Acting chair Rob Jager said KiwiRail was in a position to attract more freight to rai Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
- KiwiRail's half-year operating surplus was $25.8m, compared to $40.5m a year ago
- State-owned company faced a freight downturn and a number of one-offs
- Interislander ships operating at "almost 100 percent" reliability
A national freight downturn has eaten into KiwiRail's half-year earnings.
The state-owned company recorded an operating surplus of $25.8 million for the six months ended December, down more than a third from $40.5m a year ago.
Its net deficit after tax for the period was $116m, significantly better than the previous year's $407m deficit, when it was hit by $442m in costs relating to the cancellation of the Interislander ferry replacement project.
Services revenue was down 4 percent to just under $360m, which KiwiRail put down to subdued economic conditions, changing import flows, a delayed lift in seasonal export volumes and one-off outages.
KiwiRail said one-offs included the closure of Winstone Pulp International, the Tawhai tunnel collapse, delays to the North Auckland Line reopening and redundancies.
Acting chair Rob Jager said "as a key part" of the supply chain, KiwiRail felt the impact of the economic downturn.
"Overall, rail freight net tonne kilometres were down 7 percent over the half-year, consistent with the general freight market reduction of 7-10 percent. Normalising for one-off events, KiwiRail's freight volume was down 2-3 percent."
He said KiwiRail was in a position to attract more freight to rail.
"The reinstatement of the North Auckland Line after Cyclone Gabrielle and Fonterra's return to rail, the steady long-term demand outlook for dairy and forestry, and the reinstatement of Tawhai tunnel and resumption of the coal programme are all positive," Jager said.
Chief executive Peter Reidy said the Interislander had also improved reliability.
"It is pleasing to see Interislander building back to strong volumes by lifting its reliability, with ships operating at almost 100 percent reliability (excluding disruptions caused by weather) since the return of Kaitaki from deep maintenance in October," Reidy said.
Its scenic train services also saw a "strong" summer rebound after a subdued winter, with revenue up 20 percent on the same time last year.
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