Australian crane and equipment rental company Tutt Bryant Group reported a 46-percent drop in annual net profit for its full fiscal year ended March 31, with most of the decline in its second half. Net profit for the year was AU$14.2 million (about U.S. $11.3 million), down from AU$26.6 million in the previous fiscal year. Group revenue was AU$321 million, a 6-percent year-over-year increase.

Managing director David Haynes said the group’s crane rental and general rental divisions posted revenue growth, but the distribution division’s equipment sales dropped significantly. Haynes said equipment sales declined 37 percent during its last three months of fiscal 2009 (the first three months of 2009) compared with the same period in the previous year. Haynes added that the reduced availability of credit facilities had an impact, as well as an overall drop in customer demand.

“The group’s customers will continue to be the construction, infrastructure, resources, mining, agriculture, environmental and project-specific sectors,” Haynes said, adding that federal and state government stimulus programs on infrastructure will offer opportunities in the years ahead.