Port sale boosts Infratil profit

Infrastructure investor Infratil said yesterday its annual profit had more than doubled, boosted by the sale of a 3.9 per cent stake in Port of Tauranga.

Infratil made $27.4 million from the sale of 5.3 million Port of Tauranga shares during the year to March 31, raising income from realisations and revaluations to $22.7 million from $2.2 million in 2004. This helped lift net profit to $45 million from $22.5 million.

Lloyd Morrison, head of Infratil's investment manager Morrison & Co, said Infratil remained a "long-term exiter" of the port firm. It retains a 5.3 per cent stake.

Infratil's 35.2 per cent stake in TrustPower contributed profit of $25.7 million, up from $20.6 million, helped by a 19 per cent increase in generation output. Infratil's 66 per cent stake in Wellington Airport contributed profit of $23.6 million, up from $18.2 million.

Morrison said Infratil's final dividend slipped to 5.5c a share from 7c due to less imputation credits from Port of Tauranga and TrustPower to pass on to shareholders.

Profit from Infratil Airport Holdings, parent company of Infratil's 100 per cent owned Glasgow Prestwick Airport, fell to $3.3 million from $3.7 million.

During the year, Infratil invested $10 million in 88 per cent-owned Victoria Electricity (VE). Morrison said VE, which contributed a $2.4 million loss, should contribute to the bottom line this year. He anticipates revenue from the Australian business, which has 30,000 electricity and gas customers, to increase towards $100 million from $13 million in the year to March 31.

"We want to signal to the market that it [VE ] is more of a focus than they may have realised," Morrison said.