WISETECH executives have used the company’s annual meeting to highlight the possibilities of artificial intelligence in freight.
The meeting on Friday (21/11) was at times emotional, with executive chair Richard White fighting back tears, reflecting a difficult time personally and for the company.
Mr White and three other employees are being investigated by ASIC for alleged trading in WiseTech shares. No charges have been laid.
The meeting was chaired by WiseTech global lead independent director Andrew Harrison.
“The past 14 months, and in particular the last few weeks, have been challenging and, for many, unsettling,” Mr Harrison told the meeting.
“The ASIC investigation announced this year has attracted attention and media headlines, and I understand that naturally raises questions and concerns.
“Let me be very clear: this matter is only in the investigation stage, and no charges have been brought against any individual.
“Nor have any allegations been made against WiseTech Global. It is still in relatively early stages and is a process that will take time.”
Mr Harrison declined to comment later in the meeting when questioned by an Australian Shareholders Association representative who asked if anyone charged would be stood aside.
“In relation to the ASIC investigation in general, it is at a very early stage and there are no charges being laid, there are no allegations being made against the company,” he said.
“It is not something we are prepared to comment on.”
Speaking to the meeting, Mr White said his focus since returning to WiseTech as chief innovation officer in February had been to work with the team to ensure innovation at scale.
He also spoke of the appointment of Zubin Appoo as chief executive as marking an important point in their succession planning.
He said the company was “leveraging the data and insights from our acquisition of e2open, integrating AI automations and management capabilities into CargoWise, using that same AI engine to drive efficiency across WiseTech itself”.
He also spoke of the “announcement and upcoming launch of our new commercial model and advancing our work on Container Transport Optimization”.
“As we look ahead, I see a WiseTech that has increased its reach significantly, that has access to larger accessible markets with new adjacencies, is more innovative, more global and more deeply embedded in the world’s logistics processes and supply chains than ever before.”
Mr White spoke of the growth of the company during the past two decades.
“An Australian-fatted company that dares to take its technology, conceived and built here, to the world is an achievement every Australian can respect and be proud of,” he said, his voice trailing off.
Chief executive Zubin Appoo spoke of the 2025 financial year being one of “real progress”, delivering total revenue of $778.7 million up 13% organically on the prior year.
He reported EBITDA grew 26% to $409.5 million, excluding the recent e2open acquisition, up 26% on the 2024 financial year, with underlying NPAT growing 30% to $241.8 million.
“A key area where we are making strong progress is embedding AI directly into our internal operations and into the CargoWise platform for our customers,” Mr Appoo said.
“We’ve started integrating AI across core components of CargoWise, automating complex logistics operations such as data entry, customs classification, compliance checks, workflow triggers and exception handling.
“These are processes that historically required significant manual effort.”