Ann: Preliminary Final Report, page-7

Excellent commentary madamswer, I can see you have a deep understanding of the company, thanks for your insights.

Not many companies could pay out $1.00 special dividend (I understand partly funded by DRP), 29 cents of ordinary dividends , buy their domestic manufacturing and warehouse facilities for $32.8m and spend over $13m on new plant and equipment and still have net cash of $8m. Indeed they are a phenomenal business. Ok they may not be 'cheap', but you are getting quality when you buy into them.

A couple of reflections on the results:
* R & D expenditure up 22%, as we know the company is dedicated to remaining the market leader.
* Europe sales up 5-fold (off a low base). I've always wondered how the Europeans would take to ARB's products as they do seem to have a liking for quality, early signs promising.
* Interesting to see the company place a vote of confidence in the local manufacturing arm at Kilsyth by purchasing the property. I note OEM sales have rebounded, and I wonder if that is due to the lower AUD as a lot of the product from Kilsyth goes to this market. Perhaps the local competition is being pressured by the higher cost of imports?

All in all, the outllook remains good IMO.