Iron ore price and mining woes suck life from efforts to save firm as a going concern
Heavy Haulage Australia (HHA) is to be broken up as a buyer for the firm as a whole has failed to step forward.
Despite some early inquiry, the trucking company’s voluntary administrator, Ferrier Hodgson partner Brendan Richards, put the eventual lack of interest in HHA as a going concern down to economic and market factors.
“While we received a promising level of initial interest from investors, the continuing fall in iron ore prices and the subsequent pressure on the Australian mining industry has seen that interest dissipate,” Richards says.
As a consequence, HHA will be formally wound up with the loss of more than 70 jobs across its operations in Brisbane, Toowoomba, Perth and Port Hedland.
HHA had a high profile as a heavy haul logistics specialist servicing the mining and infrastructure sectors, as well as being a prominent sponsor of V8 Supercars.
It was also the subject of the ‘Megatrucker’ series featured on Foxtel’s A&E channel.
The assets comprising more than 50 prime movers, 120 heavy haulage trailers, 15 cranes and 40 pilot and light commercial vehicles will be offered up for private sale.
“This is another sad day for the Australian transport industry but also further evidence that the decline in the mining industry is still very much continuing,” Richards says.
“The outlook for many of the companies with exposure to that decline is troubling to say the least, and further fallout is likely in the near future.”
Sources close to the issue say the main creditors are Westpac and GE Capital, with half-owner McAleese in the mix as well.
The failure comes against a backdrop of harder times nationally.
In more proof of that, the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) reveals that business-related personal insolvencies, as opposed to corporate insolvencies, rose to 16.3 per cent in the June quarter, up from 15.5 per cent in the March quarter.
‘Economic conditions’ was the most common business-related cause, accounting for 398 debtors from a total of 968.