The Port of Tauranga. Photo / NZME
When the Port of Tauranga was listed on New Zealand's stock exchange about 30 years ago its market value was about $78 million.
Now it has grown to nearly $5 billion and is one of two Bay companies ranked among the top 20 businesses on the national stock exchange.
The Port ranked number 13 on the NZX and Trustpower came in at number 20 with a market value of more than $2b.
Seeka Limited and Comvita Limited also featured on the NZX at 75 and 84.
Bay business leaders said the region was fortunate to have two NZX "success stories" but there were plenty of other large local companies contributing to the region's economy that were not listed.
Port of Tauranga chief executive Leonard Sampson said the Port was listed on the NZ Stock Exchange in 1992 following port sector reform.
"At the time of listing, it had a market value of only $78.8m at the $1.05 a share IPO [initial public offer] price. Today, it's more than $4.7b."
Sampson said the biggest beneficiaries of this success had been Bay of Plenty ratepayers.
"They own 54.17 per cent of the company's shares, and have received dividends of more than $860m since listing. Their shares are currently worth more than $2.5b."
Ratepayers own the shares through the regional council's investment arm, Quayside Holdings, which contributes about 25 per cent of the council's annual revenues, he said.
Sampson said the Port's economic impact figures were about to be updated but the latest numbers from 2016 estimated the Port was responsible for just under half of the Bay's GDP and almost 150,000 jobs nationwide.
The Port's annual results for the year ending June 30 will be announced on August 27.
There were lots of reasons why the company had been successful on the NZX, he said.
"Some factors include the successful execution of a growth strategy, the public/private split of share ownership, a stable management team and workforce, and a strong workplace culture that puts safety first."
Craigs Investment Partners head of private wealth research Mark Lister said it was great to have this region represented on the national stock exchange.
"Trustpower and Port of Tauranga are the two success stories there. They have been incredibly successful for many years and that isn't just by luck. That is by them being very well managed and having good operators."
Lister said in the 1990s when the government split the electricity sector up Trustpower was quite innovative in taking a unique approach to how it would do business.
"It really has succeeded and they've always been a really classy operator that has been more profitable and run more successfully than the Government-owned SOEs [state-owned enterprises].
"Trustpower has been a great business to have locally and the sharemarket returns would prove that ... It's meant that we've had a good local business that can provide a lot of high-paying jobs to the region, which is important."
Lister said the Port of Tauranga was one of the best businesses on the New Zealand sharemarket "full stop".
"When I think about the best quality businesses on the NZ sharemarket the names that come to mind are Mainfreight, Ebos, Ryman Healthcare, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Port of Tauranga.
"All you need to do is compare their performance and success with any other port in New Zealand and Tauranga has just hit it out of the park compared to the others.
"That tells me that having a port that is semi-private and listed on the sharemarket will always deliver better outcomes for all stakeholders and shareholders."
The Port of Tauranga had also had many good managers, he said.
Lister said in a perfect world there would be more Tauranga businesses listed on the market with that level of profile and success.
However, he said there were plenty of good privately-owned businesses that were not listed on the sharemarket.
"We've got good operators in the property and construction space in this part of the country and in the financial services space and lots of other successful businesses - Zespri being an obvious example.
"I would certainly not take that list of four and infer that this is not a successful part of the country in a business sense."
In his June column, Lister said Mainfreight has the highest share price on the NZX, about $75, after a standout performance in 2020 and further gains this year.
Priority One chief executive Nigel Tutt said Tauranga was fortunate to have a number of listed companies.
"They benefit us economically with jobs and financial returns to shareholders, and importantly they actively contribute to the community – helping other businesses grow."
Alongside the four NZX listed companies, Tutt said there was also a number of other large organisations based in Tauranga.
Co-operatives such as Zespri and Ballance Agri-nutrients and funders manager Craigs Investment Partners were good examples of leading companies that were important contributors to the economy and community, he said.
Trustpower was approached for comment.
Rank: 13
Date: 21/07/21
Code: POT
Description: Port of Tauranga Ltd Ordinary Shares
Price: 7.05
NOSH (Number Of Shares Outstanding): 680266529
Market Cap: NZ$4,795,879,029.45
Rank: 20
Date: 21/07/21
Code: PWT
Description: Trustpower Limited Ordinary Shares
Price: 7.84
NOSH: 312973000
Market Cap: NZ$2,453,708,320.00
Rank: 75
Date: 21/07/21
Code: CVT
Description: Comvita Limited Ordinary Shares
Price: 3.3
NOSH: 70299865
Market Cap: NZ$231,989,554.50
Rank: 84
Date: 21/07/21
Code: SEK
Description: Seeka Limited Ordinary Shares
Price: 5.05
NOSH: 39430174
Market Cap: NZ$199,122,378.70
Rank: 11
Date: 05/01/21
Code: POT
Description: Port of Tauranga Ltd Ordinary Shares
Price: 7.46
NOSH: 680183572
Market Cap: NZ$5,074,169,447.12
Rank: 19
Date: 05/01/21
Code: TPW
Description: Trustpower Limited Ordinary Shares
Price: 8.01
NOSH: 312973000
Market Cap: NZ$2,506,913,730.00
Rank: 74
Date: 05/01/21
Code: CVT
Description: Comvita Limited Ordinary Shares
Price: 3.13
NOSH: 69931853
Market Cap: NZ$218,886,699.89
Rank: 89
Date: 05/01/21
Code: SEK
Description: Seeka Limited Ordinary Shares
Price: 4.9
NOSH: 32204039
Market Cap: NZ$157,799,791.10
Source: NZX
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