Building success

TASMANIA’S top two earning businesses in the past financial year are both construction firms.

Hazel l Bro stopped the list in there search compiled by IBIS World.

The Tasmanian company turned over more than $227 million coming in at 292 in a list of the country’s top 500 private businesses.

Vos Construction with a revenue of 153 million was the next Tasmanian company ranked at 388.

TASMANIA’S two highestearning private companies are construction firms, which the industry’s peak body says underlines the sector’s importance to the state’s coronavirus recovery.

Hazell Bros has been named as the state’s highest-revenue private business, in a report released this month by market research and analysis company IBIS World.

The company, which celebrated its 75th anniversary last year, was one of six Tasmanian enterprises to make the list of the top 500 private businesses in the country.

Hazell Bros was included based on figures from the 2018-19 financial year, when it turned over $227.94m, coming in at 296 on the list.

With revenue of $153 min 2019-20, Vos Construction was the next Tasmanian company to make the list, at 388.

Master Builders Tasmania executive director Matthew Pollock said the figures highlighted how important the construction sector was to Tasmania’ s pre-C OVID economy.

“Unfortunately, since then, you can see the impact in the value and volume of projects that have been postponed,’’ he said.

“We’re still looking at a pipeline that’ s been reduced by about a billion dollars since March-April due to COVID and we’ve seen private investment in those major projects all but cease.”

But Mr Pollock said there was an opportunity for the construction industry to play a leading role in the state’ s economic recovery from COVID-19.

He said initiatives like HomeBuilder — which offer cash grants to people building new homes or substantially renovating existing ones — were helping the sector rebound.

But he suggested more measures, especially in the commercial construction sector, to encourage private investors back into the market.

“In terms of the role of construction, it makes up around 10 percent of the economy, but more importantly, it has a very strong multiplier effect,’’ Mr Pollock said.

IBIS World said revenue for companies in the building and construction sector had increased by 7.6 per cent, but they noted a downturn in the final quarter of 2019-20 due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other four Tasmanian companies to make the top 500 list were Incat (394) with revenue of $150.42m, St Lukes Health (403) with $143.44m, Sea road (412) with $137.4 m and aquaculture company Petuna (476) with $96.54 mt urn over.

Those businesses were included based on figures from the2018-19financialyear.