Record year for Lyttelton

LYTTELTON hit the accelerator in the 2025/26 financial year with the port company achieving new records across profit, revenue and dividends for the second year in a row.

Lyttleton Port Company’s (LPC) net profit after tax was NZ$35 million, up 40% on the previous year underpinned by revenue of $226m, up 9% on FY25 and contributing to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $77m, up 22%.

LPC chair Barry Bragg said the past financial year showed the value of a disciplined focus on our performance.

“This is a result our people can be proud of, and it would not have been possible without the support of our staff and customers,” he said. “Our job now is to keep lifting returns so we can reinvest in the port, support its long-term growth and become the South Island Port Hub.”

Mr Bragg boasted that safety remained the board’s foremost priority alongside efficiency and productivity for customers.

“The board is determined to make real gains in health and safety. Our plan spans stronger leadership, better work practices and asset upgrades, all aimed at keeping our people well and our operation safe,” he said.

Container volumes held steady at 427,462 TEU, down less than 1% on the 431,556 TEU handled in FY25. General cargo was positive with grain, fertiliser and stockfeed volumes strong on the back of favourable conditions in the agricultural sector.

Total bulk trades were up 9% to 3,830,379 tonnes. Dry bulk up 19%, coal up 14%, bulk fuel up 3%, and car numbers increased 11% from 35,233 to 39,138. Log exports were down 17% held back by high shipping costs that saw cargo stockpiled or sent to the domestic market.

LPC chief executive Graeme Sumner said the results reflected sustained effort across the business.

“Our team has worked hard to improve our operational performance and keep a tight rein on both capital and operating costs.

“Just as important, we have done this while rolling out a wide-ranging risk management program to bring down our operational, health and safety risks across the business.”

During the year, LPC paid a total of $12.5m in dividends, including a final dividend of $7.7m from FY25 and an interim FY26 dividend of $4.8m. The company is on track to deliver its full year dividend of $14.5m to [owner] Christchurch City Holdings Ltd subject to board approval.

LPC said the Te Awaparahi Bay reclamation project, along with the detailed wharf design, remained on schedule and within budget for completion at the end of the year.

Sustainability continues to sit at the heart of how LPC operates, Mr Sumner said. The company again hit its solid waste to landfill target and is on the path to zero solid waste by 2040.

“We are backing our biodiversity ambitions with action, delivering our biodiversity road map and committing resources to it over the next five years,” he said.

The company met each of its 2025/26 sustainability targets, delivering on both its solid waste to landfill goal and its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal. The progress keeps LPC moving towards its wider ambition of halving Scope 1 and 2 emissions and cutting selected Scope 3 emissions by 30%, both by 2030, the company said.

CCHL last week rejected a proposal by a DP World-led local consortium to co-invest in, manage and operate LPC with a focus on doubling container terminal capacity on the existing footprint.