But to find the winner we’ve gone a little off the beaten track to Breville Group, the company behind iconic electronics brands Breville, Kambrook and Philips. A month-and-a-half after previous CEO Stephen Audsley resigned in September 2011, Jack Lord was appointed acting chief executive. The former Sunbeam executive had a great first year, with the company defying poor retail conditions in Australia and North America to post a 45% rise in net profit to $46 million. The result was largely driven by huge growth in North America, where Breville’s brand Keurig has been a hit. Lord was made permanent CEO in August; this year Breville’s shares are up more than 150%.
Worst CEO of the year
James Warburton from Ten Network stands out here. While he’s arguably had a lot of help – particularly from predecessor Lachlan Murdoch – Warburton has overseen falling ratings, plunging profitability and a sinking share price, down from 65c at the start of the year to 25c at the end. Warburton’s biggest blunder was unquestionably the $230 million capital-raising Ten was forced to undertake in December – less than six months after Warburton had assured investors another capital-raising would not be required. In a market that hates surprises, Warburton’s was a shocker.
Best shareholder activist
The Australian Shareholders’ Association, which added Crikey’s Stephen Mayne to its staff during a busy annual general meeting season, continues to raise its profile and influence. It and other activist investors have been aided by the “two strikes” rule on executive pay, which has handed dissenters a tool to whack boards over any issue – and breathed new life into the AGM format.
But the winner of this category is none other than James Packer, who this year has emerged as an extraordinary market and media campaigner. First he took on Sydney casino operator Echo Entertainment, ousting chairman John Storey after an unrelenting and often personal attack. Then he turned his attention to the NSW government, charming and cajoling politicians and the press to grant his group Crown Limited a second Sydney casino licence at Barangaroo. Along the way he regularly appeared in newspapers clad only in Speedos, gave interviews to 60 Minutes and remarkably became a regular commentator in The Australian Financial Review.
Comeback of the year
Every year things seem to get tougher for the aviation sector – just ask Qantas chief Alan Joyce. But the sector can also claim one of the more impressive corporate renaissances of recent years in Virgin Australia.
Under former Qantas executive John Borghetti, the airline has changed its image from cheap, cheerful and cheeky to sleek and corporate. Business class has been added, staff retrained, branding and livery have been transformed, all with the aim of winning Australia’s most valuable airline customers from Qantas – high-yielding, frequently-flying business travellers.
Borghetti has boosted the size of Virgin’s fleet, increased staff numbers and grown capacity. He’s also pulled off a few key corporate moves, including the acquisition of Tiger Airways and bringing Singapore Airlines on as a strategic shareholder.
Borghetti is halfway through a five-year plan, but if the market is any guide, investors like the way this story is going; in 2012, Virgin’s share price is up an impressive 52% to around 43c.
Fall of the year
It’s seems strange to think that the year actually started pretty well for Nathan Tinkler, with Whitehaven Coal buying his coal outfit Aston Resources and agreeing to pay top dollar for a privately-held coal company called Boardwalk Resources that he threw into the deal. Tinkler emerged from that deal with a fortune of about$1 billion and was seemingly sitting pretty. It didn’t last long.
The rot started in July, when Tinkler launched a $5.3 billion takeover bid for Whitehaven, which needed the broad support of existing investors to get over the line. The investors refused to back Tinkler, the deal failed in August and it has been all downhill since.
With his only real wealth tied up in his parcel of Whitehaven shares, Tinkler has struggled through a series of cashflow crises, including problems at his sporting clubs, his horse racing empire, his property development business and his investment arm. Most recently, they’ve taken his jet and helicopter.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
