Railway Lane Photo: Alistair Guthrie
Transport giant Mainfreight's half-year profit has fallen amid squeezed margins as global trade conditions return to normal from the peak demand period during the Covid pandemic.
Key numbers for the six months ended September compared with a year ago:
- Net profit $114.6m vs $124.6m
- Revenue $2.55b vs $2.36b
- Profit before tax $161.2m vs $174.8m
- Interim dividend unchanged at 85 cents per share
The result is marginally better than the company's expectations, and it said freight volumes and warehouse utilisation have all increased from the prior period.
Mainfreight said it saw an improvement in profitability in the second quarter and is likely to continue into the second half of its financial year.
Its transport, warehousing and air & ocean divisions all saw revenue improvement, with transport earnings in line with the prior year.
However, warehousing and air & ocean earnings fell.
Mainfreight said its performance was weaker in New Zealand due to poor economic conditions, while the Americas also saw a "disappointing" result amid tighter margins as it tries to develop the market.
"Challenging trading conditions continue across all the regions where we are located. Our profitability performance reflects those conditions," it said.
"However, we remain very active in our sales activities, attracting and retaining customers across our supply chain service offering."
The company did not provide full-year guidance but said it was "well positioned" to take advantage of improving economic conditions.
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