South Port NZ Ltd - Interim Report to 31 December 2023

Tuesday 12th March 2024

South Port’s Interim Report for the period ended 31 December 2023 is now available on the website.

Reduced volumes across most of South Port’s key commodities and inflationary pressure on costs have impacted South Port’s financial performance in the first half of the financial year.

Adverse market conditions have been reflected in South Port’s net profit after tax (NPAT) for the first six months of FY2024 at $3.0 million (FY2023 $5.2 million).

Contributing factors to the year include:

• Inflationary pressures on labour and materials.

• Insurance costs have substantially increased.

• Increased finance costs due to an upwards movement in interest rates and additional debt on the balance sheet.

Based on all known factors at the date of releasing its 2024 interim result, South Port estimates that its full-year earnings should fall in the range of $8.0 million to $8.5 million (FY2023 - $11.7 million).

PERFORMANCE SNAPSHOT

• Total cargo activity was 1,488,000 tonnes compared with 1,732,000 tonnes in the prior year interim period. This represents a decrease in cargo flows of 244,000 tonnes or 14%.

• There were increases registered in cement (+14,000), timber (+17,000), and woodchips (+35,000), however other cargoes were negatively impacted with woodchips (-72,000), logs (-68,000), alumina (-43,000), stock food (-39,000) and fertiliser (-37,000) in comparison to the prior half year.

• Container volumes are showing some signs of recovery with 21,000 Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) handled through the terminal (FY2023 - 18,000 TEU).

The cold store operation has performed well. Increased volumes of meat products being handled, longer dwell times, and reduced overheads compared with the same period last year have seen an improved result for this business unit.

Interim NPAT to 31 December 2023: $3.0M (down 41%).

INTERIM DIVIDEND

The South Port interim dividend of 7.50 cents per share for the half-year ending 31 December 2023 is due to be paid to your nominated bank account today.

Nigel Gear

Chief Executive

South Port New Zealand Limited

South Port NZ Ltd - Interim Report to 31 December 2023

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