Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Vulcan Steel's interim profit has fallen more than 50 percent as the steel products company navigated "challenging" business conditions.
Key numbers for the six months ended December compared with a year ago:
- Net profit $26.1m vs $55.4m
- Revenue $564m vs $638m
- Underlying profit $81.8m vs $116.6m
- Interim dividend 12 cents a share vs 24.5 cps
Chief executive Rhys Jones said the difficult conditions were a follow-on from 2023.
"Higher interest rates continued to impact on business activity and investment appetite. High inflation added to the pressure on business costs," he said.
The company said its net debt was cut by $42 million to $298m, and delivered "strong operating cashflow" of $105m, up $89m from the same period a year ago.
"The underlying 4 percent growth in our customer base in 1H FY24 and progress we have made in our growth programme have been encouraging.
"We are well-positioned to capitalise on a recovery in the cycle and will continue to invest in the business appropriately for growth," Jones said.
Looking ahead, Vulcan said there were "early signs" that sales activity was "stabilising at current levels".
The company expected New Zealand trading volume to begin a recovery from the second or third quarter of the 2024 calendar year.
It said in Australia, its metals segment would likely remain steady and improve during the 2024 calendar year.