Mainfreight Annual Shareholders Meeting 2021

MAINFREIGHT LIMITED


SCRIPTED ADDRESS
AND
PRESENTATION


26th Annual Meeting of Shareholders
4.00 pm, Thursday 29th July 2021

CHAIRMAN’S ADDRESS

The year ended March 2021 produced the continuation of 11 consecutive years of record results.

• Record after tax profits, up $29M to $188M
• Global sales increased by $449M to $3.5B – this represents sales of $68M per week
• Income Tax payable for the year increased by $16M to $74M
• The discretionary bonus payable to our worldwide team increased by $17M to $44M
• Our 2021 annual dividend to shareholders increased by $16M to $75M

We increased our number of branches worldwide from 282 to 297 – with our presence still in 26 countries.

Climate change and the Covid 19 pandemic are creating huge challenges for the world; further complicated with growing aggression between some of the biggest countries.

Closer to home in New Zealand – with all our best efforts in education, only 60% of children are regularly attending school. In the past 20 years, we have dropped from being near the top of the world in reading and maths, to now being close to the bottom rung.
This is and will be a great catastrophe for New Zealand – if we are unable to produce the next generations of inventors, scientists, IT professionals, doctors, researchers, builders, engineers, farmers and entrepreneurs.

We are seeing reports daily in the media of a significant shortage of skilled workers, but also what are described as unskilled workers. Overseas countries have been supplying these additional people to our workforce temporarily, and we have grabbed them because they have skills and work attitudes and behaviour far superior to what we are producing in New Zealand.

If we do not reverse our declining allegiance to better and better education, over the next 25 years we risk becoming another rogue state, run by crime, gangs and corruption – already endemic in a number of small countries, which do not value or promote education.

We in New Zealand can do only so much to allay the bombast between the big and powerful countries – but we can, and must, succeed in massively increasing New Zealand’s commitment to attainment in education.

In closing, we acknowledge that it has been a very difficult year – particularly in the front line of our operations, and in countries where the Coronavirus was not as well controlled as here in New Zealand. Our thoughts and gratitude go to our global team for their outstanding performance in succeeding against so many difficulties.

We also acknowledge that at times our service levels were not up to the standard we are used to. We sincerely thank our many customers for their understanding and continued allegiance.

We would also repeat – as at our last AGM – that deep in our culture is a strength to challenge and overcome whatever circumstances are put in front of us. We are used to it, we enjoy it and it is why we come to work.

GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR’S PRESENTATION

Please refer to separate PowerPoint slide presentation.


For further information, please contact Don Braid, Group Managing Director,
telephone +64 9 259 5503, +64 274 961 637 or email [email protected].

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Announcement PDF