Dynamic Business: Movement in the Top 10 - NZ Herald

The high-level view of the 2021 Deloitte Top 200 Index shows an increase in total revenue from $190,618m in 2020 to $191,527m in 2021 — an increase of 0.5 per cent. This compares to a 1.6 per cent increase in 2020.

Underlying earnings (ebitda) increased from $24,803m in 2020 to $26,374m in 2021. This is an increase of 6.3 per cent, compared to a 7.3 per cent decrease in 2020.

The ebitda margin, an assessment of operating profitability as a percentage of total revenue (total ebitda/total revenue), increased slightly between 2020 (13.0 per cent) and 2021 (13.8 per cent).

Total profits after tax have increased from $6505m in 2020 to $7910m in 2021. This is a 21.6 per cent increase year on year, compared to a 37.3 per cent decrease in 2020.

Net profit margin (profit after tax/total revenue) increased between 2020 (3.4 per cent) and 2021 (4.1 per cent).
Total assets have increased from $253,333m in 2020 to $264,759m in 2021, which is a 4.5 per cent increase, compared to a 9.6 per cent increase in 2020.

The number one spot on the Top 200 Index has been held by Fonterra since its formation in the early 1990s. Fonterra’s revenue increased by 1.4 per cent during the year to reach $20,565m. This increase is mainly due to increased sales volumes.

EBOS Group has maintained its number two ranking, increasing its revenue by 7.0 per cent from $9,241m in 2020 to $9,886m in 2021.
EBOS Group’s increase in revenue is attributed to growth in its community pharmacy, institutional healthcare, contract logistics and animal care businesses. The revenue gap between the top two companies has remained fairly constant, slightly decreasing by 3.3 per cent, as Fonterra (ranked first) had a revenue increase of 1.4 per cent.

Fletcher Building’s (ranked 3rd) revenue has increased by 11.1 per cent from $7,309m in 2020 to $8,120m in 2021, which is a recovery on a drop in revenue of 12.0 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019, which caused it to slip from second in 2019 to third in 2020.
The top 10 has seen some movement in 2021, with Meridian Energy re-entering in sixth place (previously 10th place in 2019 and 11th place in 2020).

Zespri has moved up to seventh place from 12th place in 2020, and Mainfreight now occupies 10th place compared to 15th place in 2020.
These movements in the top 10 see Z Energy moving down from fifth place in 2020 to 11th place in 2021, Air New Zealand moving down from sixth place in 2020 to 17th place in 2021, and BP moving down from eight place in 2020 to 15th place in 2021.

The 200th ranked entity on the Top 200 Index in 2021 is Aurecon, a newcomer to the index, with revenue of $189m.
Last year’s 200th ranked company, Airwork, had revenue of $200m. This is a 5.4 per cent decrease in revenue between 200th ranked companies year on year.

Top profits

  • Fonterra (ranked first in the Top 200 Index) reported the top profit for 2021 at $532m. Last year’s top profit was also held by Fonterra, reporting a net profit of $803m in 2020. This top profit amount has decreased by 33.7 per cent year-on-year.
  • The decrease in Fonterra’s 2021 profit is attributed to non-recurring gain on sale of investments which boosted the 2020 profit by $467m. This has been offset by lower net interest-bearing debt and an increase in sales revenue for Fonterra in the current year.
    In contrast, average profit after tax across all 200 companies has increased from $32.5m in FY20 to $39.5m in FY21, a 21.5 per cent increase.
  • Respiratory products maker F&P Healthcare (22nd) has moved up to second place in 2021, from sixth in 2020, with profit after tax increasing by 82.6 per cent from $287m in 2020 to $524m in 2021.
  • Auckland Airport (139th) has moved up to third place in 2021, from 14th in 2020, with profit after tax increasing by 139.2 per cent from $194m in 2020 to $464m in 2021.
  • Meridian Energy (6th) has moved up to fourth place in 2021, from 15th in 2020, with profit after tax increasing by 143.2 per cent from $176m in 2020 to $428m in 2021.
  • Ryman Healthcare (97th) has moved up to fifth place in 2021, from 7th in 2020, with profit after tax increasing by 59.6 per cent from $265m in 2020 to $423m in 2021.
  • Infrastructure investor Infratil (38th) has moved out of the top profits, from being placed second in 2020, reporting a profit after tax of $509m in 2020, to reporting a loss of $88m in 2021.

Biggest losses

  • The biggest loss for 2021 was reported by hydrocarbon producer OMV (ranked 83rd in the Top 200 Index), with a loss of $567m.
    OMV’s loss is a $614m drop from its 2020 profit after tax of $47m.
  • Pacific Aluminium (58th) and Air New Zealand (17th) respectively hold the second and third biggest losses in 2021.
  • This is reasonably consistent with the loss positions they occupied last year.
  • Pacific Aluminium was third and Air New Zealand was first in the biggest losses for 2020.
  • Air New Zealand’s continued losses are reflective of the decline in profits of the air travel industry caused by the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on border restrictions limiting international travel.
  • Tasman Steel (54th) and Lion (71st) respectively hold the fourth and fifth biggest losses in 2021.
  • Kiwirail (64th) has moved out of the top biggest losses, from being placed second in 2020, reporting a loss of $325m, to having a profit in 2021 of $43m.

Most improved profit

  • Agricultural co-operative company Ravensdown (ranked 63rd in the Top 200 Index) recorded the most improved profit out of all the entities on the Top 200 Index.
  • It delivered a 10,213.8 per cent increase in profit from a $0.2m loss in 2020 to a $15.4m profit in 2021. Haier (30th) has the second most improved profit, recording a profit of $29.3m in 2021 compared to a $0.6m profit in 2020.
  • This is an increase of 4,834.3 per cent.
  • NZPM Group (144th) holds third place for most improved profit, with an increase of 2,404.8 per cent. In the current year, NZPM Group recorded a profit of $6.8m, compared to a 2020 profit of $0.3m.
  • There is no overlap in the most improved profit list in 2021 relative to 2020.

