Like @Tom73 Just caught up on Boom Logistics Meeting (Great Summary). Below summary of board ownership been no recent buys.

Board Bio's

Kieran Pryke -Non-Executive Chair – appointed to the Board 8 February 2021 and as Chair 1 October 2023.

Mr Pryke has over 25 years’ experience in the property industry. He has been Chief Financial Officer of General Property Trust, following nine years in Lendlease Corporation’s construction, development and investment management divisions, and of Australand Property Group and Grocon Group. Currently he is a non-executive director of ASX-listed Aventus Capital Limited, where he chairs the audit, risk and compliance committee, and a director of GFM Investment Management Limited. He is also a director of Ozharvest Limited, the not-for-profit organisation which distributes surplus food to the needy. Mr Pryke has a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and is a Fellow of CPA Australia.

Lester Fernandez - Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

Mr. Lester Fernandez is a senior executive with over 15 years of leadership experience across Australia’s crane, logistics, and industrial services sectors. He currently serves as the CEO of Boom Logistics, overseeing national operations with a portfolio exceeding $220 million and a workforce of more than 700. Mr. Fernandez brings deep expertise in P&L management, commercial contracting, enterprise risk, and organisational change. He has led multiple business turnarounds, labour restructures, and major EBA negotiations in complex, unionised environments. He holds tertiary qualifications in finance, project management, human resources, and general management.

James Scott - (Independent, Non-executive Director) (appointed 29 November 2021)

Mr. Scott is a seasoned professional with 30 years’ experience in the media, telecommunications and technology sector with industry and advisory businesses at a local and international level. Mr. Scott is currently an operational advisor to private equity firm, Liverpool Partners, Chair of MerchantWise Group, Chair of technology services business Seisma Pty Ltd, Chair of Simplyai and a non-executive director of software business Orbx Pty Ltd. Mr. Scott was previously a non-executive director of Skyfii Ltd and prior to his director career was the Managing Director of Accenture Digital, a Partner in KPMG’s Advisory division and was the Chief Operating Officer of Seven Group Holdings. Mr. Scott was a founder and director of Imagine Broadband Limited and was a director of WesTrac and Coates Hire during his time with Seven Group Holdings. During the past three years, Mr. Scott has held ASX listed public company Directorships with Integrated Research Limited. Mr. Scott is Chair of the Boom Logistics ESG Committee. Mr. Scott is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and a Fellow of Engineers Australia.

Damian Banks - (Independent, Non-executive Director) (appointed 29 November 2021)

Mr. Banks has extensive experience in the financial services, health and employment sectors. He has proven experience in the development and profitable expansion of businesses with a focus on financial management, technology and people. He has a strong track record in customer-focused culture development, and considerable M&A experience. Mr. Banks’ most recent executive role was as Managing Director and CEO of Konekt Limited, a technology-focused health and employment company. Mr. Banks previously had a 15-year career, including several leadership positions with Westpac Banking Corporation.During the past three years, Mr. Banks has held ASX listed public company Directorships with Kip McGrath Education Centres Limited (current), Vection Technologies Limited (current), IMEXHS Limited (current), ICSGlobal Limited (to Feb 2024) and RPM Automotive Group Limited (to June 2022). Mr. Banks is Chair of the Boom Logistics Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

Phil Canning - (Independent, Non-executive Director) (appointed 1 December 2025)

Phil Canning is an experienced executive and Non-Executive Director with more than 30 years’ leadership across capital-intensive industrial, logistics, mining services and energy businesses in Australia and international markets. He has led complex, multi-site organisations as CEO and Managing Director, including at RDO Equipment Australia Group and Caterpillar’s Energy Power Systems Australia, overseeing significant growth, operational transformation, major capital programs and strategic acquisitions. Phil brings strong expertise in governance, strategy, risk, capital allocation and stakeholder engagement, with a particular focus on safety, ESG and building high-performing cultures in operationally demanding environments. His experience spans listed companies, private equity, founder-led businesses and large global OEM partnerships. Philip is a Non-Executive Director of Boom Logistics Limited (ASX: BOL) and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Catching up on the SM interview and reviewing the company I am documenting my take as an investment:

TLDR = On my watchlist, requires a lower price to be an attractive risk/reward for investment.

