Port of Tauranga raises dividend as profit reaches record $155.3 million

Record profit arrives before the next capacity test

Port of Tauranga Limited (NZX:POT) increased underlying Group Net Profit After Tax by 23% to $155.3 million in FY2026, turning lower cargo volumes into a record result through higher revenue, lower operating costs and improved productivity. Revenue rose 4.7% to $486.5 million, while operating costs fell 6.2% to $221.7 million.

The board responded with a total ordinary dividend of 20.5 cents per share, up 22.8% on the previous year and equivalent to about $139 million returned to shareholders. The payout represented 90% of underlying earnings, while the port continued investing in infrastructure and lower-emission equipment.

Stella Passage approval remains tied up in court

The result’s most important strategic backdrop is the Stella Passage expansion, which would extend the Sulphur Point container berth by 385 metres in two stages and the Mount Maunganui wharves by 315 metres within the existing port footprint. The company says the container terminal is effectively at capacity and that the project is needed to accommodate customer demand, improve resilience and support larger, more efficient vessels.

“Longer container berth at Sulphur Point, in two stages.”

“Plus six more hybrid straddles added – a quarter of the fleet is now hybrid.”

Caption and image © Port of Tauranga Ltd. From “POT Presentation AGM 2026”, 29 Oct 2026.

The fast-track expert panel approved the development on 7 September, subject to conditions, but the consent is now exposed to five Stella Passage challenges, comprising three appeals and two judicial review applications. Port of Tauranga expects the matters to be heard together and is seeking an urgent hearing, although the filing does not provide a timetable or quantify possible delays and costs.

The legal uncertainty matters because the port is already spending to prepare for additional capacity. Stage two of its capital dredging programme is due for completion around mid-2027, while planning continues for two blocks of nine fully electric automated stacking cranes. The port has also added six hybrid straddle carriers, begun a year-long trial of New Zealand’s first fully electric straddle carrier and is building a hybrid tug due for delivery in mid-2027.

Lower volumes test the FY2027 earnings range

“Productivity”

Total trade fell 3% to 24.6 million tonnes in FY2026, with log exports down 8.1% and coal imports down 64.8%. Those declines were partly offset by record kiwifruit volumes, a 3.9% increase in dairy cargo and resilient container traffic, which edged up 0.4% to 1.21 million TEUs. Operational measures improved: average crane productivity rose 9.9% to 30.8 moves per hour and ship rate increased 13.7% to 76.4 moves per hour.

The early FY2027 numbers are less comfortable. First-quarter trade volumes fell 4.8% to 6.25 million tonnes and container volumes declined 2.6% to 311,000 TEUs, with high fuel prices weighing on log exports. Port of Tauranga nevertheless guided to underlying Group NPAT of $160 million to $175 million for the full year, subject to trading conditions and events beyond its control. Management specifically cited the Middle East conflict, fuel prices, trade policy and the unresolved berth constraint as uncertainties.

That leaves the company with a favourable but finely balanced setup: productivity and pricing have supported earnings while volumes weakened, but the next leg of growth is linked to infrastructure that has not yet cleared its legal hurdles. The timing of the Stella Passage hearing, and whether the port can keep extracting efficiency from a terminal with no spare berth capacity, are now central to the FY2027 story.