Ann: Full Year Results Announcement - FY22, page-4

As Gareth comments, the slight loss of market share (down to 42 per cent from 44 per cent) of Patrick's port operations (shipping container lifts) is a concern, as one wouldn't want to see the loss of more shipping line contracts. However performance of this part of QUB (which is only 50 per cent owned) also depends on the economy's movements: if consumers aren't buying as much as they used to, imports will be lower (to state the obvious).

Inflation as we're seeing at present is a societal negative, especially for the fairly large percentage of Australia's population who earn under A$80000 per annum, but pleasing that QUB comments on page 5 that due to contractual protections and its ability to 'pass through' cost increases, this isn't a major inhibitor.

Disruptions affecting the QUB steel train contracts (Port Kembla to Melbourne's Dynon and Brisbane's Acacia Ridge rail freight terminals) are mentioned. The crosscountry rail line from Moss Vale to Unanderra NSW, near Port Kembla, had severe landslides in February 2022 between the trendy town of Robertson and Unanderra. It was to be reopened by the Australian Rail Track Corporation in August 2022 but this has become 25 September 2022. It's meant that QUB steel trains to/from Melbourne have had to deviate through Bowral, Campbelltown, Enfield, Hurstville and Wollongong to reach Pt Kembla. Between Macarthur near Campbelltown and the Sydney rail freight yards, there's a separate freight-only rail line but along the south coast through Hurstville, the tracks must be shard with frequent passenger trains plus freight trains for instance travelling down to Bomaderry (Nowra) for Manildra Flour, and some coal trains from Tahmoor and elsewhere going the long way round, plus GrainCorp and other grain trains principally from the NSW Riverina. The forced diversion is adding costs including more locomotive driver shifts required, and extra fuel.

However the good news is that the QUB steel trains that commenced in January 2022 for BSL are often now running to time or close to it.

This morning, loaded steel train 4WM7 ('4' is day of week - Wednesday, 'W' Pt Kembla, 'M' Melbourne and '7' the individual train number) is almost at Albury, 45 minutes late. The empty steel train northbound, 5MW7, is 40 minutes late and passing through Goulburn as I write. These delays would be regarded as minimal.

On the NSW North Coast rail line, train number 5WB7, a loaded and so very heavy steel train was 97 minutes early at John's River, about 30 kilometres north of Taree.

Labour shortages in some areas is also a concern but many employers claim to be experiencing this.