Bradken profit plunge
Engineering group Bradken’s full-year net profit has more than halved as the slowdown in mining investment continues to bite.
Net profit fell 68 per cent to $21.5 million.
The company says there has been an improvement in orders for big-ticket mining machinery in 2014.
Bradken said its underlying net profit after tax for the year was down 43 per cent to $55.1 million, with one-off adjustments for manufacturing restructure costs and foreign exchange losses.
Sales revenue was down in all of the company’s divisions, including mining products, mineral processing, the rail division and US-based engineered products.
Managing director Brian Hodges said the company’s cost cutting and continued work on new product development placed it in an excellent position to take the greatest advantage of improved market conditions.
The company has axed 1800 jobs in less than two years.
“We expect an improvement in order intake as delayed expenditure at mine sites is released and mine production volumes continue to increase, supporting sales in the second half,” Mr Hodges said.
“It remains unclear when the mining capital cycle will improve, but we are not solely relying on it to do so.”
Stay informed, daily
In its outlook the company said the steady recovery of the US economy continued, while the Australian manufacturing sector “remains in decline, which is a trend that is forecast to continue”.
Net debt levels decreased to $377.2 million from $431.5 million in the previous year due mainly to the lower capital expenditure, reduced working capital level and also lower cash dividend payments, the company said.
An unfranked final dividend of 11 cents per share was declared, taking the total for the year to 26 cents, down 32 per cent.
Last year’s dividend was 38 cents per share, fully franked.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
