Steel & Tube 2024 ASM Presentation and Speeches
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2024 Annual
Shareholders’
Meeting
28 November 2024
3
Online Meeting
VOTING TAB
Q&A TAB
Agenda
•Chair’s Presentation
•Management Presentations
•Discussion
•Resolutions
•Other Business
•Meeting Close/Refreshments
4
Chair | Susan Paterson
Your Board
Karen Jordan
Independent Director
Appointed Dec 2020
Standing for re-election
Christopher Ellis
Independent Director
Appointed Sep 2017
Susan Paterson
Chair & Independent Director
Appointed Jan 2017
Standing for re-election
Steve Reindler
Independent Director
Appointed Aug 2017
John Beveridge
Independent Director
Appointed Aug 2019
Andrew Flavell
Independent Director
Appointed Oct 2021
Leadership team
Marc Hainen
GM Strategic
Growth
Anna Morris
GM People &
Culture
Mark Malpass
Chief Executive
Officer
Raffaella del Prete
Chief Digital Officer
Peter Ensor
GM Reinforcing
& Major Projects
Richard Smyth
Chief Financial
Officer
Peter Reiber
GM Rollforming
Sam Reindler
GM Logistics &
Distribution
Centres
Damian Miller
GM Quality,
Health, Safety &
Environment
Daryll Maiden
Acting GM
Distribution
8
Clear growth strategy in place, building on strong foundations to strengthen
the core and growth in high value products and services
Strategic Goals
Customer
The preferred
supplier for steel
solutions and
products
Growth
Increase valuation
through organic
growth and M&A
Shareholder
Deliver increasing
value and returns
for our
shareholders
9
Strongly positioned to successfully
navigate the current cycle,
leverage future demand and take
advantage of opportunities, both
now and in the future
10
FY24 key financial measures
Continued solid performance in a challenging trading environment
Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT), Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA), Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) | Non-GAAP earnings reconciliation at the end of the presentation
Percentage variances compared against FY23 unless otherwise stated
Gross dividend yield based on share price at 30 June – FY24 $1.12
Due to rounding, numbers presented throughout this presentation may not add up precisely to the totals provided
Revenue
$479.1m
-18.7%
NPAT
$2.6m
-84.7%
ROFE
4.8%
FY23: 9.9%
Normalised EBIT
$14.5m
-54.8%
Net Cash
$8.7m
+33.8%
FY24 Dividends
6.0 cps
(Gross yield 9.7%)
11
Capital management
Balance sheet providing resilience and strength through the
cycle; capacity for growth when the cycle turns
32
•No borrowings, $100m facility in place
•Net cash $16.7m end-Oct 24
•Strong cashflows supporting strategic
initiatives
•Priority capital allocation to
maintenance spend and strategic
investments
-100%
-70%
-40%
-10%
20%
50%
(150)
(100)
(50)
0
50
FY17FY18FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23FY24YTD
Oct25
Net Debt / Equity
$m
Net (Debt)/ Cash Position
Net (Debt)/CashNet Debt to Equity
12
Investor returns
•FY24 dividend payout of
6cps above policy range
•Attractive dividend yield of
c.10% over past two years
•Introduced Dividend
Reinvestment Plan – active
for final FY24 dividend
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
-
2
4
6
8
10
1H212H211H222H221H232H231H242H24
Gross Dividend Returns
Gross Dividend cpsDividend Yield (Rolling 12 Months)
1. Gross dividends include the benefit of imputation credits, the yield is calculated as gross dividends divided
by share price (as at 31 December or 30 June)
13
40
42
50
42
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
FY22FY23FY24FY25
YTD
Net Promoter Score
1
Building a strong business
Customer, people and sustainability performance
1.13
1.14
0
1.18
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
FY22FY23FY24FY25
YTD
eTRIFR
2
29
34
31
34
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Dec 21Dec 22Dec 23Sept
24
eNPS
1
Employee satisfaction in
industry top quartile
Industry Average: 32
1.Net Promoter Score. Customer NPS is calculated based on 3 months rolling average. Employee NPS industry average is 21 and Customer NPS industry average is 30
2.TRIFR: Employee Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate per 1 million work hours
3.Reporting references the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and includes all material emissions under Scope 1 and 2
Customer satisfaction
continues at high levels
Industry Average: 18
