MFT
30/07/2014 16:00
ADDRESS
REL: 1600 HRS Mainfreight Limited
ADDRESS: MFT: Mainfreight Annual Meeting 2014 Chairman & MD Addresses
MAINFREIGHT LIMITED
CHAIRMAN'S AGENDA
&
SCRIPTED ADDRESS BY
THE CHAIRMAN, AND
MANAGING DIRECTOR'S
PRESENTATION
19th Annual Meeting
4.00 pm, Wednesday 30 July 2014
CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS
Ladies and Gentlemen, your company has performed satisfactorily over the past
year.
Our net profit, before abnormals, increased by 14%. With the inclusion of
Abnormals the tax paid increase is 36%.
We continue to emphasise the need for our company in New Zealand and
Australia to be the strong foundations that enable us to develop as a global
business. Looking back 10 years to 2004 - Australia made no contribution to
Mainfreight's profits. In the current year, 2014, New Zealand and Australia
made some 82% of our global profits, with Australia earning 31% of the total.
This is a pre-tax profit of $35M. We haven't been standing around over the
past decade!
Last month we held our 100th Board Meeting, since listing on the New Zealand
stock exchange. The first leg of the meeting was held in Los Angeles on a
Friday. Your Chairman had already visited some 10 separate operations in
Chicago, Dallas and Houston earlier in the week.
The day commenced at 6 am with a walk for the walkers and a jog for the
joggers. The Board was picked up at 8 am and visited a separate operation in
Los Angeles before commencing our meeting at 9 am at our main Los Angeles
operation.
At 1pm we went to the team cafeteria, spread ourselves amongst the people and
Don Braid gave out long service awards to 3 people.
The meeting reconvened and presentations and discussions were held with the
Global CEO of CaroTrans, the CEO of China, and then the CEO of USA. Then
from 3pm on - with 5 managers from the Domestic Transport, Air & Ocean,
National Sales and Logistics divisions.
The meeting closed at 5.30pm and we returned to our hotel where 2 or 3 Board
members went to the gym.
The next day we flew to Amsterdam arriving Sunday morning, and spent the
afternoon with the usual walking, jogging or gyming and bike riding around
Amsterdam.
Monday 7.30am, depart for our European Headquarters in 's Heerenberg. Walk
around warehousing operation (25 acres under one roof)), see our John Deere
tractor assembly business with 18 mechanics, shook a lot of hands.
Meeting commenced at 9.30am with presentations and discussions from CEO of
Europe Mark Newman (who is a Kiwi), our European Forwarding and Transport
Manager, European Sales Manager, Netherlands Forwarding Manager, European
Logistics Manager, and Jon Gundy (another Kiwi) our European Air & Sea
Manager.
Lunch - met as many people as we could in company cafeteria.
At meeting conclusion 4.45pm - met for drinks and snacks with the
's-Heerenberg team, 5.30 pm - return to Amsterdam.
Tuesday 6.00 am - jogging, walking, gyming.
9.00 am - meeting in hotel for Managing Director's review and open
discussion.
Meeting finished at 2pm. Chairman to airport for flight to Shanghai for
branch visit.
This is a typical Mainfreight Board meeting. 2 or 3 day meetings in
different locations, cities or countries.
In addition to operating in 20 different countries with 233 branches and
attempting to hold Board meetings at least in those places of significant
size, profit, loss or complexity, it is important to realise how many quite
distinct businesses we operate in. Some of them are:
Domestic LCL Freight - sea, rail, air road
Domestic - Dangerous Goods
Wharf Cartage
Around Town Cartage
International Airfreight
Perishable Airfreight
International Ocean Freight
Wholesale International Seafreight
Full Truck Load
Mainfreight to Home
Warehousing
Domestic Forwarding
The reason for all of this information is to help you realise the special
knowledge that Directors require to be able to operate in such a diverse
business as Mainfreight.
It takes many years for a new Director to adequately understand the business.
I am grateful that we have such a highly skilled, knowledgeable and
hardworking Board of Directors.
Don Braid will break with tradition and give an unscripted slide presentation
to help give all those present a greater understanding of our business and
finances.
Before passing to Don - I would like to make the following comments.
There remains considerable economic weakness in most of the world. Few would
deny that we are experiencing some climate change, evident so far in more
extremes of weather in very recent years. Our political leaders are
struggling to deal with these very big problems. This may be a time when we
as individuals have to play an important role - a role of maturity, tolerance
and understanding towards our political leaders, and the people and nations
less well off.
Anger, war, violence, insularity, cause only anger, war, violence, insularity
and retaliation.
As individuals, and collectively, we have important roles to play in dealing
with these very challenging times.
As for Mainfreight, we have built a strong platform over our first 36 years.
In the five years since the global recession took hold, our 2014 profit has
increased by a remarkable 81% - or some $49M.
Profits in every country, and overall in Europe, have improved on the
previous year, and those improvements are continuing into the current year.
We see great opportunities for this current year.
Fellow shareholders, I would now like to ask the Group Managing Director, Don
Braid, to give his presentation.
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].
End CA:00253285 For:MFT Type:ADDRESS Time:2014-07-30 16:00:42
