Mainfreight 'bloody proud' of staff, hikes bonuses after record profit in difficult year

Wednesday, 26 May 2021

Mainfreight is rewarding staff after it posted a record profit during a “tumultuous time”.

Transport company Mainfreight is rewarding its staff with a hike in bonuses after posting a record profit in a difficult year when trading was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mainfreight lifted profit after tax to $188.1 million in the year to March 31, up from $159.2m last year which included a one-time gain of $11.2m.

Managing director Don Braid said he was pleased with the result, which was achieved even though the company’s supply chains were disrupted earlier in the year when lockdowns in response to the global pandemic saw revenues decline.

“This is a significant result for the Mainfreight family,” Braid said, noting the company had lifted profitability in all five of its regions “during a tumultuous time in the world’s history”.

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“We are bloody proud of our people who have delivered this record result,” he said. “Our people can be very proud of the way they stood up to be counted, and were able to deliver ahead of many others.

“In light of exceptional performance by our people in difficult operating conditions around the world, and in line with the profit improvement achieved, our discretionary profit bonus has increased,” he said. “We remain proud of our team’s achievements and are pleased to share our profits with those who contributed to them.”

The amount of money set aside for Mainfreight’s discretionary profit bonuses jumped 61 per cent to $43.9m, and the team Christmas bonus for 2020 more than doubled to $11m from $5.4m.

Mainfreight also rewarded its shareholders with a 45 cents per share dividend, taking the full-year dividend to 75c, a 27 per cent increase on the previous year’s payment.

Braid said the first seven weeks of the new financial year showed similar activity levels to the past six months.

“This gives us confidence that we will deliver further improved results in the near term,” he said. “We continue to be optimistic.”

However he warned that uncertainty remains and heavily congested supply chains were affecting the world’s freight lanes.

“It is our view that the heavily inflated shipping and air cargo rates will continue to be a feature of global trade while freight demand is exceeding air and sea capacity,” he said.

Mainfreight shares were up 2.1 per cent to $74.51 in midday trading on the NZX. They hit a record $77 earlier this month and have risen 110 per cent over the past year.