Perenti CEO Vanessa Torres thinks the contract mining and drilling major is strongly positioned financially, geographically and culturally to attack a $20 billion pipeline of work that is increasingly copper lined.
Speaking at the ASX-listed company’s 2026 annual general meeting in Perth, Western Australia, its CEO of nearly five months said Perenti’s operating and safety track record also made its competitive positioning second to not-too-many rivals.
“Perenti delivered [fiscal 2026] market guidance for the fifth consecutive year, reporting underlying revenue of A$3.5 billion and a record underlying EBITA of $340 million,” Torres told the meeting.
“Adjusted free cash flow of $182 million supported increased returns to our shareholders and enabled continued investment in high-quality growth opportunities, while strengthening an already robust balance sheet.
“These outcomes were achieved despite ongoing geopolitical and market uncertainty and reflect the consistency of our delivery over many years.
“As demand for specialist mining services continues to grow we see a record pipeline, valued at approximately $20 billion, with a strong concentration in Australia and North America. We have also seen our copper pipeline double over the last year.
“Our leadership in drilling and underground mining, combined with our diversified services platform and disciplined approach to execution, gives us confidence in our ability to capture these opportunities and continue delivering value for shareholders.”
Net debt of $271 million at the end of June this year, and circa-13% gearing, gave the company “the strongest balance sheet in Perenti’s history”, non-executive chair Diane Smith-Gander told the meeting.
“This position provides resilience, supports investment in future growth opportunities and gives the board greater flexibility in allocating capital to create long-term value,” she said.
“For shareholders … it’s enabled the board to continue returning capital through dividends and our share buyback program while ensuring the company remains well positioned to pursue future opportunities. Maintaining that balance between rewarding shareholders today and investing for tomorrow remains a key focus of the board.”
Perenti has an unusual leadership hierarchy in an industry and contract mining sector dominated by male C-suites. Its CEO, chair and contract mining president, Gabrielle Iwanow, are all women.
Asked by Australian shareholder activist Stephen Mayne if that was producing cultural change at the $1.9 billion company, Smith-Gander said she didn’t think there was a meaningful difference “in the culture that a female leader brings versus what a male leader brings”.
“The culture of Perenti stands on a foundation of safety. Safety is first always in this company,” she said.
“And there is absolutely no difference between our previous CEO and managing director Mark Norwell and our current CEO and managing director.”
Smith-Gander did say psychosocial safety – an area of recently elevated importance in mining – was integral to continuing cultural evolution in organisations such as Perenti, which has about 10,000 employees in more than a dozen countries.
“We want people to be comfortable to speak up and [be] empowered,” she said.
Torres said the industry had seen a significant diversity and inclusion shift in the more than three decades she’d been in mining.
“We operate in Africa, we operate in North America [and] we operate in Australia and what we can see is a diversity of people from different backgrounds, people from both genders, in various leadership positions and at the front line,” she said.
“I do think this is one thing that makes Perenti really well positioned for the future.
“Our ability to blend people from different backgrounds and genders makes, I would say, my transition to the company very seamless.”
