Auckland port eyes up plans to spread south
PORTS of Auckland is interested in stretching its tentacles into the South Island, possibly in partnership with another port.
The port revealed its plan after releasing annual results which showed the councilowned port had put in a relatively flat performance for the year to June 30.
The port posted a net profit of $63.2 million, down 14.6 per cent on last year’s result, due mainly to an increase in costs, including $2.4m in severance payments.
However, after adjustments – including a $14.6m gain in property revaluations – the port’s underlying profit was $61.4m.
The adjustments also included a $7.3m writedown on Bledisloe Wharf, which the port planned to extend in April. However, protesters who questioned the transparency of the project’s resource consents won a High Court case to have them overturned in June.
During the year, the company’s revenue fell to $218.3m, down from $221.2m, reflecting the sale of its subsidiary Connlinx.
Container volumes were up just 0.4 per cent although this was seen as a positive, given the loss of a Maersk shipping service last year.
Despite the result, chief executive Tony Gibson was delighted that container traffic had not weakened, and also that the port had been crowned the most productive in both New Zealand and Australia.
Long-term, he said the port’s outlook was strong. The focus was on making the port as strong in exporting as it was in importing, which was why it was opening up freight hubs around the North Island.
The end goal was to reduce the number of empty containers heading back to Auckland, and in addition to its Wiri and Longburn hubs, the port plans to open one in Mt Maunganui, in Port of Tauranga’s patch, at the end of the year.
Hubs in Hamilton and the South Island were also possible in time, he said. ‘‘Being an import-dominant port and given the fact that large volumes of cargo move between Auckland and Christchurch, we see the opportunity to have some collaboration in the South Island with an interested partner.’’
Gibson said it was no coincidence that Port of Tauranga was also establishing a freight network covering most of the country, a major shift from the previous system where every region was serviced by its own port.
‘‘The shipping industry is not doing particularly well at the moment and what [shipping lines] focussing on is how do they remove operational costs. And one of the large components associated with shipping lines is the movement of large containers.’’
New Zealand shifted 2.4 million TEUs or twenty foot equivalent units a year, but of those only 1.2 million were fully-laden, he said.
‘‘If we can, through our series of freight networks, bring the cargo to the container . . . we just about halve the cost associated with the movement of empties.’’
Gibson said he was not worried about duplication and that there was ‘‘definitely room’’ in the country for two rival freight networks. ‘‘What we’re seeing is there are many advocates for us having an alternative supply chain.’’
The port will pay a dividend of $41.7m to Auckland Council and expects to finish a 50m wharf extension at its main Fergusson Container Terminal in October, when it will begin building a new north wharf.
Gibson said the moves would increase the port’s berth space by around 50 per cent, enabling it to handle more volume and larger ships.