Diggers & Dealers Special Edition 2015

Deloitte at Diggers & Dealers

Deloitte is proud to support Diggers & Dealers, a world class annual mining conference held in Kalgoorlie, regional Western Australia. This special edition celebrates 15 years of the Deloitte WA Index and acknowledges the significant role the mining industry has played in the growth of the West Australian economy over this period.

The review of the past 15 years highlights the highs and lows of our state, and also illustrates some potential opportunities and threats that may be faced in the coming years. We also shine the spotlight on the mining companies that sit in the top 15 companies in the Deloitte WA Index by market capitalisation as at 30 June 2015.

Report highlights

• Despite the challenges faced by the WA economy in the past 15 years, the value of the top 100 Western Australian–based listed companies has grown by 290% with the market capitalisation increasing from $34.0bn to $131.9bn over the 15 year period - an extraordinary result compared to the general performance of equity markets, both locally and globally
• On the resources front, the top 10 WA resource companies dominated then and dominate now, accounting for 40.0%, or $13.6bn, of the total market capitalisation of the Deloitte WA Index in June 2000, compared to 41.4%, or $54.6bn, at the end of June 2015
• This outstanding growth aside, FY15 has still been a challenging year. The Index shed 11.6%, driven by an overall slowdown in WA’s mining sector and led by unfavourable movements in commodity prices
• Significantly, the Index would have lost more ground if not for the listing of South32 in May which, at the time added $11.3bn, or 8.4%, to the market capitalisation of the top 100
• The price of iron ore spiralled downward by 36.8% over the past 12 months to hit a 10-year low, trading at less than US$50/tonne
• Of all the commodities surveyed, crude oil prices were heaviest hit over the past 12 months, with the US shale gas boom lifting production dramatically, while OPEC maintained its production levels
• Uranium was the top performer in FY15, increasing by 29.2% thanks to a rebound in demand from the Asian region. 

The Deloitte WA Index also acknowledges FY15 top performers that represent the current and immediate reshaping of the Index: – Northern Star Resources and Independence Group – as well as one with the potential to reshape it in the future – Gold Road Resources.