New Zealand Professional Investment Services Firm

Forsyth Barr

We are proud to be a New Zealand owned firm, with 21 offices throughout the country and over 300 employees. We assist personal, institutional and corporate clients providing a full range of investment services.

Forsyth Barr is a foundation New Zealand Exchange firm (NZX) and accredited market participant. We have been confirmed by the Financial Markets Authority as a Qualifying Financial Entity (QFE).

Research is the cornerstone of our advice. We have one of New Zealand's leading teams of analysts. Our global affiliations ensure comprehensive research coverage of all major investment markets.

New Zealand Professional Investment Services Firm, Forsyth Barr

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul><li>We upgrade Mainfreight (MFT) to OUTPERFORM from NEUTRAL, following a softer-than-expected 1H26 result, but one where management provided a more positive outlook, suggesting the company is now through an earnings-cycle inflection point.</li><li>This underlying business improvement is likely to continue into 2H26, driven predominantly by accelerating Australasian activity reflecting new business wins and cyclical green shoots.</li><li>MFT's ability to accelerate profit growth out of a down cycle is due to consistent customer acquisition—often at sub-optimal rates—that are subsequently reset as conditions improve.</li></ul>

We upgrade Mainfreight (MFT) to OUTPERFORM from NEUTRAL, following a softer-than-expected 1H26 result, but one where management provided a more positive outlook, suggesting the company is now through an earnings-cycle inflection point.This underlying business improvement is likely to continue into 2H26, driven predominantly by accelerating Australasian activity reflecting new business wins and cyclical green shoots.MFT's ability to accelerate profit growth out of a down cycle is due to consistent customer acquisition—often at sub-optimal rates—that are subsequently reset as conditions improve.

Mainfreight 1H26—Accelerating Through the Camber

Mainfreight Ltd

Mainfreight 1H26—Accelerating Through the Camber