October 12, 2008

Port of Tauranga H1 profit down by 4.7% YoY

New Zealand's Port of Tauranga announced that its H1 net profit down by 4.7% YoY on lower cargo volumes, but said it expected its full year result to exceed last year. The port's net profit after tax was NZD 20.5 million for the July to December 2007 as compared with NZD 21.5 million a year earlier.

Trade for the period was 6.518 million tonnes, which is 5% down on last year. The reduction is largely due to coal imports being down 384,811 tonnes on last year's volume, which was partially offset by a 66% increase in grain and palm kernel expeller imports. Log exports were similar to last year and on a more positive note, container volumes were up 8% YoY at 274,158 TEUs.

Mr John Parker chairman of Tauranga said that “Despite total cargo volumes falling 5% in the first half, the outlook was more positive with tight control of costs and strong growth in container shipping.” He added that the “Half year result is considered a robust performance, representing a normalized 4% increase in earnings on reduced trade. Management has continued a strong focus on costs whilst continuing to maintain best in class productivity.”

Mr Mark Cairns CEO of Tauranga said that "The future outlook for the Port remains positive with the very strong performance in the container terminal over the last quarter and also with encouraging signals from log exporters, who are reporting price increases into Korea and China, along with a fall in bulk shipping charter rates."