Port Otago presented its annual report, for the year to June, to the council yesterday, chairman Dave Faulkner describing parts of it as ''flat'', but an otherwise ''reasonable year'' for Port Otago.
Since 1988, the council has received a total $148.9million in dividends and special payments from Port Otago. Dividends for each of the past three years were just above $7million.
In many cases, levels of commodity exports, and revenue were records a year ago, so declines this year appeared more pronounced than usual, Mr Faulkner noted.
Last year Port Otago had booked a profit of more than $28million from the $65.7million of Lyttelton Port of Christchurch shares it held, having purchased them for $37million in 2006.
Capital expenditure at the port was funded by cash in hand and just a $1.1million increase in debt; covering $4.7million for channel-deepening, $12.6million warehouse expansions and purchase of the tug Arihi and barge Hapuka, for a combined $8.2million.
Revenue for Port Otago, combined with its subsidiary Chalmers Property, rose slightly from $76.8million to $77.8million, before-tax operating profit declined from $24million to $21.1million and after-tax profit appeared to plunge 35%, from $52.4million to $34.1million.
Mr Faulkner said the year ''wasn't all plain sailing'', with lower log volumes, reduced container imports and fewer cruise ships affecting the final results.
While exported container numbers were up 6%, overall, container volumes were down by 400 to 172,400 and log exports were down from 840,000 tonnes to 813,000, and vessel arrivals dropped from 508 to 461.
Rental income from Chalmers Properties remained at $14million, on revenue of $77.8million, while its operating profit before valuations and tax was up 9% to $11million.
The valuation of Chalmers' property portfolio rose by $32million to $296million, largely from a 24% increase in the Auckland portfolio to $112 million. Half the portfolio value still lies in Dunedin properties.
Dunedin's portfolio was valued up 6% to $148 million and Hamilton rose 5% to $36 million, Mr Faulkner said.
Hamilton is due to release a further 10.5ha of developed land for sale, including a multi-unit warehouse project and larger stand-alone warehouse, which would probably be rented out as property investments.
Mr Faulkner told the councillors tenders were due to go out next month for the $15million, 135m extension to its Port Chalmers' container wharf, which will end up at 435m long, to better accommodate ships when cruise ships were also in port.
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It's a scandal that the ORC continues to put money into upper North Island property instead of Otago property when parts of Otago e.g Queenstown are showing the same level of increase as Auckland.