And as discussed, death volumes fluctuate, so caution is required when forecasting over short-time horizons. In terms of the company's financial results, we expect to benefit from a growing and aging population, the company's strong funding position, acquisitions signed and completed to date and other potential future acquisitions. However, we do expect COVID-related disruptions and uncertainties to continue, especially in hotspot areas where funeral attendance is very limited as is currently the case in Victoria and Auckland. Whilst we are obviously monitoring the situation, it should be noted that less than 20% of Propel's operating earnings are generated in Victoria and Auckland. Although it is expected that average revenue per funeral will be impacted in hotspot areas, our ground zero experience in April and the recovery since demonstrates that the financial impacts of funeral attendee limits have been temporary and average revenue per funeral has rebounded quickly as restrictions have eased. This not only reinforces the value that society places on physical attendance at a funeral service as a vital part of the grieving process, it also highlights the defensive nature and the social infrastructure characteristics of Propel's network of funeral homes, cremation facilities and cemeteries. In conclusion and as I summarized at the outset, I think the 3 key takeaways from our presentation today are: one, FY '20 was another record year for Propel, with the company exceeding guidance and generating significant revenue and earnings growth; two, the company's diversification in providing essential funeral and related services across 7 states and territories of Australia and in New Zealand, including regional and metropolitan markets, delivered considerable resilience in operating earnings and cash flows, particularly in recent months; and three, with a strong funding position, no near-term debt maturities, the support of our dedicated staff and the understanding of client families, Propel is well placed to navigate COVID-related disruptions and uncertainties and to continue its disciplined acquisition-led growth strategy in what remains a highly fragmented industry. With that, I will hand back to the moderator to invite questions.

[Operator Instructions] And the first question we have will come from Sam Haddad of Bell Potter Securities.

Albin, Lilli and Fraser, congratulations on the resilient results.

Sam. Thank you. It's a credit to all the staff across Propel's network in Australia and New Zealand.

Yes. Obviously, the outlook remains highly uncertain. So I just wanted to dwell on trends into -- entry in FY '21, again. So just on the average revenue per funeral in August, I understand as headwinds with renewed restrictions, can you give any color on how that's trended with July?

We haven't made any public statements about August Sam. Obviously, we've still got a few days to go. But I think I've called out the restrictions where they are strictest at the moment, in Victoria and in Auckland, limited to 10 mourners. So we have seen an impact in those hotspot areas. But as I said during the presentation, we expect that those impacts will be temporary, and as we experienced since April, we expect it to rebound pretty quickly as those restrictions ease. And we do note that in the last 24 hours in Auckland, there was an announcement that funeral attendee limits will increase to 50 from next Monday, so that's obviously a positive step.

And the main variable is the mix between sort of maybe direct cremations and more traditional services. Is that right? That's what's the driver of the all average per funeral through these restriction periods?

Yes. That's right, Sam. So what we saw, particularly in April and still to a degree since then, was a significant shift towards basic lower-value funerals direct cremations, direct burials. So that was a significant mix shift in April, in particular. And what we also saw as soon as the restrictions started to ease, we saw the mix reverting back to pre-COVID levels. And in fact, through June and July, I think we're pretty much back to where we were prior to April.

Are there any pricing repercussions in those different segments on the back of that -- those shifts? Like, are you still able to increase your prices through this disruption?

Well, I think we've disclosed that in the month of July, we saw a continuing recovery in average revenue per funeral and that the growth on the PCP was within our 2% to 4% target range.

And that would be predominantly price, I would assume?

Pricing and mix, yes.

Okay. Just on the volume outlook as well. Just -- I think you mentioned, it was sort of widespread across most markets in terms of the recent underperformance in terms of expectations. Just more color on that in that respect, please, like, regionally and what changes you see between states?

Yes. So it's -- I think it's fair to say, Sam, that in most markets that we operate, funeral volumes were below our pre-COVID expectations, especially in Q4. I won't go into specifics, but from a comparable volume perspective, what I would say is that generally, we fared slightly better in New Zealand than in Australia, whereas the opposite was the case with respect to average revenue per funeral. And generally, our regional locations were slightly less impacted than our metropolitan locations during Q4. So hopefully, that gives you a bit of a flavor.

Yes. And just in terms of the -- with all the state border restrictions and fire restrictions, is that -- how does that impact your ability to conduct a new deal -- new prospect acquisitions and complete on acquisitions that you've already started?

I mean, I don't think -- I mean, what it does is it changes our ability to get there, but I mean I think we've traveled far and wide previously. So most of the ones that we're in active discussions on we've visited the locations, but it obviously frustrates our ability to travel in order to complete. So like the Dils transaction, that will be done virtually. Mid West Funerals in Geraldton, which we touched on earlier, given our presence in WA, that will be done locally through the Seasons management team rather than us in Sydney. So it's more around sort of the practicalities of it rather than changing the strategy or how we develop it.

I might just add, Fraser, that, Sam, we've screened I think over 170, 175 acquisition opportunities over the last 7 years, and we've completed or signed 32, 33 of them. So there's many out there that we have previously engaged, we've visited. So from that perspective, that's helpful that we've physically visited numerous sites. But your point -- your question is valid. If there was a new acquisition opportunity arise that we hadn't visited and we can't physically get to, that will pose a slight challenge in the short term.

And just more broadly on the macro thematics, given COVID disruption and what you're seeing the impacts are in terms of whether you're smaller funeral service provider versus the larger listed players in the market, have you've seen any trends there? And what that means in terms of engagement with vendors and your acquisition pipeline?

No, not really. I mean, I think the industry is not immune from the impacts of COVID. So I think it's rare in this industry that they have to sell. So I think our expectation is that we and them will look through the impacts of COVID in terms of valuation and in terms of the physical impacts of COVID and the stresses that might bring on the workforce, that might bring forward a vendor's intention to have a discussion with us or others. But I think that will evolve over time.

Yes, because pricing becomes difficult, doesn't it, trying to work out what your normalized EBITDA number becomes?

Yes. But as I say, I mean, I think we and they would look through that. I mean this is sure the impact that COVID, as Albin has talked about, in terms of impacts on volume and average revenue per funeral. But we rarely look at the last 6 months in terms of value in this business, but we look at it on a historic and then tend to normalize anomalies like this.

Yes, that makes sense. Just final question, just on the CapEx outlook for '21. Is that still between the 3% to 5% range or at the top end of the range, Lilli?

Yes. So Sam, we obviously delivered 3.1% from a maintenance CapEx perspective in FY '20. You are right, our range for '21 is still within the 3% to 5% from a maintenance perspective. But I will call out that in addition to that from a growth perspective where we've got a couple of projects on the go at the moment and we've also earmarked another freehold property that we currently lease that we will acquire. So from a growth perspective, I'd assume another $5 million to $10 million of CapEx from that perspective.

[Operator Instructions] At this time, there appear to be no further questions. I will hand the conference call back over to Mr. Kurti for any closing remarks. Sir?

Well, thank you all for joining today's call. Lilli, Fraser and I hope that you and your loved ones stay safe, and we look forward to catching up with some of you virtually over the coming days and obviously providing further updates on the company's progress as and when appropriate. Thanks, everyone.