The business behind the dividend
| Measure | NGS | Median | Formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 7.3% | 11.7% | Net income ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Return on capital employed | — | — | Operating income ÷ (equity + total debt) |
| Owner earnings | $-64.90m | $632.00m | Net income + depreciation & amortisation − capital expenditure |
| Free cash flow | $-58.56m | $746.10m | Operating cash flow − capital expenditure |
| Operating margin | 21.6% | 15.0% | Operating income ÷ revenue |
| Net margin | 11.6% | 10.2% | Net income ÷ revenue |
| Debt to equity | — | — | Total debt ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Interest cover | 2.75x | 4.43x | Operating income ÷ interest expense |
| Current ratio | 2.33x | 1.25x | Current assets ÷ current liabilities |
| Long-term debt to working capital | — | — | Long-term debt ÷ (current assets − current liabilities) |
| Cash conversion | 3.16x | 1.78x | Operating cash flow ÷ net income |
Not computed here: Debt to equity, Long-term debt to working capital, Return on capital employed — why a blank is not a zero.
Ten years of it
The same measures, for every year the filings support. One year is a fact; a row is a business.
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 7.3% | 6.8% | 2.0% | -0.2% | -3.9% | 0.7% | -5.6% | -0.2% | 7.7% | 2.8% | 0.7% |
| Operating margin | 21.6% | 21.3% | 69.7% | 4.2% | -141.1% | -49.8% | -69.7% | -2.9% | 6.8% | 22.4% | 4.2% |
| Net margin | 11.6% | 11.0% | 31.6% | -5.5% | -104.4% | 25.0% | -63.8% | -2.6% | 91.4% | 17.2% | 11.0% |
| Current ratio | 2.33x | 2.78x | 2.33x | 1.78x | 3.21x | 6.70x | 7.70x | 8.67x | 14.52x | 14.67x | 3.21x |
| Cash conversion | 3.16x | 3.86x | 3.80x | — | — | 18.06x | — | — | 0.88x | 4.91x | 3.80x |