Broadspectrum

Broadspectrum

Type	corporation
Industry	Infrastructure maintenance services
Founded	2001 (Listing on ASX)
Founder	Franco Belgiorno-Nettis AC
Headquarters	North Sydney, Australia
Area served	Australia,Philippines, New Zealand
Key people	Paul McClintock AO (Chairman) Nick Miller (MD & CEO)
Services	Operations, maintenance, and asset and project management services
Revenue	A$3.208 billion (2011)[1]
Operating income	A$3.295 billion[1]
Net income	(A$20 million)[1]
Total assets	A$2.267 billion[1]
Total equity	A$1.124 billion[1]
Owner	Ferrovial Services Australia Pty Limited
Number of employees	14,500
Parent	Ferrovial Services
Subsidiaries	APP, Easternwell, ICD.
Website	broadspectrum.com

Broadspectrum, formerly known as Transfield Services Ltd (TSE), is a corporation operating in Australia but owned by Spanish company Ferrovial since June 2016. Broadspectrum was publicly listed until it was purchased by Ferrovial.^[2]

Broadspectrum provides operations and maintenance, asset management, project and capital management outsourcing and infrastructure development services to the resources and industrial, infrastructure services and property and facilities management sectors. Broadspectrum operates in Australia and New Zealand.

Overview

Broadspectrum operates across diverse industries, including property and facilities management, defence, transport (including road, rail and public transport), utilities (including water, power, and telecommunications), and mining and chemical processing and hydrocarbons. Its clients include major national and international companies, as well as all levels of government.^[3]

History

Broadspectrum was known as Transfield Services until 2015.

Transfield's origins can be traced to 1956 when it was founded in Australia by an Italian-born immigrant electrical engineer, Franco Belgiorno-Nettis, who was joined soon after by Carlo Salteri, a former colleague from Electric Power Transmission, an offshoot of Milan-based Societa' Anonima Elettrificazione, which was constructing powerlines. The logo of Transfield Services, designed by Belgiorno-Nettis, reflected its electricity industry origins; it was intended to represent a high-voltage transmission tower, with an accompanying red electrical spark.

Together Saltieri and Belgiorno-Nettis built Transfield into one of Australia's most successful companies focused on major engineering projects such as bridges, tunnels, dams, hydroelectric and coal power stations, oil rigs, concert halls, sugar mills and power lines. Included in Transfield's list of achievements are the construction of the Gateway Bridge in Brisbane and the Sydney Harbour Tunnel. By the early 1980s, Transfield had in excess of 3,000 employees and an annual turnover of A$350 million. Within five years it grew to be the biggest engineering firm in southeast Asia. It acquired the Williamstown Dockyard in Melbourne in 1989 after winning a A$6 billion contract to build ten ANZAC class frigates for the Australian and New Zealand governments, the largest defence contract in Australia at the time.^[4][5] When visiting Australia in 1986 Pope John Paul II toured the Transfield factory located at Seven Hills.^[6]

Transfield established a naval shipbuilding capability in Australia first known as AMECON, then as Transfield Defence Systems, with the successful construction of two FFG7 - Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. It was later awarded the Anzac Ship Project contract^[5] for 10 Anzac class frigates, eight for the Royal Australian Navy and two for the Royal New Zealand Navy.

In 1989, Salteri and Belgiorno-Nettis stood down as joint managing directors of Transfield Holdings (as the company was then named) in favour of their eldest sons, Paul Salteri and Marco Belgiorno-Zegna.^[7] However, in a dispute between Salteri and Belgiorno-Nettis in 1995, the differences between the two families became irreconcillable and Transfield, then valued at A$733.2 million was split in two.^[4] The Belgiorno-Nettis family kept the name Transfield, having earlier established Transfield Holdings’ Operations and Maintenance division in 1993 at Mobil Altona in Victoria.

Separation of holdings and services businesses

In 2001, the Operations and Maintenance division was separated and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange as Transfield Services Ltd.^[8]

As a private investment and development company, Transfield Holdings retained a minority shareholding in Transfield Services. Its joint managing directors, Guido and Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, sons of Franco, were both directors on the Board of Transfield Services Ltd., until 2012. The two businesses have similar logos and are often confused, but are separate legal entities. Services licences its brand from Holdings.

In June 2007, Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund was floated, comprising seven former Transfield Services assets; and later that year, the company acquired four wind farms.^[8]

In April 2009, Transfield Services announced the appointment of Dr Peter Goode as managing director and chief executive officer, succeeding Peter Watson, who had been CEO since the company was listed on the ASX. Goode, born in South Australia, was a former senior executive with US–based oilfield services multinational Schlumberger, and the former Group President and CEO of Vetco. He stated that his strategy was to move Transfield Services into higher margin sectors, particularly providing maintenance services to the oil and gas sector.^[9]

As part of this strategy Transfield Services acquired privately owned Australian well-servicing business Easternwell in December 2010 for A$575 million. Easternwell provides services to the mining, oil and gas and infrastructure sectors in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.^[10][11]

In July 2011 Transfield Services sold its North American based facilities management business USM to Emcor for US$255 million (A$240m),^[12] and also announced the sell down of 80 percent of its share in the Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund to Ratchaburi Australia, a subsidiary of Thai company Ratchaburi Electricity General Holding PLC. In announcing the sale, Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund said it would book an A$12.2 million loss on its investment.^[13][14]

The retirement of the Belgiorno-Nettis brothers from the Board, the sons of the company's founder, took place in early August 2012 - with both stating they wanted to concentrate on philanthropic and community interests. The number of Transfield Holdings seats on the Board was reduced to one, with Roy McElvie a former Private Equity and Investment manager being appointed in the brothers' place.