Reduction expected as
volumes grow
FY24 the best in
company’s history
Top Quartile
11.1
12.8
14.7
21.1
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
FY22FY23FY24FY25
YTD
Scope 1 & 2
emissions
3
Roadex impact
Emissions tCO
2
e per tonne
14
Priority topics for the Board
•Stay the course on strategy
•Return to profit
•Leverage the economic recovery
•Value adding growth
•Risk management and resilience
In the
Boardroom
15
Positioned to benefit as demand returns
•Proven dual pathway strategy – strengthen the core, and grow high value
products and services
•Financial and operating model delivering inherent operating leverage
•Robust balance sheet strength providing resilience & supporting growth
•Proven organic growth and M&A strategy
•Current economic conditions provide market opportunities
•Strong long term drivers of demand
CEO | Mark Malpass
17
Actively managing market challenges
Market
Challenges
FY24FY25Response and Mitigation
Weak economic
drivers
HighHigh
•Strong balance sheet and lean cost structure
•Customer focused - expanding existing customer share of wallet
•Focus on higher value products and services
•Diversified business with limited exposure to any one sector
Lack of
infrastructure
spend
MedHigh
•Staying close to Government and industry players
•Well positioned for commencement of Government investment into infrastructure
•Specialist expertise and technical knowhow
Commodity price
volatility
HighMed
•Managing inventory cover
•Buying the right products, at the right time
•Focus on dollar margin capture on existing inventory
Geo-political
threats
MedMed
•Monitoring events and maintaining diversity of suppliers
•Secured shipping lanes
Cashflow
management
MedLow
•Tight control and management of cash, working capital and debtors - minimal
levels of bad debt
FY25 four-month trading update
Challenging market conditions impacting across the sector
•Continuing weakness in New Zealand
economic environment
•Revenue and earnings affected, but will
improve when demand returns
•Maintaining market share, increasing
share of wallet
Some market improvement expected
from mid-2025 as interest rate cuts start
to stimulate activity in construction and
manufacturing sectors
July to October
4m YTD
FY25
4m YTD
FY24
Var.
Sales volumes (000t)35.543.5(8.0)
Total revenue ($m)141.7183.3(41.6)
Normalised EBITDA
($m)2.716.5(13.8)
Normalised EBIT ($m)(5.0)9.5(14.5)
Normalised EBIT and EBITDA have been adjusted to exclude non-trading adjustments for the four
months to 31 October 2024 totalling $(0.7)m.
19
FY25 focus and priorities
Tight control through the cycle; preparing to deliver when demand returns
•Laser focus on capturing revenue and driving profitability
•Expand offering and sales to current clients – cross-sell opportunities
•Continue to take cost out, while retaining the ‘muscle’
•Continued tight management of inventory, retaining ability to quickly scale up
•Support margins through higher value products and services
•Strong balance sheet provides resilience and allows for opportunistic M&A
Business
strategy
21
Strategic pathways
Overall goal to deliver gross margin improvement
•Best-in -class customer experience
•Cross sell products and services
•Accelerate shift to digital sales
•Drive gross margin $/tonne
•Operating efficiency
Continue to Strengthen the Core
•High value products, diversified
materials and value-added services
•Diversify customer segments and build
scale
•Primary focus is on organic investment
and M&A in direct adjacent sectors
Grow High Value Products and
Services
22
30%
25%
16%
10%
18%
22%
25%
18%
12%
24%
1 Category
2 Categories
3 Categories
4 Categories
5 or More Categories
Selling more products to each customer
Broad product range provides competitive advantage,
focus on increasing our category share per customer
FY23FY24
23% increase in customers
buying 3 or more products
23
100
125
150
175
200
-
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
FY20FY21FY22FY23FY245%10%15%20%FY23
Vol
FY22
Vol
Volume (ktonnes)
EBIT ($m)
Volume Growth
VolumeEBIT
HistoricalVolume scenarios
Scenario modelling FY24’s operating leverage
at increasing product volume levels
None of the modelling outlined on this page is a prediction, forecast or guide for FY25. Scenario product
margins have been kept constant and variable costs flexed proportionately to the increase in volume.
