CentrePort lifts first-half profit 48%; develops Wairarapa rail hub for logs

Tuesday 23rd February 2016

CentrePort, Wellington's port operator, lifted first-half profit 48 percent as it took a smaller hit on the value of its financial instruments compared with the year earlier period.

Profit from continuing operations increased to $4.6 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, from $3.1 million the year earlier, the Wellington-based company said in a statement. The company wrote down the value of its financial instruments held for hedging purposes by $693,000, compared with a $3.2 million reduction in value in the year earlier period.

Its revenue rose 3.4 percent to $35.5 million, while operating expenses increased 3.7 percent to $28.6 million. Container volumes through the port rose 18 percent while log volumes increased 12 percent.

New Zealand's biggest ports are racing to tie up the nation's flow of freight, via inland hubs, alliances and partnerships with transport companies. The Wellington port operator last year expanded its reach, opening a new container terminal in Whanganui and has a relationship with state-owned KiwiRail to transport containers across central New Zealand.

The port wants to deepen its shipping channel to accommodate larger vessels and more cargo and is developing a regional rail hub in the Wairarapa to better link with the region's fast growing forestry industry. It secured a new international shipping service in November to take goods from central New Zealand directly to the Americas and Europe, dubbed the "Panama service".

Chief executive Derek Nind said the company is well positioned for growth and aims to be the port of choice for central New Zealand.

The company, jointly owned by the Wellington Regional Council and the Horizons Regional Council, will pay a first-half dividend of $2.6 million, unchanged from the year earlier period.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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