Lyttelton Port flags improved first-half profit

Lyttelton Port flags improved first-half profit

Dec. 22 (BusinessDesk) – Lyttelton Port Co., South Island’s biggest port, expects first-half profit to be an improvement on last year in spite of the damage caused by the September earthquake.

The Christchurch-based company expects to make net profit of between $5.5 million and $6.2 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, compared to $3.7 million a year ago.

That offsets any earthquake-related costs, but doesn’t reflect any impairment to the port’s assets.

It didn’t change its $11 million underlying full-year earnings forecast. The port’s earnings are “a significant achievement in our current post-earthquake environment,” chairman Rodger Fisher said in a statement.

The company doesn’t have a clear view on what the value of its insurance claim for damages caused by the quake will be, though chief executive Peter Davie has previously said he expects it to be more than $50 million.

The shares were unchanged at $2.26 in trading today, and have declined 5.8% this year.

(BusinessDesk) 11:12:47

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