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Steel & Tube 2024 ASM Presentation and Speeches

AGM27 November 2024STUMaterials

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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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