Steel & Tube Holdings says the New Zealand economy now appears to be slowly gaining momentum across an increasingly broad range of sectors.
However, chief executive Dave Taylor says his company's optimism remains tempered until it sees an actual uplift in the sectors it serves.
He says two of those, rural and manufacturing, will be robust. But the key one that will make a difference to the company is construction.
Mr Taylor says there is an increase in the number of consents coming through, both residential and non residential, and at some point those consents will become actual work for Steel & Tube Holdings.
He says he expected the company's second half to be stronger but the construction momentum in Christchurch it saw in the first half dissipated from February to April, with a small recovery in May and June.
Steel & Tube Holdings lifted annual net profit 19%, boosted by the Christchurch rebuild, despite a number of adverse headwinds.
Net profit for the year ended June rose to $15.6 million from $13.1 million the previous year.
