Steel and Tube Holdings made a profit of more than $26 million in the year to June, an increase of 16% on the previous year.
In the first half of the year, the company made $20.8 million. But the slowdown in the rural and manufacturing sectors hurt Steel and Tube in the second half, with revenue down by a quarter at $210 million and profit just $5.3 million.
Steel and Tube laid off 50 people from its 830 strong workforce in the six months to June.
Acting chief executive Tony Candy says demand for residential construction is likely to pick up over the next year which will flow through to its business. He expects the rural sector to benefit from a lower exchange rate and increasing dairy prices.
Tony Candy plans to step aside in October, when Dave Taylor, a director of Australian company OneSteel which owns half of Steel and Tube, will take over as chief executive.
