Its half year results presentation was titled: “Taking our vision and expertise to the world.”
Wagners chairman Denis Wagner has previously said that the US market for composite materials is “huge” and that North American engineers and infrastructure owners were starting to see the benefits of composites for use in bridges and boardwalks. He has forecast that the US could eventually contribute half of the company’s revenues.
Wagners had planned to spend between $5 million and $10 million building new plants in the US over the next two years to manufacture composite material that can be used to repair bridges.
It currently manufactures the composite fibre – used to build bridges, boardwalks, wharves and light poles – in Australia, and exports it around the world.
But the US has more confirmed cases of the coronavirus than any country, with 242, 182 cases as of Friday. The country’s gross domestic product is expected to tumble by more than 7 per cent in the second quarter as businesses shut and people stay at home.
And even before COVID-19, Wagners was struggling to generate cash, reporting a working capital deficiency of $24.6 million at the end of December and net cash outflows from operating activities of $11.9 million. Last year it raised $40 million of equity to pay down debt.
Wagners said on Friday that there had been “minimal interruption” to operations in Australia and all of its projects and sites were operating, with some additional costs due to complying COVID-19 preventative measures.
Wagners remains in dispute with building materials group Boral over a cement supply agreement, and is awaiting a judgement from Queensland’s Supreme Court. Macquarie Wealth Management has said the judgement will be “pivotal” for the company’s cement business, which has been its most profitable source of income.
Boral, which has a contract to buy cement from Wagners until the end of 2021, has been trying to force the construction group to drop its cement prices after claiming it could buy cement significantly cheaper elsewhere in south-east Queensland.