Operating leverage
Controlling the controllables
•Lift in market activity, combined
with improvements in operating
leverage, enables magnification
of earnings growth
•Large proportion of fixed costs
•EBIT scales disproportionately to
volume
•Further leverage from cross
selling new products and
services, digital conversion
35% increase in
earnings
24
Growth focused on two key pathways
Organic growth and M&A activity
32
•Products that fit into our existing
distribution network leveraging
our national footprint
•Cross over of customer base with
opportunity to cross sell existing
product categories
•Medium to large market size
where we can provide structure
and grow positions
Growth CriteriaM&A Criteria
•Procurement
•People
•Inventory
•Digital and IT
Platforms
•Safety / Regulatory
•Sustainability
•Inventory
•Structure
Additional criteria
•Industry aligns with current
operations, enhancing capability
or range
•Acquisition size impacts group
earnings with growth potential
in their market segment
•Location provides access to new
markets or is a leading regional
operator with national
expansion potential
25
PLATE PROCESSING
•Value-add service
improving margin
capture
•Further geographic
expansion to South
Island installed on
budget and on time
Growth investments adding value
32
ALUMINIUM
•Well supported by
customers
•One of the highest
$/tonne products
offered
•Range expansion
underway
KIWI PIPE AND
FITTINGS
•Strong earnings
growth
•Leveraging network to
expand outside
Auckland
•One of the highest
ROFE businesses
FASTENERS NZ
•High quality, strong
ongoing demand
•Range expansion
adding value
Recent growth initiativesCompleted M&A
LAST-MILE
FREIGHT DELIVERY
•Operations
commenced in May
•Exceeding
expectations
•Exploring further
opportunities
Outlook
Long term trends are favourable
Short term market softness; well positioned to capture the upside
Commercial
Resellers
Residential
Manufacturing
Infrastructure
28
Ready to win.
•Leading provider of steel products and solutions
•Strong and loyal customer partnerships
•Expert team and technical know-how
•Proven strategy delivering value and growth
•Favourable long term demand drivers
•Robust balance sheet providing optionality
Shareholder
discussion
29
Resolutions
30
31
Resolutions
Resolution 1: Auditor’s Remuneration
That the directors be authorised to fix the fees and expenses of KPMG as the company’s auditor.
Resolution 2: Re-election of Susan Paterson
That Susan Paterson, who retires by rotation and is eligible for re-election, be re-elected as a director of the
company.
Resolution 3: Re-election of Karen Jordan
That Karen Jordan, who retires by rotation and is eligible for re-election, be re-elected as a director of the
company
.
Other business
Close of the Meeting
32
34
Non-GAAP financial information
Non-GAAP financial information: Steel & Tube uses several non-GAAP
measures when discussing financial performance. These include
Normalised EBITDA, Normalised EBIT and Working Capital. Management
believes that these measures provide useful information on the underlying
performance of Steel & Tube’s business. They may be used internally to
evaluate performance, analyse trends and allocate resources. Non-GAAP
financial measures should not be viewed in isolation nor considered as a
substitute for measures reported in accordance with NZ IFRS.
Non-trading adjustments/Unusual transactions: The financial results for
FY24 include transactions considered to be non-trading in either their
nature or size. Unusual transactions can be as a result of specific events or
circumstances or major acquisitions, disposals or divestments that are not
expected to occur frequently. Excluding these transactions from
normalised earnings can assist users in forming a view of the underlying
performance of the group. The above reconciliation is intended to assist
readers to understand how the earnings reported in the periods ended 30
June 2024 and 30 June 2023 reconcile to normalised earnings. Non-
trading adjustments of $(4.9) million are included in the FY24 EBIT. Non-
trading adjustments of $(4.4) million are included in the FY24 EBITDA.
