Global transport firm Mainfreight reported a challenging first half for the 2025 financial year, with net profit down 18.5%.
Tighter margins and difficulty in making sales contributed to the profit decline.
Key numbers for Mainfreight for the six months ended in September show a net profit of $93.4 million, down from $114.6 million a year ago. Revenue increased by 2.1% to $2.61 billion compared with $2.55 billion previously. Underlying profit before tax declined 18.2% to $131.7 million from $161.2 million. The interim dividend was maintained at 85 cents per share.
“The first quarter was extremely tough. We are now seeing trading improve, particularly in New Zealand and Australia,” managing director Don Braid said.
He said the company is continuing to expand its warehouse network, driven by customer demand, with new facilities planned in Christchurch and Auckland serving as prime examples of this growth strategy.
The Asia and Europe divisions also continued to experience progress and improvement in their operations.
“America’s our toughest market for us at this point in time. It’s an ongoing, long-term business for us. We see a large amount of potential for us over a long period of time,” Braid said.
“It reminds us a little bit of when we were in Australia, 20 years ago, 25 years ago. How tough that was then.
“Now, Australia is our biggest market, and at some point in time, we think that America will do the same for us.”
He said the overall outlook was more positive, praising the team for their efforts in gaining market share. He said he expects this momentum to continue through to the year-end results, with particularly strong market share growth in New Zealand and Australia.