Don Braid: Mainfreight CEO on the company's 20 percent profit drop

Shares in Transport and logistics company Mainfreight have rallied today, despite the company posting an 18.5 percent drop in first-half profit.

The result's better than expected, with performance improving and expected to rise more.

Mainfreight CEO Don Braid says they've had a tough start to the year, but he feels things are improving ahead of the new year.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
It's another tough six months for Main Freight. The logistics
business has posted a net profit after tax of ninety
three million dollars for the half year. That's down eighteen
and a half percent, and the company's operations and the
Americas have performed poorly, making a loss of two point
three million dollars. Don Braid is Main Freight's group managing director.
Hey Don, Hi, Heather, how are you very well? Thank you?
So what are the challenges you've been facing here?

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Oh? All sorts. You know, we had had a tough
start to the year in the first quarter, and that
result that we've produced for the half year is actually
better than what we saw in the first quarter that
we announced at the AGM. So it's improving and we
certainly feel a lot more buoyant about what's in front

(01:01):
of us and an amount of market share gains, customers
sending more with us around the world, so we feel
a bit more positive as we head into the second
six months.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
So do you think things are going to get better
from here? You seeing signs of that here we are.

Speaker 3 (01:17):
Definitely with established customers sending more, spending more with us,
and market share gains of of our own violation where
we're winning business across the network.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
What do you think is going on with our attitude
towards tariff so we largely ignoring it?

Speaker 3 (01:37):
Well, my advice I had the opportunity to be in
the US in the last three weeks, and my advice
to some of those people New Zealandy exporters who were
complaining about the fifteen percent, wanting it to be ten percent,
the reality is it's fifteen Get on with it, increase

(01:58):
your pricing accordingly, and that's the game you're going to
have to play.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Have they followed your advice?

Speaker 3 (02:04):
I'm not sure. I'm not sure there should be well
advised to do that either, and I'm not sure it's
that easy. But I do think that we are overly
fixated on it and it is the way the world
these days, so accept it.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
And that hoarding that was going on don at the
start ahead of the tariff's kicking in, where people were
sending just a whole bunch out warehousing. It has that
now ended.

Speaker 3 (02:27):
And there's still plenty of stock around, but certainly. I
think what's happened overall is the nervousness of the tariff situation.
There's some sort of sensibility to whatever the tariffs are
going to be. Even this last session that they've had
with China, they've settled on a set of tariffs for
the next twelve months. That's giving people some confidence. So

(02:48):
they're getting on and doing business.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Isn't a now. I mean, because you operate in various
parts of the world, it gives you a really great
view of what is going on in our economy. What
are you seeing here in New Zealand? How are we going?

Speaker 3 (02:59):
It's better and it's got better in certainly the last
couple of months, and you know, the dark depths of
winter have this definitely disappeared behind us, and we're seeing
our customers feeling more positive and sending more fre it.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah, that makes a big difference. Now, do you have
a view on the debate about the Ports of Auckland
hiking the fees?

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Well? I do. Whether I want to share that with you,
I'm not sure. But what I would urge the Ports
of Auckland to do is that this will be further
imposts on exporters and importers. However, I urge them to
think about a multimodal approach rather than just a trucking approach,
and I think they're far too geared towards moving freight

(03:48):
on trucks rather than actually using rail off the port
and onto the port.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
Interesting don't always get to talk to you. Thank you
so much for your time, mate. That's Don Braid, Main
Freight Group Managing Director.

Speaker 1 (03:59):
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