When Lester Fernandez presented his first full-year results as Managing Director and CEO of Boom Logistics, the numbers pointed to a stronger business.
Revenue increased 2.4 per cent to $271 million, underlying EBITDA reached $53.3 million and underlying net profit after tax increased 37.6 per cent to $12.8 million.
For Fernandez, what sits behind those numbers is just as important.
"We're running the business better – better commercial discipline, better fleet utilisation and clearer decisions around where we deploy capital," Fernandez said.
"Our growth needs to be profitable, so our job is to make good decisions with shareholders' capital and generate the right return from the people, fleet and capital we deploy."
With over 15 years' experience in the crane, lifting and logistics sector, Fernandez came into the CEO role with deep operational experience and significant exposure to industrial relations and workforce management that has shaped his approach to leading a national company with a large blue-collar workforce.
His first year has seen greater accountability around performance, sharper focus on contract quality and margin, disciplined capital allocation, and a deliberate effort to unite the national business around a clearer strategy.
"I'm pretty simple about leadership. Everyone needs to understand where we're going, what their role is and what they're accountable for," Fernandez said.
"I want people to challenge ideas and bring different views to the table. But once we've made a decision, we align behind it and execute as one business. That's what One Boom is about – putting the broader interests of the business ahead of individual functions or regions."
Fernandez believes leadership exists to support the people delivering for customers.
"The executive team’s role is to support the business and help our people perform at their best. The work gets done in our depots, workshops and on customer sites every day. That's where the value is created.
"We have some of the best people in our industry, and the results ultimately belong to the teams doing the work every day."
Staying connected to those teams is crucial. "Those closest to the work often know where the problems – and opportunities – are. Part of my job is to listen to them and remove anything in the way."
Improved commercial performance hasn't shifted the order of priorities. "Safety remains non-negotiable. We want our people doing great work for our customers and going home safely every day. Nothing we achieve commercially is worth compromising that."
The FY26 result reflects that shift in operating discipline – revenue up 2.4 per cent while underlying NPAT rose 37.6 per cent, underlining increased focus on earnings quality, margin and returns rather than simply growing the business size. Boom is applying greater discipline to opportunities it pursues, weighing customer outcomes, margin, asset utilisation, risk and returns on capital.
"That means ensuring it's an opportunity where we can deliver safely, create value for the customer and deploy our people, fleet and capital effectively," Fernandez said. "We want our growth to strengthen our customer relationships, create opportunities for our people and continue improving the quality of the business."
The same discipline guides capital allocation, with Boom focused on maximising existing assets, redeploying fleet where it can generate stronger returns, and investing where earnings are sufficiently visible.
Fernandez also placed strong emphasis on closer customer engagement. The company enters FY27 with more than $200 million of secured contracted work, including a seven-year extension at BHP's Olympic Dam operation, expected to generate around $40 million of annual revenue.
"The best customer relationships are those that develop over time because you're consistently delivering value," Fernandez said. "Olympic Dam is a good example – we understand the operation and BHP’s priorities and actively work with them on how we can deliver better outcomes. That's the model we want to continue building: long-term contracted relationships underneath the business, with project and shutdown opportunities layered on top."
Resources remains the anchor of Boom's strategy, supported by targeted growth across infrastructure and transmission, industrial markets, and selective participation in renewables where the risk and return profile is appropriate.
Strengthening Boom as one national business is another focus. "We've got plenty of capability across this business and we must ensure we use it all," Fernandez said. "If we can bring the best of Boom to our customers regardless of where that capability sits in the organisation, that's when One Boom starts to mean something."
While pleased with FY26's progress Fernandez is wary of overstating it. "One good year doesn't make a strategy. The job now is to build on the foundation we've created – keep growing quality earnings, improve returns on capital, stay disciplined on costs and capital, and keep getting closer to our customers."
For Fernandez, that's the leadership model Boom carries into FY27: clear strategy, disciplined execution, consistent delivery – with the results ultimately belonging to the people across Boom who turn that strategy into reality for customers every day.
