Timber manufacturer with $100m turnover collapses due to Christmas cash flow problems

Timber manufacturer and distributor Amerind is up for sale today after collapsing into receivership after the Christmas trading period.

Amerind manufacturers veneer products and distributes timber, veneer panels and other decorative and architectural finishes.

It turned over in excess of $100 million last financial year, employs 174 staff and manufactures in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.

But following cash flow problems after the Christmas period, Matt Byrnes and Andrew Hewitt of Grant Thornton were appointed as receivers and managers.

Byrnes told SmartCompany Amerind is continuing to operate in receivership and the receiver’s plan is to stabilise the business and market the business and assets for sale.

“The key issue that led to us being appointed was cash flow throughout the Christmas period,” he says.

“The business underperformed against its forecast and that put a real squeeze on cash and so it got to the point where the business struggled to pay some of its suppliers.”

Byrnes says creditors and the banks are owed $30 million to $40 million. He didn’t want to identify the major creditors, but said they were the “standard trade players”.

So far the receivers have made a “small number” of redundancies, which Byrnes says were out of the head office, and have closed down two of Amerind’s smaller sites.

“The advertising campaign starts today and we’ll know a bit more once some of those parties come to the table,” Byrnes says.

“We’ve already had a couple of parties contact us, so we are aware that there is interest out there in the sale.”