It has been a challenging year so far, with Port Nelson’s 6-month results (1 July 2023 to 31 December 2023) reflecting the difficult economic challenges that many businesses are facing.  

The reported six-month results included a Net Profit after Tax of $2.6m, 40% down on budget and 7% lower than this time last year. This result reflected lower cargo volumes and increased costs in many areas. Total cargo volumes across the port were 1.5 million revenue tonnes, 2% less than what was budgeted, with the containerised portion of this cargo under 50,000 TEU, 7% lower than budget.  

Wine and processed timber, including MDF, were key containerised commodities creating the negative variance. A longer tail to last year’s apple export season mitigated the variance. In bulk cargo commodities, logs recovered from a slow start to close down 6% on budget. Fuel, mineral sand, and fertiliser volumes were above budget. 

Matt McDonald, General Manager Operations, says that as we approach the end of the financial year, uncertainty remains across cargo throughput, “Our results reflect the serious challenges of our customers, we’re seeing these same challenges reflected across a number of industries in the New Zealand supply chain.” 

“Concern continues for log and wine volumes, however we are expecting good volumes from our apple and kiwifruit customers after a strong harvest”. 

Matt adds that with the economic slowdown and reduced cargo, the year-end profit result will remain below budget.