Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Propel Funeral Partners Limited H1 FY 2022 Results Briefing. All participants are in listen only mode. There will be a presentation followed by a question and answer session. If you would wish to ask a question, then you will need to press the star key button followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. I'd now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Albin Kurti, Managing Director. Please go ahead. Thanks, Ian. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining Propel's FY 2022 Half Year Results Briefing. I hope that wherever you're listening to this, you and your family are safe and well. During the first half of FY 2022, COVID continued to impact the way we work, live, and gather to honor and remember loved ones who have passed. Before we start today's presentation, I'd like to acknowledge and express my sympathies to bereaved client families, many of whom have farewelled loved ones in very challenging circumstances, especially in lockdown areas where strict funeral attendee limits and travel restrictions have applied. Having to limit and choose who can attend a funeral is extremely distressing, with many families significantly constrained and unable to grieve in a way that they ordinarily would, surrounded and supported by family and friends. As you can imagine, this has placed additional pressure on families and our staff. I would also like to therefore acknowledge and thank Propel's dedicated staff for their hard work, professionalism, flexibility, and commitment to providing essential and caring services to their communities despite the challenges of COVID-19. Turning to today's presentation. With me are my colleagues, Lilli Rayner and Fraser Henderson, and together, we will take you through the presentation launched with the ASX this morning. In terms of the agenda, I'll summarize the key highlights of the first half of FY 2022, touch on COVID-19 impacts and responses, the management internalization, 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. Finally, I'll make some concluding remarks before taking questions. The three key takeaways from today's presentation are, firstly, Propel achieved continued growth in key financial and operating metrics during the first half of FY 2022 despite COVID-19 impacts, with materially higher funeral volumes indicating a reversion to long-term growth trends. Secondly, it was a busy half in terms of corporate and M&A activity, with Propel announcing six new acquisitions, completing the management internalization, expanding and extending its debt facilities, and successfully raising equity from existing and new shareholders. Thirdly, with a strong funding position, Propel remains well-positioned to continue consolidating what is a highly fragmented and essential service industry with favorable demographic tailwinds. Please turn to slide six for the key highlights. First half revenue increased 15.2% to AUD 68 million on the back of a 14.9% increase in funeral volumes, including contributions from acquisitions, with comparable funeral volumes up 7.8% and average revenue per funeral proving resilient up 0.5% despite extended lockdowns. Propel continued to grow earnings. Pro forma operating EBITDA increased 17.8% to AUD 18.4 million, and pro forma operating NPAT increased 30.4% to AUD 7.8 million. Pro forma adjustments comprise one-off non-recurring items relating to the management internalization and government subsidies, which Lilli will cover in more detail later in the presentation. Cash flow conversion remains strong at circa 98%. From a capital management perspective, the board has declared an interim dividend of AUD 0.06 per share, fully franked, representing a payout ratio of 88%. Propel ended the first half with a gearing ratio of 13%, having successfully completed a circa AUD 64 million equity raising during the period. The company also expanded its senior debt facilities by AUD 50 million to AUD 200 million, and importantly, the debt maturity date has been extended, the cost of borrowing has been reduced, and a key covenant limit has been increased. Available funding capacity has increased to approximately AUD 150 million, which will support Propel's acquisition-led growth strategy. In terms of growth, during the period, the company announced 6 new acquisitions in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and New Zealand. Since its IPO in November 2017, the company has deployed approximately AUD 148 million on acquisitions. Fraser will provide an acquisition update shortly. In terms of our outlook, the company expects to benefit from favorable demographics in Australia and New Zealand, a strong funding position, and acquisitions completed and announced to date, and other potential future acquisitions in what remains a highly fragmented industry. I'll talk more about our outlook towards the end of the presentation, and we'll now touch on key COVID-19 impacts and some of our responses. Turning to slide 7. Extended lockdowns and strict funeral attendee limits in parts of Australia and New Zealand during the first half of FY 2022 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. However, as can be seen from the chart at the top of this slide, average revenue per funeral across Propel's network returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, which is encouraging. In terms of funeral volumes, in February last year, we