Most improved revenue

  • Meat company Hellers (ranked 141st in the Top 200 Index) has reported the most improved revenue, increasing revenue to $269m in 2021 compared to $101m in 2020.
  • This increase has seen Hellers enter the Top 200 Index for the first time.
  • Newcomer to the Index, Wilmar Gavilon (143rd), is ranked second for most improved revenue. Wilmar Gavilon had reported revenue of $172m in 2020 which has now increased to $267m in 2021, representing a 55.1 per cent increase in revenue.
  • Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (22nd) has seen a similar increase in revenue, reporting an increase of 53.0 per cent from $1,273m in 2020 to $1,948m in 2021 which places it third for most improved revenue. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare occupied 16th position for most improved revenue in 2020.
  • Microsoft (72nd) is the only other company to be included in the most improved revenue index for two years in a row.
    A2 Milk and Xero had been included in the most improved revenue index for the last four years, however they are not included in 2021.
  • Pushpay (142nd), My Food Bag (196th), Synnex (190th) and Tasman Liquor (152nd) are new entrants to the Deloitte Top 200 Index in 2021, and also feature in the most improved revenue index.
  • Hellers, Microsoft, Precinct Properties, Synnex and Tasman Liquor are included in both the most improved profit and most improved revenue index in 2021.

Top return on assets

  • Return on assets (ROA) provides an indication of how efficiently a company manages its assets in order to generate earnings. It is calculated by measuring profit against total assets reported.
  • Lotto NZ (ranked 26th in the Top 200 Index) holds the top spot for ROA for the third year in a row after newly entering the Top 200 Index in 2019. It has maintained a strong ROA of 194.7 per cent in 2021 compared to 214.0 per cent in 2020. The high ROA is driven by a 25.5 per cent increase in profit after tax from $333m in 2020 to $378m in 2021, with total assets of $199m in 2021.
  • Holding the second spot for ROA for the second year in a row is TAB (121st) – despite a decrease in its ROA to 94.5 per cent from 102.6 per cent. This is driven by an increase in total assets from $136m in 2020 to $208m in 2021, and an increase in profit after tax from $137m in 2020 to $163m in 2021.
  • Third place is held by newcomer Aurecon (200th) with a ROA of 35.3 per cent.
  • Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (22nd) placed fourth in terms of ROA, rising from fifth place in 2020. Its ROA has increased from 21.8 per cent in 2020 to 29.9 per cent in 2021, which is consistent with its increase in profit.
  • The general trend of increasing return on assets falls in line with the 21.6 per cent increase in average profits, with third to 20th places for 2021 increasing year-on-year against third to 20th places in 2020. Only Lotto NZ and TAB, ranked first and second respectively, saw a reduction in ROA year-on-year.

Top return on equity

  • Return on equity measures how effectively a company can generate income relative to the amount of money shareholders have invested in the firm.
  • It is a useful tool for investors, particularly when comparing firms within the same industry and is calculated by measuring the revenue earned against the average equity held over the past two years – to prevent changes in shareholder contributions skewing the results.
  • Lotto NZ (ranked 26th in the Top 200 Index) has taken the top spot for return on equity, moving from second place in 2020, with a return on equity percentage of 661.8 per cent.
  • TAB (121st), has moved up from third place to second place for its return on equity of 416.5 per cent.
  • Bunnings (31st) has dropped from top spot to third place with a return on equity of 264.7 per cent for 2021.
  • Kiwifruit marketer Zespri (7th) has risen to fourth place from sixth, with a return on equity of 105.0 per cent.
  • Nestle (90th) has maintained its fifth-place spot with a return on equity of 101.9 per cent.

The newcomers

  • This year, 22 companies were added to the Deloitte Top 200 Index. This compares to last year when 13 companies debuted on the Index.
  • Heinz entered the Index at the highest rank (ranked 56th in the Top 200 Index) with revenue of $768m.
  • Also entering the Top 200 Index within the top 100 companies were metals distributor and processor Vulcan Steel (59th) with revenue of $732m, and New Zealand Health Group (70th) with revenue of $639m.

Just missed the cut

  • The 200th place in the 2020 Deloitte Top 200 is Aurecon, which recorded $189m in revenue. In last year’s Top 200 Index, Airwork was ranked 200th with revenue of $200m in 2020.
  • Abano Healthcare (ranked 201st in the Top 200 Index), Whakatane Mill (202nd) and Wilson Parking (203rd) just missed the cut by $1m. Scott Technology (204th), Suzuki (205th) and China Merchant Properties (206th) were close to breaching into the Top 200 Index in the current year, all achieving revenue around the $186m mark. Of these companies, Abano Healthcare and Scott Technology have fallen out of the Top 200 in 2021, previously holding 168th and 182nd place in 2020 respectively.

In last year, not now

  • After its entrance in the Top 200 Index in 2019, Scentre wasn’t in this year’s index (in 2020 it ranked 90th). Until last year, the owner and operator of Westfield retail destinations was in the most improved performance index for two years in a row.
    Shell has also dropped out of the index this year after ranking 149th in 2020. In 2019 it appeared in the top profit index, recording a figure of $1,397m.
  • Kordia didn’t feature in the Top 200 index this year. In 2020 it reappeared on the index ranked 183rd, after falling from the index again in 2019.
  • Horizon Energy (2020: 163rd) and Scott Technology (2020: 182nd) also did not make the list this year after entering last year’s index.