Six Tasmanian businesses among Australia’s top 500 highest-earning companies

New data has revealed Tasmania’s highest-earning private companies, with one industry occupying the state’s top two spots. See which local businesses are among the largest in the country >>

• Top school holiday destinations revealed
• $100k legal bill too big a risk: council

NEW data has revealed Tasmania’s two highest-earning private companies are construction firms, which the industry’s peak body says underlines the sector’s importance to the state’s recovery from coronavirus.

Hazell Bros has been named as the state’s highest-revenue private business, in a report released this month by market research and analysis company IBISWorld.

The company, which celebrated its 75th anniversary last year, was one of six Tasmanian enterprises to make the list of the top 500 private businesses in the country.

SIX TASMANIAN BUSINESSES AMONG AUSTRALIA’S TOP 500

Hazell Bros was included based on figures from the 2018-19 financial year, when it turned over $227.94 million, coming in at 296 on the list.

With revenue of $153 million in 2019-20, Vos Construction was the next Tasmanian company to make the list, at 388.

Master Builders Tasmania executive director Matthew Pollock said the figures highlighted how important the construction sector was to Tasmania’s pre-COVID economy.

“Unfortunately, since then, you can see the impact in the value and volume of projects that have been postponed,’’ he said.

“We’re still looking at a pipeline that’s been reduced by about a billion dollars since March-April due to COVID and we’ve seen private investment in those major projects all but cease.”

But Mr Pollock said there was an opportunity for the construction industry to play a leading role in the state’s economic recovery from COVID-19.

He said initiatives like HomeBuilder — which offers cash grants for people building new homes or substantially renovating existing ones — were helping the sector rebound.

But he suggested more measures, especially in the commercial construction sector, to encourage private investors back into the market.

Executive director for Master Builders, Tasmania, Matthew Pollock. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“In terms of the role of construction, it makes up around 10 per cent of the economy, but more importantly, it has a very strong multiplier effect,’’ Mr Pollock said.

“We know for every dollar spent on a construction project, it generates $3.

They are powerful numbers and that’s why we push so hard for construction to be central in the economic recovery.”

IBISWorld said revenue for companies in the building and construction sector had increased by 7.6 per cent, but they noted a downturn in the final quarter of 2019-20 due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other four Tasmanian companies to make the top 500 list were Incat (394) with revenue of $150.42 million, St Luke’s Health (403) with $143.44 million turnover, Searoad (412) with $137.4 million revenue and aquaculture company Petuna (476) with $96.54 million turnover.

Those businesses were included on the list based on figures from the 2018-19 financial year.

Follow @cwhiteley12