flagged that we expected the below-trend death volumes experienced during 2020 to result in a deferral of death volumes into future periods. In the six months to 31 December 2021, Propel's total funeral volumes were up 14.9% on the PCP, with comparable funeral volumes up 7.8%, reflecting an increase in death volumes across most markets in which the company operates and indicating a reversion to long-term growth trends. Slide 8 sets out some of our responses to COVID-19 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 reducing and rearranging seating capacity in our chapels, limiting attendance and increasing the scheduled time between services, increased online streaming of funerals, changing the way funerals are arranged, controlling operating costs, staff working from home where feasible, and accessing government subsidies where eligible. With the support of our dedicated staff and the understanding of our client families, Propel is focused on continuing to trade effectively through COVID-19 disruptions as and when they occur. Slide 9 summarizes the management internalization, which was completed during the first half. Propel's shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of a proposal to internalize the senior management functions of the company, with two shareholder resolutions being carried with over 98% of votes in favor. In summary, the management internalization involved termination of the management agreement, AUD 15 million termination fee paid to the manager, which was settled 50% in cash and 50% in shares, Lilli, Fraser, and I becoming employees, the transfer of intellectual property to the company, and changes to the constitution and escrow arrangements relating to approximately 14.7 million Propel shares. The management internalization has aligned the company with more standard management structures for ASX-listed operating entities, which is expected to increase investor participation, provide corporate governance and financial benefits while ensuring continuity of the company's strategy, its board, and management. I'll now provide a brief overview of the business. Slide 11 illustrates how Propel's network has evolved over the past 8.5 years. We started with one funeral home in Queensland, and today we operate from 145 locations across Australia and New Zealand, including 32 cremation facilities and 9 cm. Of those 145 locations, the company owns 78 of the properties, which are held at cost on the balance sheet at approximately AUD 132 million. Slide 12 shows Propel's main operating brands in Australia and 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 the brands relating to acquisitions announced during the first half. These brands are an important part of the goodwill of each business. The charts on slide 13 illustrate Propel's historic growth in funeral volumes and revenue. As you can see on the left, the company performed approximately 7,900 funerals in the first half of FY 2022, up 14.9% on the PCP. The chart on the right shows that Propel generated revenue of AUD 68 million, up 15.2%. The charts on slide 14 illustrate Propel's historic growth in operating earnings. As you can see on the left, the company generated pro forma operating EBITDA of AUD 18.4 million in the first half, up 17.8% on the PCP. The chart on the right shows that Propel generated pro forma operating NPAT of AUD 7.8 million, up 13.4%. Lilli will cover the bridge between pro forma and statutory operating earnings shortly. The chart on slide 15 shows Propel's average revenue per funeral since FY 2014, which has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 2.7%. In the first half of FY 2022, average revenue per funeral was resilient, up 0.5% on the PCP and up 2.5% on the pre-COVID-19 period in FY 2020. Turning to slide 16. Cash flow 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% since FY 2015. In the first half of FY 2022, cash conversion remained strong at approximately 98%, which is pleasing, particularly given the growth in Propel's operating cash flow. Before I hand over to Lily, I wanna briefly touch on the company's performance since its IPO. Propel listed on the ASX in November 2017 with an issue price of AUD 2.70. As you can see from the chart on this slide, as at 31 December 2021, Propel's share price has materially outperformed the ASX 300 index and its only listed domestic peer. For investors who participated in Propel's IPO and subsequent share issues, and who retained their shareholding as at 31 December 2021, Propel has generated a total shareholder return of approximately 69% on a pre-tax basis, including dividends. This equates to total shareholder value accretion since the IPO of approximately AUD 237 million pre-tax. On behalf of everyone involved with Propel, I thank shareholders for their ongoing support. I'm gonna hand over to Lily, who'll provide further detail on the first half financial results. Thanks, Albin, and good morning, everyone. Today, I'll cover five key areas. Firstly, I'll provide an overview of Propel's first half results via an analysis of the statutory income statement. Secondly, I'll comment on the pro forma adjustments and related earnings bridge. Thirdly, I'll touch on key growth drivers of revenue, pro forma operating earnings, 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 19. Propel generated revenue of AUD 68 million in the first half, an increase of 15.2% on the PCP. The increase was driven by the full