Sydney Success Points to Improved Sector Sentiment

THE CONFERENCE CALLER: Those who speculate whether there has been an upturn in resource sector sentiment were given plenty to think about after the RIU Resources Roadhouse in Sydney this week.

Regular supporters and attendees of this event will most likely spend the next month having physio treatment for RSI injuries suffered from two solid days of giving the conference two-thumbs-up.

The build in sentiment has been on a slow burn for at least 12 months, since last year’s Roundup, which fully ignited at Diggers & Dealers in Kalgoorlie and continued to burn brightly at the Explorers Conference in Fremantle in February.

Conference organisers Vertical Events welcomed more than 750 delegates through the turnstiles over the two days, equalling the attendance figures of the boom times of 2012.

“That makes sense, because our Explorers Conference this year did the same, in terms of numbers,” Vertical Events managing director Stewart McDonald told The Resources Roadhouse.

“Obviously, the resources sector has picked up after a few down years and is now back to 2012 levels – with renewed interest.”

“A lot more brokers more corporate interest a lot of funds, a lot of capital companies, and a lot of brokers.”

Although the rise in numbers this year can be put down to the number of suits and corporate types present, there was also a notable representation from the retail side of the investment community.

“There has been a lot of brokers here, which is important,” Blackham Resources managing director Bryan Dixon told The Roadhouse.

“We have had the chance to speak with some of our retail investors, who had driven 150 kilometres to be here and speak with us, which I think is great.”

Blackham representative Jim Malone backed up Dixon’s comments.

“After Bryan gave his presentation, we had people lined up at the booth wanting to find out more about the Matilda project and the company,” Malone said.

On day one of the conference delegates were lining up outside the presentation hall, waiting for a chance to get in when other punters left.

Although the crowd dropped off slightly on day two, the auditorium was still packed to the gills with people prepared to stand and listen to the company presentations.

The consistency of the size of the crowd was unexpected by the Sofitel kitchen, which struggled to keep up with demand at lunch time.

Even after being fed and watered the crowd stayed on to hear the afternoon’s presentations, a symptom suggesting a diagnosis that everybody was there for the right reasons.

“The indications of improvement are definitely there,” McDonald said.

“Hopefully it’s a sign of more good things to come.”