Port of Tauranga’s first half profit down 4.8%

Port of Tauranga’s first half profit down 4.8%

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   New Zealand’s Port of Tauranga today reported an unaudited net profit of NZ$20.5 million ($16 million) for the six months ended Dec. 31, down 4.8 percent from NZ$21.5 million in the same period a year before.
   The North Island port said that last year’s results included non-recurring profits of NZ$1.8 million relating to land sales and the termination of an agreement at Northport, and therefore after adjusting for those items, the latest period’s result represents a 4 percent increase over the previous half.
   Trade for the six months period was down 5 percent at 6.5 million tons, which the port largely blamed on coal imports being down by 384,811 tons, or 61 percent. Container volumes were up 8 percent at 274,158 TEUs.
   “The fundamentals of the business remain very strong. Although we are yet to fully understand the effects of any U.S. led economic slowdown, directors confidently expect the full year result to be ahead of last year,” said John Parker, the Port of Tauranga’s chairman