CentrePort Reports Continued Growth

Against the backdrop of economic instability and significant headwinds affecting the ports industry, CentrePort has reported the highest gross revenue in its history, demonstrating the strength of the port’s diversified trade.

Achieving $106.2m in gross revenue, this is $7.6m higher than FY23 and one of several positive results CentrePort has recorded.

CentrePort’s Board Chair, Lachie Johnstone, says as a key supporter of the economy, CentrePort continues to work hard for the region, and country, delivering stable results that are sorely needed in these challenging times.

“In addition to our pleasing gross revenue, we have also reported a $14.7m underlying NPAT this financial year – an increase of $2.7m on last year. We have also paid $7.5m of dividends to shareholders during the year, another increase of $1.5m,” he says.

It’s worth noting that CentrePort’s Comprehensive Income for the year was $34.6m, which includes positive fair value changes only partially offset by the recent tax legislation adjustments, which saw the Government remove tax deductions on industrial and commercial buildings with estimated lives of 50 years or more.

Johnstone says the port’s focus on an energy transition and biodiversity has seen CentrePort reach a 37% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions. This is well ahead of its target of 30% by 2030, achieved despite growing ship and container handling movements.

“Reaching this milestone early means we revised our expectations and we’re now aiming to reach an ambitious goal of 50% reduction by 2030. This would be a significant achievement and position us well to be carbon zero by 2040.”

Chief Executive, Anthony Delaney, says a critical component of CentrePort’s success is the ongoing investment in our people.

“We have a strong focus on health and safety and growing our people’s capability allowing us to maintain a stable workforce. We’re especially proud of our health and safety performance this year as our injury severity and occurrence rates are down 30-70% on the previous year,” Mr Delaney says.

What the port is doing is paying off with a significant reduction in ACC risk-related levies, reduced return to work times and positive feedback from regulators who commended the port for its openness and transparency.

“This doesn’t mean we will lose focus, however, as we will need to continuously concentrate on ensuring our people’s safety and aiming higher.

“CentrePort appreciates that efficiency and productivity follow these outcomes, and we are pleased to announce that we have been named Oceania’s most efficient container port by the World Bank’s

Container Port Performance Index. We have an average gross crane rate of 30.01, which makes us very competitive in the market, particularly for a port of our size.”

Mr Delaney says what drives CentrePort’s success is its core values and a particular focus on ‘making it happen’.

“There’s clear evidence of this in the delivery of key infrastructure projects like our new solar array that will power Shed 39, our investment into the long-term resilience of our infrastructure and supply chain. We are also proud of our ability, with our suppliers, to deliver projects on time and under budget. This is significant given the cost of infrastructure projects has been constantly increasing.”

All in all, CentrePort continues to deliver on its purpose of being at the heart of connecting New Zealand’s freight and transport system.

Mr Delaney says the economic headwinds have affected some parts of CentrePort’s business, in particular logs, fuel and car imports. While cruise ship visits and passenger numbers were up on FY23, there is a known industry-wide drop for the coming year.

“Our approach will be to continue to focus on what we can control – reducing waste, improving efficiency and being proactive in looking for opportunities and solutions to our customers’ problems.”

Mr Johnstone says CentrePort continues to be a crucial part of the overall network that ensures New Zealand remains connected, domestically and globally.

“This connectivity, of course, includes travel across the Cook Strait. While the cancellation of KiwiRail’s iReX project has had a knock-on effect to the port’s understanding of what would occur, we remain committed to working with Government, KiwiRail, Strait NZ, Ministerial advisors and other key stakeholders to support travel between the North and South Island.

“As a full-service port, the next steps for ferry services are of interest to us so we can assist in maintaining the current services and support future plans,” Johnstone says.

As the shipping industry looks to find a new normal, CentrePort is focusing on investing in its future.

“We’re aware that the year ahead will not be easy for us or our customers and communities, but we know our people will rise to the challenge and demonstrate our ongoing resilience. Our mindset and can-do attitude are what continue to sustain us,” Johnstone says.

Highlights:

• 98,855 TEU (up 3%)
• 944,486 tonnes of bulk fuel (down 2%)
• 1.56m JAS (down 10%)
• 3600 harbour moves (up 4%)
• 30.01 average gross crane rate (for the year)
• 185,704 cruise passengers across 102 ships
• 30% reduction in ACC claim levies
• 37% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions (from 2019 baseline)
• Paying $7.5m of dividends to shareholders for the year (up $1.5m).

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