Just remember that they are not spreading out geographically - they have always been selling worldwide and have had distributors worldwide for many years. The new warehouses are just making things more efficient. Until relatively recently, I don't think ARB really had much focus on the non-Australian market. They have had the USA office for a long time, but that was largely for the AirLocker and the other products were just incidental. But I feel, as part of their growth strategy, they have realised that they can get more sales simply by being more efficient in the way they deliver their products to the regions. It does also help that ARB now has a wider range of products and their marketing machine is clearly doing alot of work.
> What kind of a return on capital, can we expect in the OS operations, compared to the domestic operations?
Have a look at Page 35 of the Annual Report and you an see the segmented reporting by geographical location. The capital that is being invested in overseas operations is (relatively) minimal, as I assume most of the new warehousing is leased - plus, it is just warehousing (and staffing/sales team that goes along with that). Yes, they are nice big warehouses that meet their needs, but they are not multiple retail outlets that require fitout and prime rental sites.
In the Results Commentary, they mention that the European sales growth has been the "highlight of the year", which I assume is due (largely) to the new warehouse. This may give an indication of what they expect with their Dubai and 2nd USA warehouses. Middle East & European sales increased 59% (according to Page 35 of the Annual Report),
I think the USA is a key growth area, with barwork for USA-specific vehicles now complete and being marketed. USA sales increased 21%.
I also not that the profit in the non-Australian segments are not as strong as in Australia. 82% of the revenue is from Australia and ARB continue to expand this market and not take their eye of their main business.
How all of this will effect revenue and profit growth, I really don't know. But I think it continues to show the the ARB team have their finger on the pulse and continue to work hard to grow the company in the long term.
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