Period ended 30 JuneEBITDAEBIT
$000sFY24FY23FY24FY23
Reported 31,415 51,876 9,56931,009
Project Strong costs2,701 - 3,192 -
Business restructuring costs550 - 550 -
Loss on de-recognition of finance lease receivable- 128 - 128
NZ IFRS 16 reversal of impairment- (177)- (177)
Software as a Service (SaaS) upfront expenditure1,144 1,109 1,144 1,109
Normalised35,810 52,936 14,45532,069
35
Glossary of terms
EBIT: Earnings / (Loss) before the deduction of interest and
tax. This is calculated as profit for the period before net
interest costs and tax
EBITDA: Earnings / (Loss) before the deduction of interest,
tax, depreciation and amortisation. This is calculated as
profit for the period before net interest costs, tax,
depreciation and amortisation
ROFE: Return on Funds Employed. This is calculated as
Normalised EBIT over Average Funds Employed (Net Debt
(including Lease Liability) + Equity)
eNPS: Employee Net Promoter Score – assists in measuring
employee satisfaction and loyalty within the organisation
NPS: Net Promoter Score – assists in measuring customer
satisfaction and loyalty
Normalised EBIT/EBITDA: This means EBIT and EBITDA
excluding non-trading adjustments and unusual
transactions
TRIFR: Employee Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate –
an important metric to assess safety performance
Working Capital: This means the net position after
Current Liabilities are deducted from Current Assets.
The major individual components of Working Capital for
the group are Inventories, Trade and other receivables and
Trade and other payables. How the group manages these
has an impact on operating cash flow and borrowings
36
•This presentation has been prepared by Steel & Tube Holdings
Limited (“STU”).The information in this presentation is of a general
nature only. It is not a complete description of STU.
•This presentation is not a recommendation or offer of financial
products for subscription, purchase or sale, or an invitation or
solicitation for such offers.
•This presentation is not intended as investment, financial or
other advice and must not be relied on by any prospective
investor.It does not take into account any prospective investor’s
objectives, financial situation, circumstances or needs, and does not
purport to contain all the information that a prospective investor
may require. Any person who is considering an investment in STU
securities should obtain independent professional advice prior to
making an investment decision, and should make any investment
decision having regard to that person’s own objectives, financial
situation, circumstances and needs.
•Past performance information contained in this presentation
should not be relied upon (and is not) an indication of future
performance.This presentation may also contain forward looking
statements with respect to the financial condition, results of
operations and business, and business strategy of STU. Information
about the future, by its nature, involves inherent risks and
uncertainties. Accordingly, nothing in this presentation is a promise
or representation as to the future or a promise or representation that
a transaction or outcome referred to in this presentation will proceed
or occur on the basis described in this presentation. Statements or
assumptions in this presentation as to future matters may prove to
be incorrect.
•Several financial measures are used in this presentation and should
not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, the
information provided in STU’s financial statements available at
www.steelandtube.co.nz.
•STU and its related companies and their respective directors,
employees and representatives make no representation or warranty
of any nature (including as to accuracy or completeness) in respect
of this presentation and will have no liability (including for
negligence) for any errors in or omissions from, or for any loss
(whether foreseeable or not) arising in connection with the use of or
reliance on, information in this presentation.
Disclaimer
---
Steel & Tube Holdings Limited, PO Box 58880, Botany, Auckland 2163, New Zealand
P +64 4 570 5000 www.steelandtube.co.nz
STEEL & TUBE 2024 ANNUAL SHAREHOLDERS’ MEETING
28 November 2024
CHAIR’S ADDRESS
Susan Paterson, Chair
OUR BOARD
I’m pleased to introduce your directors - Steve Reindler, Karen Jordan, Chris Ellis, Andrew Flavell and John
Beveridge. Karen and I are both standing for re-election today.
Also at the front of the room, we have Mark Malpass, our CEO, and Richard Smyth, Steel & Tube’s Chief
Financial Officer.
We consider director succession on a regular basis, taking into account such things as tenure, experience and
director workload. The board has a skills matrix and this is a crucial tool in evaluating our board composition,
enabling us to align the diverse expertise of our directors with the strategic needs of our company.
We believe that the current directors offer valuable and complementary skill sets. Importantly, Steve, Chris,
John and myself have either worked in or held governance positions within the sector, Andrew brings global
technology expertise and Karen brings finance and risk experience.
LEADERSHIP TEAM
A key pillar of our success is our exceptional leaders and the wider Steel & Tube team.
Our people continue to work together to deliver for our customers and our business every day. On behalf of
the board, I’d like to acknowledge and thank them all for their efforts, as we have navigated a particularly
challenging environment.
Our leadership team has expertise and experience across key areas and are passionate and dedicated. A
number of them are here today - could you please stand so shareholders know who you are. Please feel free
to have a chat with our team after the Meeting.
STRATEGIC GOALS
Over the past eight years, our purpose of making life easier for our customers has driven our strategy. Our
goals remain unchanged:
• To position Steel & Tube as the preferred supplier for steel solutions and products;
• To increase the company’s valuation by growing our existing offer, and M&A in adjacent sectors; and
• To deliver increasing returns and value for our shareholders.
We remain committed to these goals while also helping transform and modernise the steel industry.
KEY MESSAGE
The strategic decisions we have made over the past few years are positioning our company for success.
We have the resilience and robustness to successfully navigate through the current cycle; the capability and
expertise to leverage the increase in demand when it returns; and the balance sheet capacity to take
advantage of opportunities, both in the current market and in the future.
FY24 KEY RESULTS
The FY24 year delivered some of most challenging trading conditions seen in the industry in recent times.
Cost inflation continued to rise and demand for steel reduced significantly as businesses cut costs, public
spending was put on hold, and large projects were paused.
We focused on controlling what we can control - strengthening customer relationships and maintaining
market share, growing higher value products and services, expanding our share of wallet, and managing costs
tightly.
CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
Our balance sheet has been successfully positioned, providing strength during these more challenging times
and the capacity to invest into strategic opportunities. At the end of October, we had no borrowings, cash of
$16.7m and a $100m facility to fund growth and other initiatives
In this current cycle, we are carefully managing working capital. Operating cashflows remain strong, with
benefits from inventory management and good cash collections in a softened trading environment.
Our balance sheet supports our capital investment programme, which is focused on both maintenance spend
as well as strategic investments into new operating equipment, such as new purlins and plate processing
machinery.
INVESTOR RETURNS
The dividend payout of 6 cents per share for the FY24 year represented a gross yield for investors of 9.7%
including imputation credits and compares well to our peers.
We also established a dividend reinvestment plan, something that our shareholders have asked for, and this
was effective for the final dividend.
The board’s position is to pay a dividend to shareholders, dependent on the company’s financial position and
growth prospects.
We think our current share price is good value, given the underlying performance of the group, yield, talent
in the business and the strength of our balance sheet.
BUILDING A STRONG BUSINESS
We have continued to take action on creating a strong and enduring business.
Our customer satisfaction scores continue to be at high levels of 42 and above, and remain significantly
above the industry average of 32. This is testament to efforts across the business – from our indepth quality
assurance programme, to the breadth of the products and solutions we provide, the expertise of our team
and our unwavering commitment to delivering best-in-class customer service. Our strong position as a
preferred supplier will serve us well as market conditions improve and demand reignites.
Health and safety are embedded into our culture, and our safety measure was a historical low in FY24. We
make a significant investment in safety, both in financial terms and human capital, to ensure that our people
are kept safe in what is a high-risk environment.
Digital innovation is important, both to improve our customer offer and to help run our business more
effectively. The adoption of modern technology is making us more productive in areas such as online orders,
test certificates, and advanced forecasting, procurement and pricing. The number of customers buying online
continues to grow with more than 300 logging into our webshop every day. This is becoming an increasingly
important revenue channel and we continue to enhance it with new tools and features to make it easier for
our customers and provide a better experience.
