Wellard expects profits, despite ‘complex’ position

16-Aug-2016 - Last updated on 17-Aug-2016 at 11:34 GMT

Wellard is the biggest livestock shipping business in Australia

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Australia’s largest livestock shipping business, Wellard, expects its full-year profits to be in line with company estimates, despite a double ship breakdown which cost the business AU$7.7 million in repair fees alone.

Wellard is banking on booking pre-tax profits of AU$85.9m (£50.8m) when it publishes its audited full-year trading results on or around 31 August. This is good news for the shipping company after what chief executive Mauro Balzarini called a “challenging six months”.

In the last half-year, the business was hit by mechanical failures on two of its vessels – the M/V Ocean Swagman and the M/V Ocean Outback. Cumulatively, this cost Wellard AU$7.7m ($5.9m) to fix, not to mention the costs it may have incurred by having two ships, capable transporting some 50,000 sheep, out of service.

‘Difficult’ environment

In a statement, Wellard explained that this created a “complex” monetary situation and was not yet able to say if its insurer would cover the costs of its out-of-service shipping.

The company also said it did not expect the situation to be resolved in time for inclusion in its audited full-year trading report.

Balzarini said the unexpected events had not made a “difficult trading environment” any easier, but said the business had been able to retain its market position and had “increased market share in some countries”.

It has left the business to estimate that its unaudited net profit after tax to be somewhere in the region of AU$14m-AU$15m.