Lower trade volumes have seen Ports of Auckland's half-year revenue drop by 6.8% but the company has still posted a 4.6% rise in ebit from port operations.The port today announced a 49.5% rise in net profit after tax to $13.9 million for the six months en
Lower trade volumes have seen Ports of Auckland’s half-year revenue drop by 6.8% but the company has still posted a 4.6% rise in ebit from port operations.
The port today announced a 49.5% rise in net profit after tax to $13.9 million for the six months ended December, despite a drop in container volumes.
The result has also seen the return of an interim dividend, with the company paying out $9.9 million today to owner Auckland Regional Holdings, after holding off on a payout in the same period last year.
The number of containers passing through the port dropped by 3.7% from last year’s record high to 438,438 TEUs and managing director Jens Madsen blamed the overall global downturn in container volumes for the fall.
Vehicle imports were also down 5.6% on the previous year, although they were up 42.4% on the first half of the calendar year.
Mr Madsen said the company had boosted its bottom line through improved productivity, an increase in its upper North island container market share and a strong focus on cost controls.
Operating costs for the six months – excluding depreciation – were down 12.9% to $6.6 million.
Mr Madsen said the six month period was also notable for a continued trend towards larger, but fewer, vessels, with one-off ‘extra-loaders’ to cater for additional demand.
This trend could be seen with the December arrival of the 5000 TEU Maersk Detroit ‘extra-loader’, which was the largest container vessel to ever visit New Zealand.