Technology is also playing an important role in making our operations safer and more efficient. As an
example, we’re trialling the use of AI software, alongside our existing CCTV camera network, to identify
possible risk situations or events and potentially take action to prevent any harm.
Our team remain engaged and committed, with employee satisfaction in the industry top quartile. We are
conscious of the cost of living pressures on our people and have initiatives to support them such as financial
planning and budgeting workshops, our Back to School financial assistance programme, and our Healthnow
Programme which provides support to meet basic family health costs like doctors, dentists and pharmacy
bills.
We also continue to invest in training and development opportunities to allow team members to upskill and
progress in their careers and move to a level where they can earn a living wage in all parts of our business.
We’re proud of our diverse team, with groups like our employee-led Kāpuia team leading the way in shaping
our commitment to Māori, both for our people and the communities we serve.
Our community support is anchored around helping young people to realise their potential. We offer First
Foundation scholarships and support the Rising Foundation to transition high-potential school leavers, in low
decile schools in South Auckland, into employment.
As one of New Zealand’s largest steel distributors and manufacturers, climate change has the potential to
have a transformative impact on the way we do business. Following on from our disclosure last year, this year
Steel & Tube reported for the first time under the Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Standards. This report is
available on our website.
We are focussed on those things that we can control, from the transport emissions of our fleet to energy use
and the reduction of waste produced during manufacturing in our plants. We support a WorkRide scheme to
encourage people to cycle to work, have begun installing submetering equipment in key sites to monitor
energy use and understand where further efficiencies can be made, and are exploring solar energy options.
The increase in emissions per tonne this year was driven by the expansion of our delivery fleet, which
conversely reduces our scope 3 emissions. As scale returns, our emissions per tonne are expected to reduce.
Steel is everywhere in our lives – where we play, live, work, in our transportation networks, our buildings and
our infrastructure. It’s one of the world’s most essential and sustainable building products – permanent,
forever reusable and the most recycled substance on the planet. Steel is what makes our cities resilient to the
climatic and seismic conditions that are prevalent in New Zealand, yet it contributes only a small percentage
to New Zealand’s total CO2 emissions.
IN THE BOARDROOM
We're committed to building a strong, sustainable future for Steel & Tube and delivering value for our
shareholders. At all times, we ensure that we are operating to the highest ethical and corporate governance
standards possible.
Important topics of discussion in our boardroom revolve around risk and resilience, how to better serve our
customers and our people, and the growth of our business.
We recently provided an update on trading in the first four months of the FY25 year. There has been
continued deterioration in the economy and activity has slowed down across the sector, which is having a
sizeable impact on our topline. The absolute priority for your Board is to deliver a return to profit.
We will do this by controlling the controllables and staying the course on our strategy – continuing to
strengthen our core and invest in high value products and services.
In the short term, we are continuing to take cost out while ensuring we retain sufficient inventory, resource
and capability to allow us to scale up quickly to meet demand when it returns. Management is doing an
excellent job managing this balance.
M&A is a key ingredient in our growth and the weak economic conditions are providing opportunities for
industry consolidation. Every potential acquisition must go through multiple gateways and is robustly tested
before we decide to proceed.
POSITIONED TO BENEFIT AS DEMAND RETURNS
Over the past 70 years, we have proven our ability to successfully navigate through down cycles.
Our dual pathway strategy is delivering tangible results, and this remains the framework for our actions.
Our market share is strong, we have a loyal customer base and we have quality inventory meaning we can
provide the products and solutions we know customers will need when their projects start up again.
Our inherent operating leverage will deliver profit expansion as demand returns and our strong balance sheet
is providing resilience and supporting growth.
While impacting on trading, current economic conditions are also providing market opportunities. Long term
drivers are favourable and Steel & Tube is strongly positioned for when demand expands.
We are confident in our ability to see this cycle through and optimistic about Steel & Tube’s future.
On behalf of the board, I would like to thank all our shareholders for your continued support.
