Record half year result for Port of Tauranga

Port of Tauranga today announced another record half year profit as it grew container traffic and bulk freight volumes, consolidating its position as the pre-eminent national freight gateway.

Net Profit After Tax increased to $74.2 million from $34.6 million. This included a net gain of $35 million on the sale of our 50% share in C3 Limited in November 2012.

The Board considers that using underlying profit gives readers a better comparison of normal operations and therefore has excluded the net gain from C3 in determining underlying profit.

Underlying half year profit (which excludes the gain on sale of C3 Limited) rose by 13.4% to $39.2 million - up from $34.6 million, for the six months ended December 2012.

Revenue increased to $118.6 million from $105.7 million for the six months - an increase of 12.2% on the previous corresponding period.

Port of Tauranga Chairman, John Parker, said: Port of Tauranga s staff and service providers have continued to deliver the reliability and productivity levels for which the company is well recognised.

Port of Tauranga s capital position remains strong. Gearing is conservative, with liabilities to total assets at 26.6%, from 29.9% at the same time last year.

Port of Tauranga Chief Executive, Mark Cairns, said: The results for the six months show the Port of Tauranga continuing to consolidate and strengthen its position as the pre-eminent national freight gateway and we expect container growth to continue as we further expand capacity.

Container volumes have continued to grow at a greater rate than other New Zealand ports.