ILT records high returns

The Invercargill Licensing Trust is celebrating a high return for the month of July, with a profit before tax of $744,000, almost double for the same time last year.

At an ILT board meeting on Thursday, chief executive Chris Ramsay delivered the news as part his financial and operational report to the board.

The profit was $365,000 more than the 2017 July result of $379,000.

The solid return came as Invercargill played host to the 50th anniversary of the New Zealand Young Farmer Competition, Ramsay said.

There was a consistency across the board in turnover, he said.

‘‘The whole month was really solid and strong.’’

Accommodation performed well and suburban taverns were busy, Ramsay said.

Board member Susan Prentice asked if there was any specific reason Ramsay could attribute the growth to.

Anecdotally, Ramsay had heard arrivals at the Invercargill Airport had increased but he also believed that there was a general positivity about the town, with things like the extra potline at Tiwai starting up.

There had also been several one-off costs the trust had to deal with in July 2017, that did not hamper the result for the month this year, Ramsay said.

The July 2017 result was also the lowest monthly result the trust recorded that year, he said.

Overall the year-to-date profit before tax for the four months to July 31 was $2.3 million, which is $431,000 higher than the same period last year.

The outlook for August was slightly more modest, with sales only just above the same period last year, Ramsay said.

There was no boost from largescale events during the month.

Sales in the five weeks to September 9 this year were up slightly, but outside events like the Pink concert in Dunedin would have had an effect on profits, Ramsay said.

The forecast for large conferences and events for the remainder of the year was relatively positive, he said. The trust was in talks for hosting events in 2020 and beyond.

On the hotel front, submissions on the resource consent closed on Thursday last week and feedback from the council was good, he said.

The consent still had to go through council processes but the trust was on track to get the result before Christmas.