The possibility of Bluff's Australian-owned, $1.76 billion Tiwai Point aluminium smelter becoming a listed company or being sold outright has been raised again by South Port.
The port describes the smelter as a "significant customer", whose bulk cargo volumes for the six months to December recorded "robust" import and export flows, alongside fertiliser, stock and woodchip volumes.
South Port hit record cargo volumes for a six-month period with 7% gain to 1.39 million tonnes, but after-tax profit was eroded 12.5% to $2.54 million because of expected higher operating costs.
In mid-October Australian mining giant Rio Tinto announced it was preparing to sell its aluminium smelter at Tiwai Point, as part of a divestment of 13 mainly aluminium-related businesses around the world.
Rio Tinto would bundle its interests in six Australian and and its sole New Zealand asset into a new business unit, Pacific Aluminium, which will be managed, and report, separately from the Rio Tinto Alcan product group, before Pacific's sale.
In its report to December, South Port chairman of directors Rex Chapman said that while Tiwai was now part of the separate business structure, Pacific Aluminium, Rio stated those assets had a "bright future" under any potential ownership model.
"This significant customer of South Port has signalled that while it is now part of a different business structure it is very much operating on a `business as usual' basis," Mr Chapman said.
South Port said it had two major customers, without identifying them, who both during the six-month period contributed more than 10% toward South Port's revenue, respectively $3.45 million and $1.29 million.
South Port declared it would pay a 5.5c per share dividend, reiterating its financial guidance for the year that full earnings are estimated to be in a range of $5.2 million-$5.5 million.
