NZ Asia Express Service

Thursday 18 December 2003

NZ Asia Express Service

“Ports of Auckland is disappointed not to be selected for the newly restructured NZ Asia Express Service,” said Chief Executive Geoff Vazey.

“While our container volumes may feel the pinch initially, over the longer term we expect volumes to recover due to natural growth.

“Shipping contracts are reviewed regularly and our experience shows that we have the ability to recover quickly from impacts such as this. The company is very responsive to market changes, and time and again we have proved our ability to match costs to market demand,” Mr Vazey said.

“Our experience also shows that not all cargo volumes involved follow shipping changes. If on this occasion all the cargo did go, then the impact on the company would be a drop in net profit after tax of about $2.5 million. In the past we have been able to take action to minimise that level of impact.

“The effect on our 2003-04 performance is likely to be minimal as the newly restructured service is not expected to begin until sometime in the first quarter of 2004.

“This latest outcome for Ports of Auckland demonstrates the fierce competition that exists between ports in New Zealand,” Mr Vazey said.

“We worked hard on our proposal to the shipping companies, and we put forward what we believed was a very competitive bid, coupled with high service delivery. P&O Nedlloyd remains an important customer and we will continue to provide excellent service to their other vessels that call at Auckland.”

ENDS

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