02.03.2021

Boom back to black

Australian crane and access rental company Boom Logistics has reported a profit for the first half of its financial year.

The company had revenues for the six months to the end of December of $84.2 million, down 11 percent on the same period in 2019. The crane fleet, which includes 250 units up to 750 tonnes capacity, achieved a utilisation rate of 76 percent, up from 74 percent last year, driven by a strong performance from cranes of 25 tonnes and below. The company also runs a fleet of 100 truck mounted platforms which experienced a sharp rise in utilisation from 49 to 67 percent, led by machines of 38 metres which touched 86 percent.

Pre-tax profit for the period was $435,000 compared to a loss in the first half of 2019 of $5.8 million. Net debt was slashed from $27.3 to $14.2 million at the end of December, thanks to strong cash flow.

Managing director Tony Spassopoulos said: “Although the pandemic delayed contracts and reduced activity, a strong focus on high quality revenue has enabled a solid result. We are moving in the right direction, but we are not there yet. We adapted quickly to the Covid–19 business environment in line with advice from government guidelines. Actions to protect our customers and our employees such as new risk management procedures were introduced and enforced. This ensured a safe environment to service our customers. While supply chain challenges remain and some projects are delayed, we have been successful in securing new business across diverse industries. We have tightened cost structures and strengthened our management team.”

“Asset sales realised $4.4 million, which is being reinvested in more appropriate assets to service existing and new business. Our committed focus to maximising return on capital, together with effective debt management, provides a strong position from which to target business growth and further diversify our revenue base. Infrastructure, renewables, energy, telecommunications and labour hire provided 54 percent of revenue, with mining maintenance and services contracts contributing the remaining 46 percent.

“The safety of our employees and customers is paramount and building on our safety leadership approach remains a priority. We achieved a safe act observation frequency rate of 7,900 during the half, compared with a frequency rate of 6,450 in the full previous year.

Vertikal Comment

This is a pretty solid performance from Boom Logistics which looks to be on a sound financial position. Profitability remains a little weak, but 2020/21 should set the business on a strong path for further growth into 2022.