Wagners signals strong growth in 2019 at AGM
TOOWOOMBA’S Wagners Holding Company has flagged a strong end to the 2019 financial year as major infrastructure projects slip behind schedule this year.
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TOOWOOMBA'S Wagners Holding Company has flagged a strong end to the 2019 financial year as major infrastructure projects slip behind schedule this calendar year.
That was one of the messages the construction materials business handed down to shareholders at its first annual general meeting in Toowoomba yesterday.
CEO Cameron Coleman said Wagners planned to capitalise on hitting its initial financial forecasts in 2017/18 by further expanding its concrete plant network across south-east Queensland.
Four more sites had been identified for new plants, including one at Caloundra.
"I can't tell you the exact sites, but there's one at Caloundra that the DA has been lodged for," Mr Coleman said.
"They're all from the Sunshine Coast through to the northern NSW border.
"They're concrete plants, so the intent is to establish that concrete plant network, which then provides an outlet for our upstream materials such as cement, fly ash and aggregates."
Mr Coleman said "timing issues" had softened the outlook for the rest of 2018, with some infrastructure projects behind schedule.
"The projects are being delayed and we'll see more opportunity in that area in the second half of the year," he said.
"We are seeing some slippage in some of the timing of some of those projects, which we see adding more value to the business in the second half of this year rather than the first half.
"It's our clients that are behind that - the infrastructure projects just aren't coming online as quickly as we would like to."
Wagners' cement business grew by nearly 15 per cent in the previous financial year and the expansion of its traditional and new concrete products was driven by both the domestic and international markets.
The business has also bought a greenfield quarry site to service the Brisbane area and an existing one in Cloncurry.
Mr Coleman said this growth across Queensland signalled the need for more jobs in Toowoomba as the business grew.
"Domestic growth in CFT and EFC means more jobs for Toowoomba, and as we grow the cross-arm business across Australia and into New Zealand, our production requirements at our Wellcamp factory are ramping up," he said.
"At this stage, it's not a significant number, but every time we win another order for another 4000 or 5000 cross-arms, it's another four or five people."
Shareholders received a 3.5c dividend from the company.
Originally published as Wagners signals strong growth in 2019 at AGM
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