There has been the perceived slowness at bedding down and getting earnings out of its bigger acquisitions.
Certainly, that was the case with the mammoth €110m purchase of the Dutch logistics company Wim Bosman in 2011.
Nevertheless, going on the number of analysts at this week's results presentation, the company is popular with fund managers.
"It's probably been the star this week," said JBWere's New Zealand equities manager, Rickey Ward.
"You can judge a number of investments in different ways, but it had a really high turnout, which shows that there is a greater degree of interest," said Ward, adding that JBWere holds shares in the company on behalf of clients.
"It ticks the boxes as one of a handful of premium quality New Zealand companies," he said.
Mainfreight said its New Zealand, Australian and European operations had made excellent contributions, but that poorer-than-expected results from the Asian and American operations dampened the overall result.
As Ward sees it, the company is inclined to take a longer-term view on its acquisitions, whereas the investment community is often impatient to see runs on the board.
Then there is the price.
"Most analysts have scratched their heads on the valuation that you pay for it - they have done so for years," Ward says. "But time and time again they (the sceptics) have been proven wrong because they keep delivering."
Mainfreight has made some big acquisitions over the years.
In 2003, Mainfreight launched a takeover bid for Owens Group, ending up with 79.6 per cent after Toll Holdings acquired a minority position.
In May 2005, it completed a full takeover of Owens. In 2008, Mainfreight spent US$53.7m on buying US-based Target Logistics, a freight forwarding and logistics company. The purchase of Wim Bosman was its biggest to date.
TRILOGY OUT OF FAVOUR
Trilogy International is still out of favour, despite the company reporting a 35 per cent lift in its annual profit to $12.7m last week.
The fragrance and skincare company delivered more than $100m in revenues for the first time in its history - and up 25 per cent over the previous year's. The stock closed yesterday at $2.11, down from $4.92 last August.
There have been some big sales in recent days and Australian institution Ausbil has been the main seller. In a notice to the NZX, Ausbil said its holding had dropped from just more than 5 per cent to less than 1 per cent after a series of sales between September last year and May this year.
ORION DOWN
Specialised software developer Orion Health Group's share price has remained under pressure while it undergoes a $32.9m rights issue.
The company, which listed in 2014, reported a $34.2m loss in the year to March, down from a $54.4m loss a year earlier.
Orion, which listed in 2014, said it planned to raise funds through a discounted two-for-nine rights issue at 90c per share.
Orion's market capitalisation now stands at just $184.1m, compared with more than $1 billion at its peak.
Chief executive and majority shareholder Ian McCrae acknowledged that it had been a "challenging" time for shareholders but that he expected the company to return to profitability in the second half of this year. The stock closed yesterday at $1.15, down from $5.31 this time last year.
BOWING OUT
Former high flier Pumpkin Patch, which is in receivership and liquidation, will be delisted from the NZX on June 8, the exchange said.
The children's clothing retailer, which was founded in 1990, went into receivership in October last year owing about $76m.
Receivers had tried to sell the business as a going concern but had no option but to liquidate after it received no serious expressions of interest.
COATS ENTERS FOOTSIE
Coats, the world's leading industrial thread manufacturer, is to enter Britain's FTSE 250 index.
The latest quarterly review by FTSE Russell, the global index provider, said Coats had met the requisite criteria and will enter the FTSE 250 with effect from June 19.
Coats' market capitalisation reached in excess of £1b ($1.82b) last week. The company, which
was once owned by New Zealand's Guinness Peat Group, re-listed in the UK in 2015.