CEO MARK MALPASS
ACTIVELY MANAGING MARKET CHALLENGES
At Steel & Tube, we are actively controlling the things we can control, however we’re not immune to the
significant slowdown that’s occurred.
Market conditions remain challenging. High interest rates over the last few years have reduced consumer
demand, impacting our customers. Many businesses have put projects on hold and stopped spending; and
the Government has cancelled or paused many large infrastructure projects. While the Fast Track bill is a
positive step, approvals and funding will take time.
FY25 FOUR MONTH TRADING UPDATE
As Susan has said, the tough economic conditions have continued into the 2025 financial year, and from July
to October we saw a deterioration in the market. As other industry participants have pointed out, demand
for steel has hit recent lows and margin pressures have also intensified.
As a result of these weaker trading conditions, our year to date revenue and earnings were both very soft.
This is obviously disappointing for us and our shareholders.
We do see these conditions as short term. While the timing remains uncertain, we expect to see some
improvement from mid-2025 as lower interest rates stimulate demand in the manufacturing sector, and also
in the construction sectors coupled with Government projects being activated.
FY25 FOCUS AND PRIORITIES
We are making shorter term adjustments to adapt to the current market challenges, and we’re focused on
emerging from this cycle as a stronger business. Capturing revenue and driving profitability is the priority
across all our teams.
We continue to carefully manage cash and working capital. We have achieved more than $10m in cost
savings over the last two years with these savings more than offsetting inflation. Although we did add 20
Roadex drivers with that acquisition, over the last six months we have continued to streamline and reduce
our workforce while, importantly, retaining sufficient ‘muscle’ in the business to ensure we can move quickly
to capture revenue opportunities when demand returns.
We have continued to carefully manage cash and working capital. Active inventory management is an
essential ingredient in a trading business and we have an experienced team in this area. Our goals are to
ensure we are not overstocked, but conversely that we have enough product - and the right product - to
meet customer demand now and when it returns. We’re shifting our investment from commodity towards
higher value products, as we provide our customers with more and better solutions.
Margin growth has continued through most of the last two years, as we have shifted our product mix towards
higher value products, and we have increased our share of wallet and converted more customers to our
online platform. However, over the last few months, margins have reduced as competitor activity has
intensified.
We’re maintaining our market share and have more than 13,500 active customers. We continue to
strengthen our customer relationships and work closely with them on future projects to ensure we’re a
preferred supplier when these commence.
Our M&A strategy is delivering value and our strong balance sheet has the capacity to let us take advantage
of opportunities, both in the current market and the future.
BUSINESS STRATEGY
Our growth strategy is delivering value and we are focussed on staying the course.
STRATEGIC PATHWAYS
Our overall strategic objective is to deliver gross margin improvement and we are doing this through two key
pathways:
• Strengthening the core involves building on the strong business foundation we have established -
making life easier for our customers by delivering best-in-class customer solutions and experiences,
operational efficiency and a strong financial performance.
• Strategic growth is about going deeper or wider in high value areas to create value and scale, that is,
those products where we have low share but higher margins. It’s also about improving our mix of
added value versus commodity products.
SELLIING MORE PRODUCTS TO EACH CUSTOMER
We have a big opportunity to grow our share of wallet by cross-selling more of our products to existing
customers. Often customers will purchase from a number of suppliers - our aim is to be their preferred
supplier for a broader range of products.
One way we can do this is by bringing product combinations together - for example, when selling structural
steel to a customer there is also the opportunity to couple our broader product range – processed plate,
purlins, ComFlor, fasteners, chain & rigging, roofing, mesh, reinforcing bar, and so on.
This makes life easier for customers and significantly increases our share of wallet per customer.
While in the early stages, we have already seen a pleasing increase in the percentage of customers buying 3
or more products.
OPERATING LEVERAGE
The work we have done to improve our operating leverage will expand our profits as volumes return.
Our fixed cost base has been streamlined and we have tight control over variable costs.
This graph shows the significant improvement in earnings that flows as volumes increase – this is our
operating leverage. For example, the 2022 financial year was one of our highest volume years - if we had the
same operating leverage then as we do now, our earnings would have been 35% higher.