period contributions of three acquisitions completed in FY 2021. The part period contributions of four acquisitions completed during the reporting period and a 7.8% increase in comparable funeral volumes. Propel reported a gross margin of 71.3%, which was 100 basis points lower than the PCP, primarily due to the financial profile of recent acquisitions and sales mix. The company generated statutory operating EBITDA of AUD 19.1 million in the first half, in line with the PCP. The result was impacted by government subsidies received in both reporting periods and the management internalization, which resulted in additional employment expenses. I'll touch on the pro forma results shortly, which for ease of comparison, adjust for these two items. In terms of other items of note on the statutory income statement, the management internalization resulted in a number of one-off impacts, including a AUD 15 million termination fee, settled 50% in cash and 50% in shares. A non-cash fair value adjustment expense of AUD 0.9 million relating to the delta between the issue price of the termination shares and the value of those shares on completion. A non-cash share-based payment revaluation expense of AUD 5.4 million relating to a modification of the voluntary escrow arrangement relating to 14.7 million Propel shares. Acquisition and transaction costs during the first half were materially higher than the PCP due to the management internalization and the six acquisitions announced in the reporting period. Net interest expense was in line with the PCP. Propel generated statutory operating NPAT of AUD 8.3 million in the first half, in line with the PCP. Total shares on issue as at 31 December 2021 were 18% higher than the PCP due to the capital raising, the management internalization, and shares issued to some of our vendor partners, which impacted statutory operating earnings per share. The bridge on slide 20 sets out the impact of the two pro forma adjustments on operating EBITDA in the current reporting period and the PCP. The bridge and pro forma numbers assume the management internalization occurred on 1 July 2020, and therefore additional employment-related costs are included for the full 6 months in both reporting periods and back out the impact of government subsidies in both reporting periods. Adjusting for these two items, pro forma operating EBITDA increased 17.8% on the PCP. The waterfall on slide 21 sets out the sources of revenue growth on the PCP. The chart shows the full period contributions of acquisitions made in the PCP, the contributions of acquisitions completed during the reporting period, and organic growth for businesses held for the comparable period. As you can see from the comments on the bottom left of the slide, in the first half, funeral volumes increased 14.9%, including contributions from acquisitions. Average revenue per funeral increased 0.5% on the PCP, impacted by the financial profile of recent acquisitions, pricing, and funeral mix. Noting that average revenue per funeral was 2.5% above the pre-COVID period. Businesses owned during the comparable period experienced a 7.8% increase in funeral volumes, with average revenue per funeral in line with the PCP. As you can see on the bottom right of this slide, the pro forma operating EBITDA margin was 27.1%, 60 basis points above the PCP. The margin was positively influenced by operating leverage as a result of the material increase in comparable funeral volumes. Good cost control, with comparable OpEx per funeral, just 4% below the PCP. These were partially offset by sales mix and the margins of recent acquisitions. Moving to slide 22, statutory operating cash flows were in line with the PCP, with contributions from acquisitions and solid trading being offset by an increase in employment costs paid in connection with the management internalization and lower government subsidies received compared to the PCP. Cash flow conversion remained strong at 98.4%. In respect of investing activities during the first half, Propel deployed approximately AUD 15.2 million in cash in connection with acquisitions and AUD 0.4 million relating to earn-out payments, and incurred net capital expenditure of AUD 3.9 million. Maintenance CapEx amounted to 3.7% of revenue. Financing activities largely reflect the net proceeds from the capital raising of AUD 62.3 million and a subsequent reduction of senior debt, as well as dividends paid during the period. Moving to slide 23, there are three main points to mention on the balance sheet. One, at that period end, Propel had net debt of AUD 38.2 million, materially lower than the AUD 79 million as at 30 June 2021, due to net proceeds of the capital raising being used to repay senior debt, which can be redrawn. Two, the 77 freehold properties owned by Propel as at 31 December 2021 were held at cost less accumulated depreciation of approximately AUD 130 million. Three, Propel's prepaid contract funds total AUD 52.4 million, which are largely invested with third-party friendly societies who primarily invest the funds in cash and fixed interest products. 