This a general random question for the stackers that trade, can anyone name any Australian companies that have seen really big growth off the back of the mining boom, in recent years say since 2000 and that started off small (eg not the Sercos, Tolls etc) If it wasn't already obvious asking as a very uneducated person on this topic.... Cheers, Alex.
Plenty of divvy paying multi-baggers over the decade in that sector. The time where they were turbo-charged though was coming out of the ashes of the GFC early 2009. As Jim Puplava expressed it recently, " ... once a financial crisis is resolved, it becomes a catalyst, and that is how bull markets begin" The cream in my opinion was stocks like (in descending order of creaminess): Monodelphous (MND) ALS Ltd (ALQ) previously Campbell Bros Ltd (CPB) Fleetwood (FWD) Decmil (DCG) Lycopodium Ltd (LYL)
SubZero - i'm not sure if they are listed but they started as a dad and dave operation and are now quite large throughout the Hunter. Keep an eye on them.
This is just my gut feel...but I suspect Cardno's recent weathering of the bad market has not been about their good performance, rather a result of sucking the 'fat' out of their recently acquired small businesses. They recently took over a number of small efficient businesses that I've been dealing with and the effect has been quite marked. The pressure is on. Cardno bought these companies because they were doing well, but I suspect they paid too much and now have to screw out as much as they can to justify their purchase and repay the loans. However there's the law of diminishing returns, you can only squeeze the goose so much before you start breaking bones. These companies are not the same ones I was dealing with just a year ago. The staff are stressed and unhappy and output is actually slowing. I fear Cardnos will go down the same route as Roche Bros, Theiss, John Holland Leightons etc. Start off as small to medium operators doing well in their niche but then expand into a market where, while the jobs are big in $ terms... but few in number and the margins small. Where if you miss out on (or underprice) that 1 big job, it's all over for the company.
Business units include... Subzero Automotive Bro-Built Engineering DMST Subzero Field Service Subzero Hire Subzero Line Boring Subzero Liquid Nitrogen Subzero Mining Services Subzero Shared Services http://subzeroservices.com.au/ With over ten years of established business experience, Subzero Group has evolved today into a comprehensive offering of specialised services. Subzero provide strategic and comprehensive maintenance and engineering solutions. Our equipment is customised and purpose built to enable us to provide solutions to the mining and engineering industry. Although acquisitions have been a part of the groups philosophy, organic growth has been the major contributor and company's focus. ...insert self promotional BS here... Now located at 8 sites and employing in excess of three hundred and fifty persons, Subzero Group has expanded its offering into the mining & resources sector, power generation, engineering & production and the agricultural & medical sciences industries.
