South Port New Zealand reported record financial and operational results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, with net profit after tax rising 21% to NZ$16.11 million on revenue of NZ$71.8 million, a 13.5% increase.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization grew 15.7% year-over-year, lifting the EBITDA margin to 41.9% compared with 41% in FY25. Operating costs rose 11%, driven by higher employee expenses, fuel, fleet maintenance and compliance, while finance costs fell 18%. Net debt declined by NZ$6.5 million to NZ$18.5 million, leaving a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 0.6 times as of June 30, 2026.
Container volumes reached a record 62,000 TEUs, up 18.5% from 52,000 TEUs in FY25, while ship calls increased nearly 17% following a channel deepening that added one meter of depth. Red meat sector cargo rose 25%, and the port handled 36 full wind turbine units as a one-off contribution to Mercury’s Kaiwera Downs wind farm Stage 2. Revenue per TEU increased to NZ$277.
Capital expenditure totaled NZ$10.3 million, fully funded from operating cash flow without additional borrowing. Maintenance spending rose 39% to NZ$2.8 million, covering the first five-year survey of the port’s newest tug, wharves, Syncrolift warehouses and mobile cranes. Operating free cash flow grew 9% to NZ$1.5 million.
The board declared a total dividend of NZ$0.29 per share, a 3.6% increase from FY25, marking the company’s 33rd consecutive year of dividend payments. The gross dividend yield stood at 4.8% based on a share price of NZ$8.36 at period end.
Management expects FY27 trade volumes to remain broadly flat, noting that FY26 benefited from one-off wind-farm cargoes. A new 4,000-square-meter dry storage facility began operations on September 1, 2026, expanding capacity by 11%. Longer-term plans include a replacement tug and potential mobile harbor crane, alongside a port-planning exercise to optimize assets over the next 20 to 30 years. South Port aims for a shadow investment-grade credit rating of at least BBB+.