GROWTH FOCUSED ON TWO KEY PATHWAYS
We have a disciplined approach to growth investment with clear criteria that every potential opportunity
must pass before being evaluated.
This criteria is a mix of financial and strategic rationale which takes into consideration the fit with our overall
business objectives, our ability to operate and add value to the business under Steel & Tube’s ownership,
cultural fit, as well as various compliance criteria.
Any potential acquisition then has to pass through a series of gates, that starts with committing resources to
evaluate, a non-binding offer, due diligence, binding offer, and so on.
GROWTH INVESTMENTS ADDING VALUE
Over the past two years, we have reviewed around 29 companies, with several currently under active
consideration.
We’ve successfully grown the business through smaller M&A and these investments are performing well,
particularly Kiwi Pipe & Fittings, Fasteners NZ and our group freight business, along with organic aluminium
growth.
We are always on the look out for industry consolidation opportunities.
We are seeing unprecedented opportunities coming forward – some of this is due to founders not having
succession plans, but there’s no doubt a slow trading environment and a period of high commodity prices has
put pressure on working capital and debt levels.
LONG TERM TRENDS ARE FAVOURABLE
While the timing of an economic recovery remains uncertain, there are some positive themes that should
lead to improved activity over the next 12 to 18 months.
Interest rate cuts over the coming year are expected to stimulate the manufacturing and construction
sectors. There’s a massive shortfall in housing, with more than 115,000 new homes needed to fix the current
housing crisis. Commercial investment into new buildings will start again as borrowing costs reduce.
Longer term, there is a significant need for maintenance and new infrastructure in roading, health, water,
climate resilience and renewable energy. These are all areas where Steel & Tube has specialist expertise, for
example, in wind farm construction.
The Government has an important role to play in lifting confidence and activity. While a large number of
infrastructure projects have been paused or cancelled, which is having a chilling effect on the construction
sector, there are 149 projects which have been selected for immediate referral to the expert panel under the
Fast Track bill. It will be good to see these approved and funded, although we acknowledge it will take time
before project work actually starts.
READY TO WIN
Our purpose is to make life easier for our customers by delivering best in class customer solutions and
experiences. We have taken a number of steps to ensure we are in the optimal position to capture revenue
and profit opportunities as demand returns.
We have the scale and expertise to source good quality steel from preferred mills at the right prices, and the
ability to deliver effectively and cost efficiently.
The breadth of our product offer remains unmatched and customers are increasingly buying multiple
products from across our range. This is a big opportunity for us and we’re making good progress.
We are trusted by our customers to provide the products they need. Customer partnerships are key and we
have strong and loyal customer relationships with construction, engineering, architectural and manufacturing
companies across New Zealand.
We have deep technical knowhow and expertise and work with clients from design through to
implementation, advising on the best products and solutions and delivering project efficiencies. This ensures
we are there at the start of the project and positions us as the supplier of choice.
We continue to provide high quality products and delivery reliability. We have introduced specialised sales
teams, continued to enhance our online channels and recently expanded our ‘last-mile’ freight fleet.
Pleasingly, our DIFOT score (delivered in full on time) remains consistently in the high 90s.
Several of our exec team, including myself, attended EuroBlech, the world’s largest trade fair for sheet metal
working. We also took the opportunity to visit existing and potential suppliers and similar companies in
Europe and the UK.
There is a lot of innovation going on in the steel space, driven by technology and digital. Lean manufacturing
is big as companies around the world look to work more efficiently and reduce waste. Automation and AI are
helping to increase safety and improve productivity.
While most of these businesses operate on a significantly larger scale than Steel & Tube, it was great to be
able to share learnings and knowledge. We’ve identified some good avenues to further optimise our business
and are investigating a number of new product opportunities.
Thank you.
Data sourced from publicly available filings. Our datasets may not be complete. Automated analysis can produce errors. If you believe any data on this page is incorrect, please contact us at hello@nzxplorer.co.nz. For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.
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