I like seeing cash balances increasing again. Haven't had this...

I like seeing cash balances increasing again. Haven't had this much flexibility since before Covid, and I would think this puts us in a good position to take stock (so to speak), and begin to put in place a longer term plan. From the annual report I didn't see evidence of a clear 5 or 10 year plan...

The challenge of 'being too small to be big, and too big to be small' seems a good way to put it and the crucial issue of a 10yr plan. Either, there needs to be a path of rationalisation, where we become smaller, more profitable, and very focused on our circle of competence. Or otherwise a path of growth, where we become bigger, step up to our larger competitors, and enjoy the economies of scale.

If there were any synergies between the different business segments (Drivetrain, Convair, Hedemora, Gemco Rail, Workforce Solutions), it would be something like "the application of LEAN processes to heavy industry manufacturing and repair". This is a good starting place, and I would think provides a sound competitive platform in a traditional industry, and getting respectable organic growth in each area, to a point.

The downside is that there doesn't seem to be many direct synergies between the business units, and no benefits from vertical integration that I can easily see (happy to be educated).

$8m spent in Capex for the year seems pretty conservative, given we got an almost $7m grant from the WA Govt to build facilities in Karratha. So my feeling is that we're in a bit of a holding pattern from Covid challenges, and waiting for some vision. My 2c is that we're not going to get anywhere by hedging our bets. The 'growth' option, and getting to reasonable scale, will require vision and courage. It would require energy and probably some form of financing. Do we have the energy and risk appetite for it? Do we see the opportunity to justify it? I think long-term picture of Australian mining/civil infra/defense is optimistic with lots of growth opportunities for those willing to be pioneering.

Getting clear on whether we are on a path to rationalising, or a path to growth, will definitely help the goal below to increase share liquidity and overall enthusiasm.

Page below on page 3 or annual report: