HVAC&R tops earnings among Australian trade businesses

According to the Top-Earning Trades Report – which analyses how Australian trade businesses perform in terms of revenue, quote win rates and admin approaches – the average Australian HVAC&R business earns around $1.05 million in annual revenue.

In comparison, the average plumbing and gas business brings in $801,654 in revenue annually, with electrical and AV businesses generating an average of $735,562. Residential renovations are second to HVAC&R in terms of revenue, with businesses generating around $964,000 annually.

The report collated anonymised customer data from seven major trades. It found that HVAC&R businesses bring in the second most money of all trades (behind residential renovations) in three size categories, and the most among large businesses:

• Sole trader (1 person): $416,637 – second place
• Small business (2–4 people): $836,085 – second place
• Medium business (5–12 people): $1,973,100 – second place
• Large business (13+ people): $5,381,637 – first place

Averaged across all size categories, annual revenue for HVAC&R businesses is $1,054,023.

Interestingly, despite leading all comers in total revenue, HVAC&R businesses were among the lowest in terms of average revenue per job.

For example, the report found that an HVAC&R sole trader earns $3,057 per job on average, while sole trader carpenters earn more than $10,000 per job, and residential renovation trades earn nearly $20K per contract. This suggests that it’s the quantity of jobs – not their size – where HVAC&R businesses thrive.

Image courtesy of DC Studios via Freepik

---