Southern Cross Electrical Engineering (ASX:SXE) has delivered a complex half-year result for FY26, characterised by a statutory net loss overshadowed by a lift in future earnings guidance.
The company reported a statutory NPAT loss of $12.8 million for H1, a figure heavily impacted by $46.1 million in one-off costs tied to the WestConnex arbitration.
Revenue also saw a contraction, falling 12.2% to $349.1 million as major projects like the Collie BESS reached completion.
Despite the headline headwinds, the underlying business demonstrated remarkable resilience, with underlying EBITDA rising 30.8% to $35.4 million.
Buoyed by this operational momentum, management has upgraded its FY26 underlying EBITDA guidance to at least $72 million.
The optimism is anchored by a robust $710 million order book and an "unprecedented" tender pipeline in the data centre sector exceeding $1 billion.
The integration of the Force Fire acquisition has further diversified revenue streams, with recurring work now accounting for 27% of total turnover.
SXE remains in a precarious yet liquid position, maintaining $58.8 million in cash with zero debt.
The balance sheet strength allowed the board to declare an interim dividend of 2.5 cents per share, signalling confidence to shareholders.
At the time of reporting, Southern Cross Electrical Engineering's share price was $2.84.