Low margin, capital intensive and cyclical with a long but chequered history, timing is going to be especially important for an investment in Boom Logistics unless we have seen the Lepard truly change it’s spots. Trading on modest PE’s despite solid performance over the last few years, it requires a large margin of safety due above mentioned factors, so it may offer value currently but is not a solid asymmetric bet at these prices. 

Ignore the PE of 3 as shown in CommSec, this is caused by tax adjustments in FY25. Also I wouldn’t rely on a PE based on H1 FY26 NPAT of $5.2m which is ~6.8 because there is no tax expense. It is currently operating at a PE of around 10 if you apply normal tax rates, providing a valid basis for comparables. There are significant tax losses (A$29m at the end of FY25) which are of value from a cash earning perspective, but I would factor this into EV which also considers net debt, rather than income based metrics.

In preparation for opportunities 20-30% below the current price, I am maintaining a watch.

Positives:

• Turn around that is showing continued improved results with a change in management.
• Focus on shareholder returns and value accretive business, share buybacks efficient.
• Cyclical in strong part of the cycle (Gold, copper, renewables, infrastructure).
• NPAT growing off a low base, nominal growth will be low but % will be high, valuation increase from rapid near-term earnings growth and valuation re-rate possible.
• RoNA focus of management supports profitability at the bottom line not pursuit of profitless top line growth. Additional borrowing capacity allows for further growth if identified without diluting shareholders.
• Fleet management (age & utilisation) has improved, so current capex program looks sustainable which supports ongoing profits.
• High debt, but almost all is asset financing for working assets with resale value support.
• FCF supported by tax losses offers high NPAT% returns and strong cash flows in the short to medium term.

Risks:

• Low margin, capital intensive and cyclical – things can go south quickly if market shifts.
• New CEO, will the business turn around instigated by the previous CEO continue?
• Strong competitor in Freo Group (owned by Berkshire Hathaway since 2011). Note current and former CEO came from Freo Group.
• Long legacy of poor performance may return if culture and the board let it.
• Management and control issues that allowed the previous CEO to misappropriate $1.1m (since recovered) may not be fully addressed.

Thesis if investing: Undervalued due to a poor history, but having proven a turnaround it is well placed to take advantage of the cycle, growing earnings via top line and margin growth. Negative market sentiment could change with continued good results and a significant re-rate occur on higher earnings offering multiple returns.

On watch list, will sharpen pencil below $1.50.

So Boom has an "interesting" history, and that certainly seems to have put a lid on the market valuation. I'll let people Google the details for themselves, but the tl;dr is that they had a former CEO who embezzled over a million dollars (although hey eventually got the money back) and there was also a tragic fatal workplace incident last year that had a $2.3m financial impact.

As Lester said, it's created a bit of a shadow over the company, and you can see that in how it is being valued. Recently they guided for 30c per share in underlying EPS for FY26, which puts them on a forward PE of ~6x (not a typo). Actually, they are well below their NTA of $3.05 per share.

And it's not like the business is shrinking either, with the guidance for the current year representing 37% growth. In fact, in recent years, the business seems to be moving inthe right direction overall:

Now, we are talking about a rather capital intensive operation, that operates in a cyclical space with a large unionised workforce and a bunch of debt, so there are definitely things to watch out for *BUT* if you feel they can sustain a bit of growth for the foreseeable future without any major incidents there could be some potential for a re-rate.

Just on those issues, Lester made the point that most of their work is maintenance in nature. Which is less lumpy and more predictable than new builds. There's also a good degree of diversification in clients and projects which should help smooth things out too.

The debt was restructured a few years back and they sit on a net gearing ratio of 38% at present, which is well below their max threshold of 45% and only just above their target minimum of 35%. I suspect a bit of debt is necessary to make the ROE decent, otherwise you'd have a fairly low return business. Not unreasonable to a certain extent, but something to keep an eye on.

The goal here is all about effective capital management and asset utilisation. If they can lift their return on net assets from ~10% to their target of 15% that'll do a lot to grow earnings, especially if they can maintain their margin discipline, which is something Lester brought up more than once.

The maths all makes perfect sense, but as I said at the end of the chat, it's really all about execution.

I'm always a sucker for a cheap price, and things look really cheap (which is why their share buyback makes so much sense) -- but i'm also mindful that the market isnt always so silly as to walk past a great deal. So there's probably more going on than I am aware of, or what I was able to illicit from Lester. Keen for any perspectives!

btw, here is the transcript