Good times for Port of Tauranga

Port of Tauranga now has the certainty to invest in the infrastructure needed to accommodate the next generation of 6500 TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) ships.

Port of Tauranga has reported an improved financial result for the year to June 30 and a strong outlook following a successful year extending its freight catchment across the country.

"The 2014 financial year represents a watershed for Port of Tauranga," said port chairman David Pilkington.

"During the year, we took a 50 per cent stake in PrimePort Timaru and took control of its container terminal, began the development of a new freight hub in Christchurch and struck an alliance with freight management and logistics provider Kotahi, which will deliver up to 1.8 million containers to the port over the next 10 years."

Group earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation increased 5.5 per cent to $142.5 million from $135.0 million with an increase in bulk cargo offsetting a temporary decline in container volumes. Total cargo volumes rose 3.5 per cent to more than 19.7 million tonnes from 19.1 million tonnes a year earlier.

The reported net profit after tax fell 30.2 per cent to $78.3 million from $112.1 million a year earlier, reflecting the fact that the prior year included a one-off $34.9 million gain from the sale of a subsidiary.

Mr Pilkington said the company's strategic initiatives, combined with the significant investments made in prior years, had put in place a platform for long-term growth and would deliver significant gains for importers and exporters across the country.

The board declared a final dividend of 29 cents per share, lifting the full-year, fully-imputed dividend to 50 cents per share, representing an 8.7 per cent increase over the prior year.

"As well as strong growth in the dairy sector, we see significant potential in other primary produce sectors including forestry," said Mr Pilkington.

Chief executive Mark Cairns said the port sought to profitably grow cargo volumes while providing an efficient and cost effective service to customers.

"We successfully executed a number of further strategic building blocks during the year, and we are now reaping the benefits, most notably in the form of our long-term alliance with freight and logistics management company Kotahi."

Port of Tauranga now had the certainty to invest in the infrastructure needed to accommodate the next generation of 6500 TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) ships, he said.

"We expect cargo volumes to increase in the coming year."

Results speak volumes

*Imports increased 6.4 per cent to nearly 6.4 million tonnes from 6.0 million tonnes in the prior period, driven primarily by imports for the agricultural and construction sectors.
*Total exports rose 2 per cent to 13.4 million tonnes from 13.1 million tonnes in the prior period, driven by dairy and forestry exports.