Lyndon Ryan and Govin Ramalingam put mining consultancy Project Define into liquidation

Almost four years after they hung out their shingle, two Brisbane mining industry players have quietly put their consultancy into liquidation.

PULLING THE PLUG

Two Brisbane mining industry players have put the kybosh on their consulting business.

Lyndon Ryan launched Project Define Pty Ltd in late 2016, serving as sole director until two years ago when his mate, Indian native Govin Ramalingam, came aboard.

But the pair pulled the plug on their venture this month, tapping Hall Chadwick operative Kristen Beadle as liquidator.

Ryan, who describes himself as “an astute mining industry professional with over 12 years’ of diverse experience’’ on his LinkedIn page, has been toiling in a management role for engineering consulting mob Sedgman since mid-2018.

Ramalingam has also been otherwise employed since that time too. He’s a mechanical engineer who now works for BHP in New South Wales.

Neither of these gents, nor Beadle, returned calls seeking comment so it’s unclear how much Project Define owes to creditors.

TOILET HUMOUR

Is it any surprise there were a few bathroom jokes making the rounds on Monday as one of Australia’s leading dunny makers released annual results that some wags likened to a steaming pile of dung?

Yes, Brisbane-based bathroom fittings outfit GWA Group excreted a woeful set of numbers, with net profit after tax tumbling 53 per cent to just $43.9m largely because of weakness in the building sector.

Revenue for the company, known for its brands Caroma, Clark and Dorf, nosedived 12 per cent to just under $400m.

All this sent the company’s share price spiralling, with GWA closing down 10.5 per cent at $2.47, making it the worst performer on the ASX 200.

GWA chief executive Tim Salt.

GWA boss Tim Salt tried to put the best spin on things, saying the company had served up a “disciplined result’’ despite the uncertainties and headwinds created by the pandemic.

“Our top line was significantly impacted by lower construction activity, merchant destocking in the first half, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lower than expected merchant restocking in the last quarter of the year,’’ Salt said.

The company estimated that the coronavirus calamity alone resulted in a $22m hit to revenue and an $8.6m fall in earnings.

Don’t expect a quick turnaround, either.

It looks like things will stay subdued for quite a while even as forward orders edged up compared with the same period last year.

“Lead indicators point to a reduction in GWA’s addressable market for FY21, driven predominantly by the residential new build segment, with the decline in residential renovation and replacement segment expected to be less pronounced,’’ Salt said.

Macquarie analysts covering GWA agree, noting that “the outlook remains tough across its key markets with low visibility in fiscal year 2021’’.

Punters can expect an update on how it’s all panning out at the company’s AGM in late October.

SIX WINNERS

Amid the gloom and doom brought on by COVID-19, there are a few rays of hope worth considering.

Despite the squeeze on the global economy, six Australian industries are set to increase their export revenue in the current financial year.

Nickel ore mining, grain growing, footwear manufacturing, wood chipping, grape growing and pharmaceutical product manufacturing are all poised to prosper, according to some recent analysis by the forecasting gurus at IBISWorld.

The collective export revenue of these six is tipped to grow almost $22bn.

This positive outlook comes despite expectations that the wider mass of Australian exports by sea will fall by 3.1 per cent.

That will result in the total value of merchandise exports edging down by nearly 4 per cent to $348bn.