McElvie has since resigned as Chief Executive Officer of Transfield Holdings, but retains a seat on the Transfield Services Board as a Non-Executive Director. As of November 2013 he no longer holds the status of Transfield Holdings nominee.

On 29 August 2012, concurrent with announcing its full year results, the company also disclosed that Peter Goode had resigned as MD and CEO to take up a position with Arle Capital Partners Ltd, a London-based private equity firm, effective 30 September. Transfield Service's board of directors announced the appointment of independent board director Graeme Hunt as Interim MD and CEO, and later confirmed his appointment at the company's annual meeting on 1 November.

Sell down of Holdings interest in services businesses and name change

Transfield Holdings announced on 10 September 2014 that it had sold its 11.3 per cent interest in Transfield Services, marking the end of its investment since the Services company was initially listed in 2001.^[15]

In a statement Transfield Holdings said this sale and the sale of 0.4 per cent of the Belgiorno-Nettis family stake were an underwritten sale to a range of institutional investors.

The statement said this decision was taken following a strategic review of Transfield Holdings’ current investment portfolio and was in line with objectives to increase diversification and liquidity.

In February 2015 Transfield Services advised the ASX that Transfield Holdings had served it 12 months notice of termination of the right to use the name Transfield and the T logo. Both trademarks had been licensed for use from Holdings by Transfield Services since listing. Transfield Services said it would seek the approval of shareholders to change the Company's name later in 2015.^[16]

Current operations

Broadspectrum announced the appointment of Nick Miller as the Company's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective May 2018, on 9 February 2018^[17]. Mr Miller takes over from current Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Fidel Lopez Soria, who was appointed to the role on 1 January 2017 and will return to a senior leadership role in the Ferrovial group on his departure. Mr Miller has more than 25 years of experience and serves on the Boards of private, public and not-for-profit organisations, including the Australian Contractors Association (ACA), Coleridge Downs Ltd, Orion New Zealand, Southbase Construction Ltd, Quake Core, Rangi Ruru Girls School, Roading New Zealand, and NZCID^[18].

In 2018, the company announced it had secured several new contracts in late 2017 and early 2018^[19]. They included an extension of a contract with the Australian Department of Defence for estate maintenance, cleaning, catering, and stores and warehouse management and other specialist services such as environmental management, rescue and firefighting, aircraft refuelling and management of petrol, oil and lubricants; as well as a one-year extension with Shell-QGC in a contract providing 12 rigs for well services in the Coal Seam Gas fields in Queensland (under subsidiary brand, Easternwell).

The Company is also part of the Netflow consortium, which was awarded the Western Roads Upgrade project, a $1.8 billion project in Melbourne. Together with Ferrovial peer, Amey, the Company will carry out rehabilitation and maintenance services over 260 kilometres of urban roads for 20 years. This is the first road maintenance contract awarded to Broadspectrum since its acquisition by Ferrovial in May 2016.

In 2017, Broadspectrum ceased providing support and welfare services to the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection's facilities on the islands of Nauru and Manus.

In late 2015, the company's name was changed to Broadspectrum from Transfield Services, after its founders withdrew its rights to use the name "Transfield" citing concerns over its management of offshore detention centres.^[20]

Ferrovial acquisition

Philanthropy

Broadspectrum supports activities that enhance education, workplace inclusion and the environment. Broadspectrum has a long-standing relationship with YMCA Bridge Project, supported by the Victorian YMCA, to collaborate in the rehabilitation of young offenders in the Juvenile Justice System. The program offers a supportive bridge between the transition of custody and life post-release by connecting young offenders to employers willing to provide training in vocational trade and leadership programs. Broadspectrum has placed more than five young people in trades’ roles on several of its contracts in Victoria as well as in administration roles in its Corporate Office in Melbourne. In addition, Broadspectrum engages ReBuild, a branch of the YMCA Bridge Project which provides gardening, landscaping, painting, plastering, carpentry and general office duties^[26].

In 2017, the Company announced it has engaged in a 10-year partnership with CareerTrackers to support young Indigenous students during their university degree through the CareerTrackers’ Corporate 10x10 program. As part of the program, Broadspectrum will fund the placement of 10 Indigenous interns in the business every year throughout the next 10 years^[27].

References

External links

• Broadspectrum website