Northland Port surplus boosted by asset sales

Sale of Port Whangarei land and other surplus assets has saved Northland Port Corporation (NPC) from the full impact of the forestry sector downturn, boosting after-tax surplus by more than $7m.

Chairman Mike Daniel has announced an after-tax surplus of $8.13m for the year to June 30, 2005.

Without the $7m from asset sales, after-tax surplus would have been well below last year's surplus of $3.36m.

Total dividend pay-out for the year will be 18 cents a share or more than $7.5m.

Mr Daniel reported widely varying results from NPC's various sectors, from a tough year for NPC's port owning and operating companies Northport and Northport Services, to higher than expected returns from sales of the first sections in the NPC-Hopper Developments joint venture waterway project at Marsden Pt.

He said the waterway project would boost company performance during the current market downturn for port-related businesses; provide steady returns medium to long-term; and kick in with strong returns in the 2006-2007 year.

Northport and Northport Services had been hit hard by the forestry industry downturn, he said. Returns were "significantly below original forecasts".

He said he expected more of the same for at least the first half of the coming financial year, but the recent easing of shipping rates and slight softening in the NZ dollar had been "encouraging" for log exporters.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)