Refining New Zealand is reporting a strong half-year result on the back of its fuel supply crisis.
The Marsden Point-based company has posted a $78.5 million net profit for the year ending December 31.
It’s up 66% from the previous year and comes after the announcement that chief executive Sjoerd Post is set to resign.
Operating revenue was up 16% to $411.7m with a final dividend of 12 cents per share.
Refining margins for the year were in the range of US$7 per barrel to US$11 per barrel with January and December dropping below $US6 per barrel.
Post, who has been in the role for five years, will remain on board until the end of July to allow for a successor to be appointed.
“When the time comes I will leave the business knowing that it retains a strong management group, supported by excellent technical and functional teams who I know will provide strong support to the new CEO,” he says.
Post is praising staff for their hard work while the pipeline to Auckland was shut down for 10 days of repairs following the leak.
“The September rupture of the pipeline was operationally challenging for everyone in the team, but their ongoing dedication to supplying our customers has ensured that more product is being pumped to the Wiri fuel terminal than before the incident,” he says.
The refinery is now commissioning a second pump at the Kumeu Intermediate Pumping Station and a lift in operating pressure has seen 5 to 12% more fuel product being delivered to Wiri, Post says.
Refining NZ chairman Simon Allen expressed the board’s appreciation of Post’s leadership during the fuel supply incident.
“His leadership during the disruption … has been widely recognised as a crucial factor in the rapid resolution of that crisis.
“More broadly, he has been instrumental in a range of programmes to equip the business for continued performance over the long term.
“The board is pleased that Sjoerd has confirmed he will remain in the business for the next few months, seeing us through the succession process and a number of critical work programmes – including our impending refinery shutdown and the government inquiry into the pipeline incident.”
