NZ Refining earns record fees as throughput jumps to all-time high; shares gain

Tuesday 19th January 2016

Shares in New Zealand Refining jumped after the operator of the country's only oil refinery earned its highest ever fee last year as it processed a record number of barrels.

The Whangarei-based company's customers paid it a record processing fee of $378.7 million last year, on throughput of 42.6 million barrels, ahead of expectations for 40.8 million barrels, it said in a statement. Its gross refining margin for November and December jumped to US$10.82 per barrel, from US$9.91 a barrel in the first two months of the year.

The company's shares rose 3.6 percent to $3.75, making the stock the second-biggest gainer on the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index today.

It said its Te Mahi Hou upgrade, replacing an ageing petrol manufacturing unit, was started up during the last week in November and is operating in line with expectations.

NZ Refining returned to profit in the first half of the year as a weaker kiwi dollar and a sharp drop in oil prices helped widen its refining margin.

Global oil prices have since dropped even further, with Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate both falling below US$30 a barrel for the first time in more than 12 years.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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