3 minute read
CEO's message
The end of any year is a natural time for reflection. It’s an opportunity to stop and think about what went right, what went wrong, and what you might do differently next year.
As 2023 comes to an end, I’ve been reflecting on a year of achievements for Capricorn. Next year marks 50 years since 17 Golden Fleece service station operators, unhappy with the status quo, got together to create our cooperative. So, for me, Capricorn’s strong performance in 2023 comes weighted with a sense of history—a sense of just how far we’ve come and of how much of a difference this cooperative makes to Members and their businesses.
For Capricorn, it was a good year. I’m proud of the record number of Rising Stars nominations we received—after all, our apprentices are our future. It was great to see so many Members keen to honour the achievements of the industry’s newest talent.
This year our State of the Nation Special Report: The Skills Shortage focused on the most important issue facing our industry and helped us understand how it was impacting Members.
We created a lot of Member wealth, including $50.1 million in Capricorn Rewards Points, $17 million in Trade Rebates, and a net dividend of 7% per share. We created $82.8 million in value to Members.
In this twentieth anniversary year of Capricorn Mutual, Capricorn Risk Services wrote $121.9 million in gross protection for Capricorn Mutual, and Capricorn Finance provided $49.8 million in loans. Business vehicle finance loans have been included in our CAP ezi-finance offering for the first time.
We launched a new-look myCAP experience and introduced online payments, making life easier for Members, and a new joint venture with Repairify to bring cutting-edge technology to the collision industry.
It was a year when we welcomed more than 3000 new Members to the Capricorn community and held 33 Trade Shows and Golf Days. We celebrated with you, holding Gala Dinners in Auckland, Christchurch, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.
New Zealand Members also elected a new director this year, James Candish. I know I speak for all the team when I say we look forward to working closely with James to ensure NZ Members’ voices continue to be heard strongly throughout the cooperative.
So, a big year for Capricorn. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the team at Capricorn for all their hard work in helping achieve these fantastic results for Members. Finally, I’d like to thank you for being a valued part of our cooperative family. I wish you all the best for the year ahead and look forward to achieving more great things together in 2024.
