NZX-listed Freightways has bought a small Christchurch company as part of its plans to grow a significant trans-Tasman information management business. Managing director Dean Bracewell said document storage company MSS Christchurch would be integrated into its New Zealand information management unit, Archive Security.
MSS was bought for $1 million, and would consolidate the unit's No. 2 information management place behind multinational Recall, he said. Separately Freightways yesterday announced the purchase of Queensland-based document destruction and recycling company Shred-X Group for $A8.7m ($NZ9.6m). Shred-X had a small Victorian operation, and overall was complementary to the recent purchase of data storage business DataBank in Queensland. "We want to replicate what we've done in Queensland elsewhere in Australia for sure ..." Bracewell said.
Information management was an underdeveloped market, and, as that market grew, Freightways wanted to increase its presence.
Freightways was eyeing or in talks over other similar companies that offered storage, back-up storage and destruction solutions, but it could not give a timeframe for any purchases, he said. Including synergies, MSS was expected to add earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of $300,000 to the group in the 2008 financial year. Shred-X was expected to add Ebitda of more than $A1.4m in the June 2008 year. Freightways remained confident of hitting internal financial targets for its full-year result due to be released around August, Bracewell said. One analyst has picked a $27m net profit.
About 80 per cent of Freightways' revenue is from its express package brands – including SUB60, New Zealand Couriers, Post Haste Couriers, and Kiwi Express – where it competes with NZ Post. The remainder of its revenue was from information management and its business mail unit.
Freightways' shares yesterday closed up 7c at 400c.
