Scott Technology reported a net profit after tax of $4.5m and group revenue of $128m — up 4% and 5%, respectively, from the previous period — for the first half of the 2026 financial year, in an announcement to the New Zealand stock exchange yesterday.
The company, whose head office is in Kaikorai Valley Rd, also stated it had secured new contracts across Australia, Europe and the United States.
They included a lamb primal order for a large Australian meat processor, an appliance order from a global whiteware manufacturer in the US and automated guided vehicle contracts "with a leading US aerospace manufacturer" and "a global leader in wine and spirits".
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times shortly after yesterday’s announcement, chief executive Mike Christman said the company had been awarded a total of about $49m in new contracts over the past four-to-six weeks.
He confirmed the wine and spirits contract was with California-based wine producer and distributor Gallo.
"We’ve seen some great wins over the last couple of weeks in MHL [materials handling and logistics], the Leap [automated lamb cutting] system for an Australian company, another great win with Gallo and Boeing and Essity," Mr Christman said.
"It’s also driving us to accelerate our beef prototype systems in terms of getting those ready for a commercialised approach."
Scott Technology had worked with Boeing before, he said.
For companies the likes of Gallo, Danone and Farm Frites, it was now expanding into new regions. Farm Frites in Australia was a new install.
"That really is a new market that we’re tapping into."
An appendix to the announcement stated that as well as Farm Frites, Danone and Essity, key materials handling projects included with customers PepsiCo, EMPWR and Bakker.
Mr Christman said the half-year results reflected the foundations Scott Technology had laid as part of its five-year strategy to target $530m in revenue by 2030.
He was delighted with the progress made over the past year, particularly growth in the company’s forward work from $165m to $177m.
"That is a fantastic effort from everybody and I really feel it shows that the strategy is working.
"For me, this last year has been about embedding everything. Now I think we can start to accelerate."
Asked about the effects of the Iran war and the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, Mr Christman said they were seeing increased demand for automation, such as from PepsiCo.
"Although we’re keeping our finger on the pulse and actually focused on what’s happening, we’re not seeing the negative impact of that at the moment. That may come.
"We have the ability to manufacture globally ... I wouldn’t say we’re shielded from it, but we can make strategic decisions to protect ourselves."
Scott Technology’s announcement said customers’ forward investment plans could be affected "if global volatility persists", but mitigating actions were in place to reduce risk.
