Auckland Energy Consumer Trust Increases Dividend

Auckland Energy Consumer Trust Increases Dividend

$330 Returned to Beneficiaries in Trust’s 20th Anniversary Year

Auckland, 26 September 2013 – the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust (AECT), the independent consumer trust and majority owner of infrastructure group Vector Limited, today announced an increased annual dividend of $330 per beneficiary, up from $320.

The Trust, formed in 1993, has returned more than $1 billion in dividends to its income beneficiaries during the past 20 years, providing a welcome annual boost to the local economy.

AECT Chairman, William Cairns, says that the AECT owns 75.4% of Vector and its investment in the company is a significant asset for the people of Auckland.

“Trust ownership over the past 20 years has ensured that Vector has been able to grow and diversify, and in doing so return an increasing dividend to shareholders, including the thousands of AECT income beneficiaries.

“Public ownership of Vector is a good thing. In the 20 years of Trust ownership, Vector has transformed from an electricity lines business to an integrated infrastructure company that operates a gas distribution network, is a gas wholesaler and retailer, operates a fibre optic network and has a leading position in smart meters, employing more than 850* people nationwide.

“Vector plays a vital role in providing essential infrastructure services to the people of Auckland and New Zealand. The AECT has supported the strategic direction and growth of Vector and the company is now worth around $2 billion. That’s an asset that Auckland can be proud of.”

The 2013 AECT dividend has increased to $330 per income beneficiary, and will be sent to the more than 313,000 income beneficiaries in the AECT district on Wednesday 25 September.  Payment is by direct credit, cheque – to the name of the person on the electricity bill - or via credit to the customer’s electricity account.

Cairns says that Auckland’s economy will receive a $105 million boost from the payment of the 2013 AECT dividend.

“It’s Trust ownership that makes this annual dividend possible. Our beneficiaries tell us that this payment makes a real difference to them and many look forward to receiving the dividend every September.”

The dividend is paid to AECT beneficiaries who were Vector electricity customers in Auckland, Manukau and the northern part of Papakura when the dividend roll was compiled on 07 August. This year the number of eligible income beneficiaries has grown by 1,236.

The Trust holds the shares in Vector Limited, and exists to make sure that its investment in Vector is protected and managed in a way that delivers maximum benefit to the Trust beneficiaries over both the short and long term.

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