Getting To Know Oldfields Holdings

The Company that has been assigned to me for assessment is: OLDFIELDS HOLDINGS LTD. 

Oldfield Holdings is an engineering company. Established way back in 1916, the company was traditionally a manufacturer focused solely on selling high quality PAINT BRUSHES! Yes, they started out small but doesn't every business? Oldfield's today however, are now an innovative marketer, importer and manufacturer of a large variety of divisions. The principal activities of the consolidated group during the previous financial year are as followed:

• manufacturing, importing and marketing of paint brushes, paint rollers, painters tools and accessories distributed to well known brands such as Masters.
• manufacturing and marketing Treco Garden Sheds and Greenhouses , outdoor storage systems, avaries and pet homes which was bought by Oldfields' in 1999
• Advance Scaffold -manufacturing and marketing of scaffolding and related equipment; and
• Hire of scaffolding and related products

For over 95 years, the company has been a trusted iconic Australian brand and market leader that was first listed on the ASX in 1960 with its debut in these markets (with ventures such as its operations in Indonesia (2011) being one the companies major success stories. Oldfield’s now employs over 140 staff with its head office in Campbelltown, Sydney. A large majority of the company's operations are conducted in Australia across their ten national locations. 

My research so far has shown that the company has been feeling the competition and its activity has been historically lower!  Profits after tax have down-turned with a loss of over $2 million since the 2013 fiscal year. With increased competition across all divisions and impacts such as the increasing price of imports from Asia, there is no surprise that the company was somewhat affected by this globalised economy. It’s not hard to see by how much either.

The company director has mentioned that threats to the going-concern assumption played out as a result of loss of profits. He states that a combination of circumstances represented a material uncertainty that may cost significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue. This was a surprising statement to comprehend as Gregory Park (Company Secretary) also mentioned, “These initiatives made in 2014 will continue in 2015 and are expected to support future growth of the business."  I am keen to investigate this situation further as the question arises for me on how a company can continue to operate this way while under threat of possible liquidation. 

At first, I assumed this company was somewhat boring, especially when I read about what they sold, but it is growing on me and it’s quite impressive from a business perspective how far they have come! Like most of you, I had never heard of my company before today but I now look forward to finding out more as I continue my assessment and finish reading the annual reports.

Caity xx 

Promotional Video

Here's just a quick promotional video to get you more involved in the Oldfield's business..try to enjoy! :) For a industry leader, it was a struggle to find this single video!