Port of Tauranga predicts lift in full year earnings after strong first quarter

Port of Tauranga trade up nearly 7 per cent despite supply chain woes. Photo / Supplied

Port of Tauranga says based on strong growth in the first quarter of the 2022 financial year, New Zealand's largest port is expecting full-year earnings of between $103 million and $110m.

This compares to earnings of $102.4m in FY21.

Chief executive Leonard Sampson told the company's annual meeting the port had recorded a 6.9 per cent increase in total trade to 6.8m tonnes in the first quarter.

Exports increased 5.3 per cent to 4.3m tonnes and imports lifted 9.8 per cent to 2.5m tonnes.

Container volumes were up 8.1 per cent at 310,997 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalents).

Sampson, addressing his first annual meeting as chief executive after succeeding Mark Cairns, said the results demonstrated the impact of congestion over the past 12 months, with some cargo being shipped in the first quarter that would usually have occurred earlier.

Log volumes increased 2.4 per to 1.6m tonnes, while direct dairy exports rose 6.7 per cent in volume. Kiwifruit exports also showed strong, up 7.1 per cent on the corresponding quarter in 2021.

Ship visits increased 7.5 per cent to 360.

Container terminal productivity had improved significantly over the first quarter, Sampson said. However, there were still delays transferring some import cargo to Auckland.

"While we are still experiencing major disruption to the international supply chain, with the majority of container ships arriving off-window, we have been able to process more vessels and larger volumes of cargo compared with the same quarter last year."

"The near future remains uncertain due to the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, including the effects of the extended lockdown in Auckland and labour shortages being experienced across multiple industries," he said.

Based on the first-quarter performance, and providing there were no significant market changes, full-year earnings were expected to be $103m-$110m.