WiseTech shares rise as Richard White rejoins board as executive chairman
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More news: ASIC chair Joe Longo has confirmed the regulator is looking into WiseTech after a turbulent week for the company, which was triggered by personal drama surrounding founder and now executive chair Richard White.
What they said: "We acknowledge the concerns relayed in media reporting," Longo said in a statement supplied to Capital Brief.
"We are conducting preliminary inquiries and will be making decisions imminently about any next steps for ASIC."
WiseTech shares rise as Richard White rejoins board, HY result tops estimates
More news: WiseTech Global shares lifted in morning trade after the logistics software company reported a better-than-expected first-half result and announced that founder and former CEO Richard White will rejoin its board as executive chairman.
WiseTech shares were up 2.6% to $97.05 at 11:30am AEDT.
Richard White rejoins WiseTech board as executive chairman
More news: WiseTech Global has re-appointed founder Richard White to its board as executive chairman, four months after he stood down as a director and CEO following a deepening scandal over his private life.
The company said White will oversee succession planning, including the search process for the permanent chief executive.
White will also lead the company's product development and growth strategy. His remuneration is yet to be agreed but will not exceed its previous salary as CEO, the company said in a statement to the ASX.
Mike Gregg, an early investor in WiseTech who rejoined the board this week, has been appointed as the company's lead independent director. Gregg is a founding partner of Shearwater Capital, which is an investor in Capital Brief.
WiseTech said it expects at least one further board appointment will be announced in the next four weeks. Four members of its six-person board resigned on Monday due to "intractable differences" in views around White's ongoing role at the business.
WiseTech posts 38% profit jump, hikes interim dividend
The news: Embattled software company WiseTech Global recorded a 38% rise in first-half net profit to $106.4 million, boosted by organic revenue growth at its flagship logistics platform Cargowise.
The company won over the business of Logisteed, one of its targeted top 20 freight forwarders, from 31 December, and completed its acquisition of Portuguese customs IT business Singeste.
The numbers: WiseTech hiked its interim dividend to 6.2 US cents, up from 5.4 cents last financial year on the back of another strong financial result.
The company posted first half revenue of $381 million, up 17% on its 2024 first half figure.
EBITDA rose 28% to $192.3 million on 50% margins, up from 46%, on the back of better than anticipated cost cutting while keeping capitalised development spending within its target range of 50-55%.
What they said: The company also continues to grapple with how the new Trump administration and its implementation of tariffs will impact its business.
"FY25 guidance is provided on the basis that market conditions do not materially change, and reflects current trends in supply chain volumes, noting that changes in industrial production and/or global trade (both favorable and unfavorable) may impact guidance," the company said.
RBC analyst Garry Sherriff noted that this added a geopolitical caveat to "revenue [at the] low end guide on product delays and EBITDA margin at high end on cost efficiency".
The context: On Monday, WiseTech warned revenue would hit the lower end of its downgraded $1.2–$1.3 billion range from November due to product rollout delays, while EBITDA margins would reach the upper end of its 50%–51% guidance, driven by a "company-wide efficiency program."
It also revealed that four independent directors, including the chairman—a third of its six-person board—resigned over founder Richard White’s continued involvement.
In its result on Wednesday the company provided an overview of these changes without providing any update on what White's role at the company might look like going forward.
