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Minelab potential up under Codan control
MINE and metal detector group Minelab's new owner, Codan, sees more potential for the group since it handed over a $70.5 million cheque on February 29. New general manager Peter Charlesworth, who led Codan's acquisition team for Minelab and its Mawson Lakes contract, electronics manufacturer Parketronics, expects short-term benefits from the marriage to generate up to $3 million. Executives were now reviewing the merged company's six manufacturing sites - four in Adelaide, one in Melbourne and one in Ireland - across the two firms and looking to share the brainpower of its mechanical engineers and computer design staff. ``We bought a very good company. Sometimes when you buy a good company the best you can do is let it run. In this case there are more opportunities between the two groups than we imagined,'' Mr Charlesworth said. Buffeted by the strong Australian dollar in overseas markets, high-frequency radio maker Codan began targeting clever companies with global markets two years ago to help reduce Codan's sales volatility. ``One of the reasons we were attracted to Minelab was that they have products in consumer markets. We haven't been in consumer markets before,'' Mr Charlesworth said. Minelab's metal detector units, sold to amateur prospectors around the world, make up 75 per cent of the company's annual sales of $37.5 million. "Minelab's sales have grown 25 per cent per annum for the past two years, driven by consumers,'' Mr Charlesworth said. "We don't expect that to continue forever but it should continue in the short term.'' He said Codan was eyeing a mix of similar-sized clever companies with niche markets both in Australia and in the U.S. Minelab would be positive to Codan's earnings next financial year, with its annual sales to the mature markets of the U.S., western Europe and Australia growing at about 3 per cent. Emerging markets in Mongolia, China, India and eastern Europe were growing by almost 20 per cent a year. "Our target demograpic is males aged from 35 to retirement and that particular demographic is growing. "And increasing wealth around the world is driving growth,'' Mr Charlesworth said. The company's mine detection business, about 25 per cent of its sales, supplied the United Nations and other mine detection agencies with about one third of the global market. Source: AdelaideNow >>> Discuss (0 comments) <<< Back to news portal |