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 two amounts is recognized in the income statement. The contract turns at need when the service is delivered. At that time, revenue is recognized and the liability is extinguished. During the reporting period, and consistent with the PCP, prepaid contracts that turned at need in Australia accounted for less than 10% of the group's Australian funeral volumes. It should be noted that there are no prepaid funeral contracts in the New Zealand business. Going to slide 24, in respect to capital management, during the reporting period, Propel expanded its senior debt facilities to AUD 200 million, which mature in October 2024. Propel raised net proceeds of AUD 62.3 million in connection with the placement and the follow-on share purchase plan. After allowing for funds required for the interim dividend declared today of AUD 0.06 per share and binding commitments on acquisitions as at 31 December 2021, Propel had available funding capacity of approximately AUD 150 million. Propel remained comfortably in compliance with its debt covenants, reporting a net leverage ratio of 0.8x. I'll now hand over to Fraser, who will cover industry trends and acquisitions. Thank you, Lilli. Good morning, everyone. Some of you may be familiar with the graphs on slide 26, which show that the number of deaths is forecasted to both increase and accelerate in the countries in which Propel has operations, namely Australia and New Zealand. Death volumes is the most significant driver of revenue in the Death Care Industry. In Australia, the ABS forecasts that death volumes will increase by 2.9% per annum from 2020 to 2031, and 2% per annum from 2031 to 2050. Whereas in New Zealand, Stats NZ forecast that death volumes will increase by 2.2% per annum from 2021 to 2032, and 1.8% per annum from 2032 to 2050. Few industries have the benefit of the certainty of this sort of tailwind. However, death volume growth is not necessarily linear and can fluctuate from time to time. As we've seen since the start of the pandemic, social distancing measures, travel restrictions, and increased focus on personal hygiene, among other things, can result in a deferral of death volumes into future periods. The funeral industry is highly fragmented in both Australia and New Zealand, with Propel the second largest in both countries. Slide 27 shows how Propel's estimated market share in Australia, based on reported number of funerals performed and actual number of Australian deaths in 2020, has grown in the five calendar years from circa 1.2% in 2015 to circa 7% in 2020. However, it is worth noting that notwithstanding that significant increase, approximately 70% of the market is still owned by entities other than Propel and the largest competitor. Going to slide 28, Propel remains focused on executing its core strategy of acquiring assets and social infrastructure which operate in the Death Care Industry. Since its IPO in November 2017, Propel has committed AUD 147.7 million in acquisitions. During the first half of financial year 2022, Propel deployed and/or committed AUD 21 million on business acquisitions and properties in New Zealand, Western Australia, Victoria, and South Australia. Moving forward, Propel 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. Thank you, Fraser and Lily. As you can see from our presentation today, Propel achieved continued growth in key financial and operating metrics during the first half of FY 2022. The company operates in what is a stable, highly fragmented, and essential service industry, with assets and infrastructure that are difficult to replicate, which stands to benefit from favorable demographic tailwinds. Propel is well-funded to continue its acquisition-led growth strategy. With its founder-led management team owning approximately 17% of the company, this ensures a strong alignment with fellow shareholders. As I flagged earlier, shareholders who participated in Propel's IPO have benefited from significant shareholder value creation through share price accretion and dividends, and we thank them for their continued support. In summary, Propel has a strong track record, a stable and aligned management team, a defensive market position in a favorable sector thematic, and is well-funded. In terms of the outlook, Propel continues to be well-positioned to generate sustainable long-term growth and value creation. 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. Propel's funeral volumes in the first half of FY 2022 were strong, and this has continued into the start of the second half, a further indication of death volumes reverting to long-term growth trends. In the month of January 2022, Propel's total and comparable funeral volumes were materially above the PCP. The company experienced a higher mix of full-service funerals, contributing to material growth in average revenue per funeral over the PCP. However, death volumes fluctuate over short time horizons. In terms of the company's financial results, we expect to benefit from favorable demographics in Australia and New Zealand, the company's strong funding position, and acquisitions completed and announced to date, and other potential future acquisitions. That said, ongoing COVID-19 impacts remain uncertain. However, our experience since the start of the pandemic indicates that the financial impacts of strict funeral attendee limits have been temporary, with funeral mix and average revenue per funeral generally rebounding quickly as restrictions have eased. This not only reinforces the value that society places on physical attendance at a funeral service as an important part of the grieving process, it also highlights the defensive nature, diversification, 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 three key takeaways from our presentation today are, one, Propel achieved continued growth in key financial and operating metrics during the first half of FY 2022 despite COVID-19 impacts, with materially higher funeral volumes indicating a reversion to long-term growth trends. Two, it was a busy half in terms of corporate and M&A activity, with Propel announcing six new acquisitions, completing the management internalization, expanding and extending its debt facilities, and successfully raising equity from existing and new shareholders. And three, with a strong funding position, Propel remains well-positioned to continue consolidating what is a highly fragmented and essential service industry with favorable demographic tailwinds. With that, I'll hand back to the moderator to invite questions. Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star then one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star then two. If you are on a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before asking your question. Our first question comes from Sam Haddad and from Bell Potter. Please go ahead. Hi. Good morning, Albin, Lilli, and Fraser, and well done on the strong result. Thanks, Sam. Good morning. Just my question on the inflationary backdrop. Are there any pressures or emerging pressures that you're seeing across your business, and how are you managing that? Good morning, Sam. Lilli here. Happy to take that question. I think, like many businesses, Sam, we've started to see some increases from, from some of our suppliers, particularly in those areas where they rely on, on raw materials, fuel and, and freight. Coffin manufacturers are a good example of that. I think in terms of managing that, we're typically applying a a pretty measured approach to passing those cost increases on, but obviously just where it makes sense to do so. Just on your supply chain, are you exposed at all to the global supply chain disruptions? Just, can you remind us of where you source your coffins? Yeah, Sam. You know, there's two main coffin suppliers and manufacturers in Australia that both have manufacturing facilities in various locations in Australia. We feel pretty well shielded from those more global supply chain issues. Just back on the inflationary outlook, your average revenue per funeral, I think you target 2%-4% increases or thereabouts, per annum. If inflation pressures go beyond that, what will you do to contain that? Well, I think, Sam, I mean, look, time will tell, but I think if the inflationary environment is beyond the upper end of that band, then I would expect that our average revenue per funeral, assuming normal mix and assuming no extended lockdowns, would be at or above the upper end of that band. Okay. Just on labor availability, given the rebounding volumes, what are your utilization levels in terms of casual labor? What's the availability of labor to support the normalization of volumes? Yeah. Sam, obviously that operating leverage came through in this half, given the 7.8% increase in comparable volumes. We've obviously talked about before that, you know, some of the costs in the business are fixed and some of them are variable. Employment's obviously the largest operating expense that we have, and there's a component there that is fixed, which is obviously our full-time and part-time staff, and then the component that is variable is the casual staff. I think that the key thing to point out from our results is that comparable OpEx per funeral, which was 4% below the PCP, just demonstrating that operating leverage. Yeah. In terms of staff availability, if in the market just to support growth in the business, can you comment on that given the employment market's becoming a little tight? Yeah. Look, I think, Sam, the employment market's been tight for a long time in Australia and New Zealand and certainly tighter. I think we manage to fill you know vacancies when they arise. I think the bigger challenge is I suppose when staff come down with COVID and have to isolate and you know that's been a little disruptive, but I think overall the network's managed through that disruption reasonably well. Okay. My final question, just on vendor expectations, I suppose with the inflationary backdrop, are prices also increasing in terms of vendor expectations as to what they think is a fair price? Hi, Sam. Fraser here. Short answer is no. I mean, I think again, we look back at what we're paying and what we've paid over the 16 or 17 years in the industry and they have largely been consistent. We always know that it's more expensive depending on the property and whether there's a cremation facility, but expectations have not changed either through COVID or through the interest rate rises or inflation environment that you just touched on. Great. That's all my questions. Thanks for your time. Thanks, Sam. As a final reminder, if you would like to ask questions, please press star then one on your telephone. Wait for your name to be announced. At this time, it looks like there are no further questions. I'll now hand the call back to Mr. Kurti for any closing remarks. Well, thank you all for joining today's call. Lily, Fraser, and I hope that you and your loved ones stay safe, and we look forward to catching up with some of you over the coming days and to providing further updates on the company's progress, as and when appropriate. Thanks, everyone. This concludes our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.