Port of Tauranga has posted a net profit of $117.1 million for its full-year result, up 5.2% on the previous year.
That was despite total cargo volumes decreasing 3.6% to 24.7 million tonnes, and container volumes down 5.1% to 1.18 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) for the year to June 30.
Revenue was up 12.2% to $420.9m with imports down 7% to nine million tonnes and exports down 1.5% to 15.7 million tonnes.
Log export volumes increased 2.6% to 6.2 million tonnes, with an unexpected boost to volumes in the second half of the financial year due to cyclone-damaged trees being harvested early following Cyclone Gabrielle.
The board of directors declared a fully imputed final dividend of 8.8 cents per share, to bring the total dividend to 15.6cps, up 6.1% on the 2022 financial year.
Chair Julia Hoare says the first half result was assisted by an increase in container transhipment, as well as the return of cruise ships over the summer.
In the second half of the year, the impacts of extreme weather events were felt across the North Island. Port of Tauranga did not sustain any damage, but transport networks were disrupted, and some cargo volumes impacted.
The port saw a significant decrease in imported container volumes since April, Hoare says.
In March 2023, New Zealand ports reinstated proforma berthing windows following extreme congestion since late 2020. Prior to March, more than two thirds of vessels arriving at Tauranga were off schedule.
“The improvement in vessel schedule integrity is helping productivity return to normal levels,” Hoare says.
Meanwhile, the port is still seeking resource consent to construct a new vessel berth at the container terminal of up to 385 metres.
The new berth would convert existing cargo storage land, accommodating the continuing trend to bigger container vessels. All of the proposed development is within the current operational port footprint.
The company’s resource consent application was heard in the Environment Court in March and a decision is pending.
“The resource consenting process is complex, time-consuming and costly for all parties involved. We are hopeful of an imminent resolution,” Hoare says.
“This project is an essential piece of national infrastructure. The catastrophic weather events of 2023 have demonstrated that New Zealand is in need of greater resilience and capacity in the national supply chain,” she says.
Chief executive Leonard Sampson says the port’s diversity of cargoes and long-term freight agreements with key customers helped the company remain resilient in the challenging economic conditions.
“There’s no doubt that we’re seeing both a reduction in imported volumes and a slower global economy. However, key export commodity volumes remained strong over the past 12 months, with the slowdown in import container volumes providing some breathing space after an erratic couple of years,” Sampson says.
Meanwhile, the Port has taken delivery of a new pilot launch, the Troy Evans, and has four new hybrid straddle carriers on order for delivery late in 2023. A new container crane will arrive in January 2024 to replace the oldest crane in the fleet, which has been decommissioned over the past few months.
In the year ahead, the company expects the current global economic conditions and softening commodity prices to continue to affect cargo volumes, while inflationary pressures will continue to impact costs.
Geopolitical issues will also likely continue to impact the global supply chain, it says.
However, the company says it’s well positioned to endure coming challenges with the support of customers and partners and a strong and diverse range of cargoes.
