CentrePort resumes dividend payments after recovery from quake
AUCKLAND: CentrePort has resumed dividend payments to its regional council shareholders as the Wellington port operator bounces back from the impact of the November 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, which was the biggest adverse event in its history.
The port company said today it will pay a $2 million interim 2018 dividend to its shareholders, the Wellington and ManawatuWhanganui regional councils, after halting payments in the 2017 financial year due to its capital requirements rebuilding the port following the quake.
CentrePort was forced to suspend operations immediately after the quake as it dealt with damage to its buildings and liquefaction, and had to modify its services to get them operable. But chairman Lachie Johnstone said yesterday CentrePort was now able to resume its dividend payments as the port returns to preearthquake levels of performance.
‘‘The business is operating strongly with volumes of logs, cars and petroleum at or surpassing prequake numbers, and well on the way back in container volumes. We’ve also experienced a bumper cruise ship season.
‘‘Our people have done a tremendous job in the quake response and ongoing remedial work while getting on with ‘business as usual’. I also acknowledge the support of our shareholders through a challenging period,’’ he said.
The port company posted a profit of $4.9 million in the first six months of its 2018 financial year to December 31, 2017. That compared with a loss of $35.7 million from continuing operations in the yearearlier period, which widened to a loss of $85.7 million after including a $50 million provision for port land.
The company signalled at its halfyear earnings announcement in February that it expected to remain in profit and should be in a good place to pay a dividend this financial year.
CentrePort has set aside $63 million to invest in making the port more resilient, strengthening its ground and key wharves to be able to handle Kaikouratype events in the future, and is working with consultants from Germany’s Hamburg Port as it creates a plan for the operation. — BusinessDesk