Port Nelson Annual Report 2007 (pdf)

D I R E C T O R S ’ R E P O R T
As Chairman of Port Nelson Limited I am
pleased to report another encouraging
result for the company during this past
financial year.
The net surplus after taxation and including
unrealised investment property gains
was $6.7 million, based around revenues
that were some $2.4 million ahead of budget, with the associated
operational expenses some $1.5 million higher than budget.
The main factors behind the increased revenue were:
• Higher than anticipated cargo volumes, particularly in the areas of
logs, vehicles, dairy products and wine
• A continued move towards further containerisation of cargo
previously carried in break bulk form, such as sawn timber
• A continued increase in property values, which then flowed through
into higher rental income.
The main areas of increase in operating expenses related to:
• Plant hire and wages – offset by increased activity
• Electricity charges – also offset by increased activity
• Maintenance costs associated with the replacement of a crane winch
gearbox on one of the Liebherr mobile cranes.
former SSL Receiving and Delivery site required significant pavement
improvements to deal with the increase in volumes being handled.
This reflects the bigger picture that many of the paved areas within the
port were not designed to handle the number of containers and heavy
operating machinery that we now deal with.
Aside from this work, the main investment was around the ‘One Gate’
project which saw us bring staff from three separate operational sites
into the new facility based at the Carkeek St entrance.
That this project was completed on time and under budget, was a
credit to all concerned. We have also continued to invest in new plant
with the purchase of a Hyster ECH forklift; and have continued to
upgrade our IT systems, flowing on from other projects in this area in
recent years.
The other major area of capital expenditure in the year related to
the buy back of buildings and operational land which had been
leased or owned by third parties. This was required to meet both
current operational requirements and to ensure we have suitable
developmental options open to us in the future.
C A R G O A N D S H I P P I N G
Cargo volumes were the highest in the history of the company,
the final figure of 2.644 million tonnes being some 89,000 tonnes
ahead of budget. Log, vehicle, dairy and wine volumes were strong,
although once again slightly offset by lower than anticipated exports
of processed wood products and fruit.
The strong dairy and wine volumes, coupled with the movement of
greater amounts of sawn timber into containerised form, meant the
number of containers handled through the port exceeded 70,000 TEU
(Twenty Foot Equivalent Units) for the first time. The final figure of
71,815 is more than 10,000 TEU ahead of the previous twelve month
period.
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O P E R A T I O N A L M A T T E R S A N D P O R T
D E V E L O P M E N T
Unlike recent years with significant investment in wharf upgrades and
the purchase of a new pilot boat, 2006/07 was very much focussed on
limited capital expenditure, mainly around pavement areas required
for container operations. The areas adjacent to Brunt Quay and on the