<span class="" id="parent-fieldname-description"> Rollingstock and mineral processing and handling engineer Bradken has announced significant drops in revenue and profit in the 2013/14 financial year, and managing director Brian Hodges has flagged potential further job cuts as the company moves more of its operations offshore. </span> <div>Bradken recorded an underlying net profit after tax of $55.1 million in the financial year just ended, down 43% year-on-year.<br /><br />Underlying EBIDTA was down 19% to $173.3 million.<br /><br />Bradken axed just over 450 jobs in the financial year, and Hodges indicated that more jobs could go, saying only “one stage of a series of remodelling initiatives” has so far been executed.<br /><br />The engineering company pledged to capitalise on low cost manufacturing capacity in Xuzhou, China, further enhancing speculation that more job cuts are in store for its Australian operations.<br /><br />Bradken’s rail division saw a 7% drop in sales, to $206 million. The division’s products were used by customers in Australia to move more than 320 million tonnes of product – roughly a third of Australia’s overall production.<br /><br />Sales revenue for the company’s mining products division was down 18% to $339 million. Within that, sales revenue in the ground engaging tools and buckets business was down 14%, due to a drop in demand from the Australian coal market, Bradken said.<br /><br />The company’s mineral processing division saw a 6% decline in sales, “due to lower activity by mining OEMs as new mine developments were put on hold and some mines closed, predominantly in the gold sector and these factors were not totally offset by new business won.”<br /><br />Overall, Hodge pointed to a down period in the mining and resources market for the bulk of Bradken’s woes, but said the company was well positioned to deal with whatever happens next.<br /><br />“Our continued work on new product development, increased low cost capacity, high cost foundry and overhead rationalisation place Bradken in an excellent position to take the greatest advantage of improved market conditions,” he said.<br /><br />“We expect an improvement in order intake as delayed expenditure at mine sites is released and mine production volumes continue to increase, supporting sales in the second half.<br /><br />“It remains unclear when the mining capital cycle will improve, but we are not solely relying on it to do so.”
