Little says transport companies in talks to tackle high fuel price

Major Australian transport companies were discussing ways to tackle high fuel prices, according to Toll Holdings chief executive Paul Little. Meanwhile, congestion on the rail route through Sydney meant the recommended upgrading of the Melbourne-Brisbane link was imperative, he indicated. Mr Little was speaking last week after the release of the Federal Government’s North-South Railway Corridor Study and the company’s annual financial report, which said: &#8220All businesses performed strongly, with Toll IPEC, Toll Express and Toll Priority being the standouts.&#8221 Mr Little said a national united industry solution on fuel costs was needed and he had spoken to about five major competitors along similar lines, the Courier Mail reported. "Whether it be we import fuel or look at alternative sources of fuel or bidding on the spot market for fuel supplies remains to be seen," he said. Mr Little put his weight behind the inland rail link but warned there would have to be government money involved in its construction. "We would certainly welcome a high-speed Brisbane-to-Melbourne link but the trouble is that it has a $4bn price tag and we need to have the Federal Government paying for at least half," he said. Mr Little said Pacific National would be sold by December 6, with bidders split between overseas rail firms and local firms, most of which were financial institutions. Tolls financial report showed Pacific National’s profit had been hit by costs associated with the Acacia Ridge terminal in Brisbane, industrial action and derailments. Patrick, taken over on May 10, had traded in line with expectations and contributed $23.5m after tax profit on revenues of $231m. Queensland rail forwarder QRX has improved its result from the previous year’s loss, with the benefit of more efficient rail linehaul services provided by Pacific National. &#8220The business remains focused on increasing rail share of the freight task into North Queensland to support the increased economic activity being experienced in the region,&#8221 the report said. After tax earnings were $67.3m &#8220including $13.8m in one-off after tax costs&#8221, compared with $103.7m last year. However, revenues rose 8% to $1.48bn. &#8220In addition, grain volumes were significantly lower than anticipated due to export marketing and shipping issues,&#8221 the report said. The Toll Logistics division posted earnings before tax of $83.6m for the year, an increase of 14%, on revenues of $1.22bn, compared to $1.17bn last year. And Port Logistics performed in line with expectations after the Port Kembla redundancy program, which started last calendar year . Toll was very bullish about its outlook with the accent on Asia &#8220The acquisition of Patrick and SembLog have now positioned the group as a leading, global scale integrated transport and logistics provider with a crucial footprint into key Asian markets,&#8221 it said. &#8220The group’s successful execution of its strategy to become the Asian region’s leading transport and logistics operator will continue to provide superior long-term value to our shareholders.&#8221

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