KEY POINTS:
Engineering group Cavotec MSL expects the groundwork on marketing its unique mooring technology for ships will pay off in a big way this year, despite concerns over the ripple effects of a slowdown in the USeconomy on its other markets.
The company - formed in January last year through a reverse takeover by Netherlands-based Cavotec of listed Christchurch company Mooring Systems - holds its AGM in Christchurch on Tuesday.
Chief executive Ottonel Popesco said the company had invested a lot of resources in marketing Mooring Systems' MoorMaster technology. MoorMaster uses a vacuum system rather than ropes to moor ships, and can potentially dock and stabilise large container ships faster than conventional systems.
The New Zealand division contributed little to the multinational's total revenue of 130 million ($260 million) last year but Popesco said the groundwork had been laid for 2008.
Key to this has been installation of the technology at Oman's Port of Salalah, which is part-owned by the shipping giant Maersk.
Its success there led to orders from Canada's St Lawrence Seaways, Searoad Shipping Australia and Nordic Ferry Services of Denmark, along with trial work with US energy giant Chevron.
"We're talking about a market which is a traditional business. Once you come with new systems and new technologies, the people need more time to get used to the new systems. But once they do, they spread the news."
Popesco said the board had been pleased with the response from investors. It has around 1100 shareholders, with New Zealanders making up the large majority of its small shareholders.
He said that while there was concern over the impacts of a slowdown in the United States, its involvement in a diverse range of industries including airports, mining and general industry sectors meant there was some cushioning from any ripple effect.
"I think it's important to understand that Cavotec has more than 40 years of experience in a steady business. Everybody's asking me about mooring - mooring is important, of course, for the future - but our business was growing 16 per cent this year and in the past years at an average of around 20 to 25 per cent."
The company announced on Thursday that it had acquired California airport ground support equipment maker Dabico Group - a move Popesco said complemented Cavotec's existing airport systems.
Forsyth Barr analyst Jeremy Simpson said the company had been performing largely to expectations.
"The MoorMaster part of their business has been a little slower than expected in terms of new sales, but at this stage, it's a very small part of their business.
We don't have many companies like it here at all in terms of generating pretty much all of their earnings offshore or internationally.
"It's quite a complex company in the sense that it operates across quite a range of industries and geographic locations. It's not a company you can sit down and describe easily in a couple of minutes." How much a US slowdown would affect its other markets such as the Middle East, Asia and Europe was unknown.
"Having said that, though, the areas that they operate in are experiencing pretty strong growth."
