Ann: Contract Win Announcement - Melbourne Metro Tunnel Project, page-39

I like @jamesworrell am also in the industry as I have previously disclosed.

I have seen evidence of these $95 rates or lower from Veris in the past 2 years, some of it in writing and as recent as early 2020. In addition one of the projects mentioned in the market releases had rates of below $90 when the project was first acquired.

In other markets Veris charge more maybe $120 tops for a standard surveyor but competitors in these same markets are working at capacity and getting averages of $160+

The problem with Veris's stack em high and sell em cheap strategy is that it does not take account of the lack of supply of survey professionals and the subsequent wage pressures over time where up until recently wage growth over the past few years has been 4-6%. Margin is then only maintained in the industry through technology, process efficiency, overhead reductions and rate increases - usually a combination of all. Veris has struggled to achieve any of this except technology acquisition - it has bought plenty of gear and then is stuck with it, so decides it needs to use it and discounts to get the work in.

Legend had it the problem all started when an Electrician saw the price a surveyor charged the Electrician in the Pilbara during the Iron Ore boom of the late 2000's and thought "what an easy way to make money". The said Electrician then acquired finance as well as good firms with good margins and great clients and ran them into the ground by not integrating them culturally and logistically and then the only leaver they had was price and they pulled it too hard. How much has been blown away $60m+

Once CBA stops unofficially running and overseeing Veris and gets its money back it will leave them to their own devices and they will be even worse off. There comes a time when you run out of Elton Consulting to sell, Vehicle fleets to dispose and lease back.....They have breathing space but without massive change at the top level of Board and Executive management they will never provide their poor shareholders a return but they will keep bumbling along.

The problem is exaggerated that those running the company own a significant amount of the stock....to even a management buyout or going private won't solve their management problem.