Ports of Auckland profits jump in first half fiscal 2016

The Ports of Auckland’s net profits surged 9.5 percent year-over-year to NZD$31.6 million for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2015.    The Ports of Auckland, situated in New Zealand, had net profits after tax of NZD$31.6 million (U.S. $21.2 million) for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2015, a 9.5 percent year-over-year increase, according to the company’s most recent unaudited financial statements.
   Revenues for the period dropped 2.2 percent year-over-year to NZD$106.1 million.
   Container volumes totaled 474,613 TEUs for the six months ended Dec. 31, a 3.3 percent decline from the corresponding period a year earlier.
   The Ports of Auckland’s breakbulk and bulk volumes (including vehicles) totaled 3 million metric tons for the period, a 2.8 percent year-over-year decline, largely due to a drop in demand for iron and sand. However, car volumes continued to grow, increasing 4.4 percent from the same period a year earlier to 124,009 units.
   “Global trade trends and shipping changes have affected container volumes, while China’s slowdown has impacted bulk volumes, particularly iron sand exports,” Ports of Auckland Chief Executive Tony Gibson said. “As a result revenue has fallen slightly, but profit is up due to lower costs, largely as a result of the timing of repairs and maintenance.”
   The Ports of Auckland’s 20-year project to expand the Fergusson Container Terminal is in its final stages. Construction of a new container wharf at the terminal commenced in October 2015 and is scheduled to be completed in early 2017. Once complete, the terminal will be equipped with three berths.
   In addition, the Ports of Auckland started the second round of consultation on the proposal to partially automate the container terminal, which is expected to lower costs and increase capacity and productivity. A decision is expected to be made in April on whether or not to proceed with partial automation, which would take around three years to implement.
   Just last month, the Ports of Auckland signed a conditional agreement to purchase 33 hectares of land at the Northgate Business Park in Horotiu, New Zealand for the creation of a fourth freight hub.
   The Ports of Auckland has three additional freight hubs, which are situated in Wiri, South Auckland; Longburn, Manawatu; and Mount Maunganui, a town situated along the Bay of Plenty just outside of Tauranga, New Zealand.
   The freight hub network can be used to balance freight flows and eliminate unnecessary movement of empty containers, allowing the Ports of Auckland to provide importers and exports with lower costs, the Ports of Auckland said.
   In addition to the intermodal freight hubs, the Ports of Auckland comprises two seaports, one on the east coast adjacent to the Auckland central business district and the other on the west coast in Onehunga.