Steel products manufacturer Steel Tube Holdings says it has started the new financial year slowly under a cloud of global uncertainty after reporting a sharp jump in its full year profit for the 2011 year.
The company's profit trebled to $17 million in the year to June, compared with $5.7 million last year, one of the manufacturer's worst financial results in its history.
Steel Tube chief executive Dave Taylor is picking patchy trading conditions to continue in the coming year, with the weak construction market offsetting the stronger manufacturing and rural sectors.
He says the company should start benefiting from the Christchurch rebuild later in the year.
Mr Taylor says the company expects residential reconstruction to begin there early in 2012, with the results showing up in the last quarter of the financial year.
Steel Tube expects commercial construction in Christchurch will not start until the latter part of 2012 and so will have minimal impact on its 2012 results.
