Port of Tauranga issues financial results for the year ended 30 june 2015
New Zealand's freight gateway Port of Tauranga reports it is positioned for further growth as it moves to put in place the final elements of infrastructure expansion necessary to support the arrival of the next generation of container vessels to New Zealand waters.
In line with February 2015 guidance, Reported Net Profit After Tax for the 12 months to 30 June 2015 rose 1.1% to $79.1 million, up from $78.3 million in the same period last year with traffic flows from the Company's expanded freight catchment offsetting falls in log exports across its Tauranga wharves.
Reported profit included a net $0.141 million of one-off items relating to the sale of a 49.9% interest in Timaru Container Limited, transactions relating to the formation of Coda and impairment of property, plant and equipment and goodwill.
The Port handled 851,106 TEUs in the 2015 financial year (up 12% on the prior year), while total cargo volumes increased 2% to 20.2 million tonnes. Meanwhile, trans-shipped containers (those transferred from one ship to another) increased by 17% to 203,417 TEUs at the Tauranga Container Terminal.
Revenue for the year was $268.5 million, largely unchanged from last year's $266.5 million, while underlying profit was also up slightly to $79.0 million from $78.3 million last year.
Land, buildings, wharves, hardstanding and harbour improvements were revalued as at 30 June 2015 resulting in values increasing by $81.5 million.
Cash flows from operating activities rose 10% to $90.3 million from $82.4 million a year earlier. Despite the heavy capital investment to accommodate large ships, Port of Tauranga's balance sheet remains strong with gearing (debt to debt plus equity) at 32% up from the prior year's 30%.
About Port of Tauranga:
Port of Tauranga is New Zealand's largest port by volume of cargo and New Zealand's international freight gateway. It operates wharves at Tauranga, Mount Maunganui and Timaru, as well as MetroPort Auckland, a rail-linked inland port in South Auckland and MetroPort Christchurch, an intermodal freight hub in Rolleston. The Port of Tauranga Group includes: Quality Marshalling (100% ownership), a forestry and container handling company; Coda (50% ownership), a freight logistics group; Northport (50% ownership), which operates a deep water commercial port in Whangarei; PrimePort Timaru (50% ownership), which operates the commercial port in Timaru, Timaru Container Terminal (50.1% ownership), which leases and operates the container terminal at Timaru and PortConnect (50% ownership), which was set up to operate an online cargo management system, connecting ports to their logistics companies.
