Auckland port made a $40.5m profit for the year ended June, compared to a $10.3m loss for the year prior. Photo: 123RF
Port of Auckland is back in the black, with profits up $50.7 million on last year amid increasing demand and the cruise industry rebounding post-Covid.
The council-owned port made a profit of $40.5m for the year ended June, after posting a loss of $10.3m for the year prior - though that included costs associated with the port's failed container automation project.
Revenue increased to $320.2m, up from $265.3m last year, driven by revenue from contracts with customers, while the company reduced net debt levels from $449.9m to $407.5m.
The results will see the company nearly double the dividend it pays Auckland Council for the year.
A final dividend of $15.0m or 10.3 cents per share has been declared, $13.0m more than originally committed to council.
It comes after one of the port's fiercest critics, Mayor Wayne Brown, floated the idea of selling an operating lease for the port business and reclaiming some of the land for public use, raising the ire of the Maritime Union.
Port of Auckland chief executive Roger Gray said the company was determined to increase returns to its shareholder.
"We're very confident that we'll continue to see growth in our profit," he said.
"This financial year that we're two months into now, we're forecasting $52m net profit after tax, so a further 17 percent increase, and then the year following that $60m, and then the year following that $70m.
"So for the people of Auckland, our goal in FY26 is to be giving a dividend equal to a million dollars a week."
Gray said the council, as the land owner, had the right to review the land occupancy operating model, but the company had been having constructive discussions with the mayor's office.
Demand for the port's services continued to increase and the number of import containers grew 8 percent over the past year, he said.
"As the port's operations have improved, as we've seen our throughput speed up and our capacity improve, the volume is coming back to us and importers are electing to bring the volume in," he said.
"So whilst our total number of containers didn't change much, what happened is we got a lot more full ones than we did previously and as a result of that, we make more money."
The port was also diversifying revenue through increasing excess charges amid an uptick in cruise passengers to the city, with more than 170,000 passengers arriving in the financial year.
Gray said the port was heavily prioritising its health and safety culture, which has come under pressure in recent years after the death of several workers.
"We've done a lot of work so far in really improving the culture and visible leadership and making sure the staff feel empowered to to act safely and work safely," Gray said.
Working alongside the union, the port has put the country's first stevedoring code of practice in place, advising how to best load and unload ships safely, he said.
"We're doing a lot of work on safety, it's never finished and it's only going to improve," he said.
"We're also contributing to the port sector work that's been led by Maritime New Zealand and WorkSafe in the Port Health and Safety Leadership Group and we're very active in that, because we acknowledge the sector needs to improve across the country."
