Newly listed transport fuels distributor Z Energy is heading into the first refresh of its corporate strategy since launching three years ago.
Chief executive Mike Bennetts said the Z board would be considering a "four to five year" horizon in the next round of strategic planning, which should start crystallisinglate this year, but may take much of next year to agree.
After its NZX listing on August 19 at $3.50, Z has seen a healthy gain, trading yesterday at $3.80, and has seen strong support from private Melbourne fund manager, Cooper Investments, which has 6.5 per cent of the company and has been responsible for the only two substantial security holder notices issued so far.
A who's who of New Zealand funds also participated in the float, although Fisher Funds "declined the opportunity", and trading volumes of more than a million shares a week was a positive sign for the key objective of "good after-market trading" in Z shares, said Bennetts.
The company expects new research by analysts for the two float lead managers, Goldman Sachs and First NZ Capital, to emerge when the post-float blackout period ends on September 26. The company is due to enter the NZX50 at the end of the month, ranked around 16th in the index. That means Z will also make the NZX20, adding demand from index-weighted funds.
Z's underlying preference for improved margin over retail turnover growth remains intact, and the review will look in areas such as rate of growth in new outlets, add-on services such as assisting fleet operators with fuel efficiency, and future investments in bio-fuels.
However, Bennetts says bio-fuels are only likely to be economic if there's a government incentive such as a mandated proportion of transport fuels being bio-fuels. BusinessDesk
