Mainfreight profit up 89% in record result
Logistics and transport company Mainfreight has reported its ‘‘best ever’’ annual result with net profit increasing 89% to $355 million for the year to March 31.
The company said it was ‘‘another record result and a more than satisfactory improvement on the prior year’’ in what was a highly disrupted year in the world of logistics.
Despite inflation and recession concerns, Mainfreight remained confident of continued growth and improved performance, it said. Costs of €1.5m (NZ$2.47m) associated with the closure of its Russian business, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, were included in the result, it said.
Shareholders will receive a final dividend of 87 cents a share to be paid on July 22, it said.
Staff would receive bonuses of $94m, an increase on last year’s $44m bonus, and wage increases of 5% or more were applied from April 1 across all regions.
Its share price increased nearly 3% to trade at $77 yesterday morning, still well down from its high late last year of about $98 a share. The company reported improved performance from all five regions it operates in, with revenue across New Zealand,
Australia, Europe, Asia and the Americas rising 47% to $5.2 billion.
Business from outside New Zealand now exceeded 72% of the group’s net profit, it said.
Of its top 500 customers, 69% were using Mainfreight in two or more regions, up from 64% on the year before.
Its fourth-quarter performance in New Zealand was better than expected despite challenges from the Omicron outbreak.
The result included a significant increase in contribution from its air and ocean division, but the company also experienced increased profitability growth in warehousing transport, it said.
It expected to spend $540m over the next two years, $450m of which would be in property.
The company said the result was its best ever. ‘‘Much has been said about the artificial impact on our revenues of inflated air and sea freight rates, and we accept this is a contributing factor.’’
However, the performance from its air and ocean division also reflected growth achieved in its customer base, with its ability to secure tightly contested space allocations, it said. and and