Home giant returns to black, calls for change
Australian largest detached home builder is in “clear waters” after a rocky period but Metricon chief executive Brad Duggan has called for further structural change in the sector to ensure its viability.
He said Metricon supported the federal government’s national target to build 1.2 million homes over the next five years but there was a critical need to first build the workforce. He said immigration was only a short-term solution to the skills shortage.
“I think there’s a lot of structural change needed to achieve goals,” he said. “And trying to get more breadth and capacity in the workforce is a critical component of that.
“These skills are not developed overnight. These people are professionals and it takes a long time for them to get to a level to deliver a quality home.
“I think we all have responsibility to redefine what success is for our children because university is not the only pathway to have a successful life and that’s the structural change we’re talking about.”
Mr Duggan was in Brisbane on Monday as part of a Metricon and the Housing Industry Association initiative to empower 10 Queensland women through a pre-apprenticeship program. Metricon has 1600 employees and can employ up to 30,000 contractors on any day.
“Capacity and capability need to be broadened and that includes diversity by bringing in women into the industry which is critical,” Mr Duggan said.
Mr Duggan became CEO of Australia’s largest detached home builder just over 18 months after the sudden death of founder and chief executive Mario Biasin in May 2022.
In August 2022, Metricon slashed its workforce by 9 per cent as home construction slowed with the interest rate hikes, which saw a wave of construction giants collapsing including Porter Davis Group, Hallbury Homes and Privium.
In July 2023 the company said it had raised prices by up to 10 per cent for clients whose original contracts had expired before construction could begin. Metricon also had a $100m-plus injection of funds to get it through the rough patch
Mr Duggan said he was “sick of talking about the past” and was looking to the future.
“We’re definitely through the worst of it and we are in clear water now,” he said “We’ve done a lot of hard work on ourselves for the past few years and have been profitable for 13 months in a row.
“We’re a private company, so we keep that information to ourselves, but we’re doing quite well … we’re very happy on how the market has turned around and really optimistic for 2025.”
Mr Duggan also welcomed state and federal government initiatives to help the industry and said he supported the introduction of the National Construction Code.
“I have questioned for some time whether now is the right time to do it but it’s happening at the end of the month so there is no use complaining about it,” he said “It will result in an increase in costs but the … development of sustainable homes will be worth it.”