Good morning, everyone. So my name is Chad Tareha. I'm the Chair of the local hapū, Ngāti Pārau Hapū Trust, Ngāti Pārau, one of seven local hapū of Ahuriri, Napier. And yeah, just on behalf of Ngāti Pārau, I'd like to welcome you all here. It's good to see you all, and to all those online as well [Foreign language] .
[Foreign language] To those who've come for this occasion and to those joining us online, a formal greeting to you all. [Foreign language] good morning, everyone, and welcome to Napier Port's annual shareholder meeting. My name is Blair O'Keeffe, and I am the Chair of the Napier Port Board, and I will be running today's meeting. Also presenting today will be Todd Dawson, our Chief Executive, and Kristen Lie, our Chief Financial Officer. Before we get started, a few housekeeping messages. In the unlikely event of a fire, please exit through the door you came through and congregate out on the forecourt in front of the building. In an earthquake, stop, drop, and hold.
And if the earthquake is long and strong, once the shaking stops, please exit the building and make your way up Bluff Hill across the road. Toilets are just outside the main door of this room and off the exhibition room. And I'd like to ask you now just to please turn your mobile phones to silent. I'd like you to also note our standard disclaimer, which is also available on the Investor Centre of the Napier Port website. And now to introduce you to my fellow board members, I'll just get them to raise their hand and stand up. Stephen Moir, Debbie Birch, Vincent Tremaine, John Harvey, Kylie Clegg, and Dan Druzianek. And our board observer, Stephanie Murphy, who has been with us for the last year.
And to our senior management team, I've already introduced to Todd and to Kristen, our Chief Operating Officer, Adam Harvey, and our General Managers, Commercial, David Kriel, Assets and Infrastructure, David Braid, Corporate Affairs, Joanne Young, and Port Optimisation, Chris Wylie. Is Chris here?
Busy optimising.
He's busy optimizing the port, I'm told. Our auditors, EY, are represented today by Stuart Mutch, who's here somewhere. Yes. We'll have a short presentation of the annual results before we take questions. For our shareholders in attendance, you may ask questions and vote as usual on the voting card given to you at the registration desk. Shareholders online will be able to ask questions and cast their vote online. Please refer to the virtual meeting guide or contact the team at Link Market Services on 0800 200 220 if you require any assistance. I encourage shareholders who have questions relating to the business of the meeting to send their questions through as soon as possible. And we will conclude the meeting with general business. Please note that only shareholders, proxy holders, or shareholder company representatives may vote or ask questions.
Then, following the meeting, light refreshments and a cup of tea will be served at the back of this room just through here. I'd like to thank our shareholders for their participation in today's meeting and now for the formalities. The notice of meeting has been sent to shareholders and other people entitled to receive it. I've been advised that we have a quorum present. On that basis, I am pleased to formally declare this meeting open. Proxies have been appointed for the purpose of this meeting in respect of 158.9 million shares, representing 79.5% of the total number of shares. My fellow directors and I intend to vote all discretionary proxies we have received in favour of the resolutions as set out in the notice of meeting. The agenda for today, the meeting will follow the following format.
There'll be a short address by me, then Todd, our Chief Executive, will address the room, followed by our Chief Financial Officer. We'll take shareholder questions on the presentations and the annual report and financial statements at that time, and then we'll conduct the formal business of the meeting, including the resolutions for the meeting. And then we will wrap up with general business and any further shareholder questions. Voting on all resolutions will be conducted by way of poll. I'd now like to give you a brief overview of the 2024 financial year. Despite the challenges we faced following the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle, I am pleased to report that our region and our cargo volumes are getting back on track. As we move through the year, a steady recovery in volumes was evident across log exports, fresh produce, and a buoyant cruise season.
Coupled with operating leverage, the return of volume has delivered a strong financial result. This year, we achieved new financial milestones that underscore the positive momentum across our mixed revenue streams. Revenue increased to NZD 141.4 million, a 15.9% increase on last year, and our reported net profit after tax increased by nearly 50% to NZD 28.4 million. The board has declared a fully imputed final dividend, which was paid yesterday, of NZD 12 million, or NZD 0.06 per share. This brings the total dividend for the 2024 financial year to NZD 18 million, or NZD 0.09 per share, which has increased from the NZD 0.0525 per share total for the 2023 year. We've remained vigilant in our commitment to safety and well-being, and we are pleased to report that there were no incidents of serious harm during the year.
Our cargo base continues to be both diverse and resilient, supported by robust infrastructure and a highly capable team. Looking forward, we are confident in the momentum of volume and earnings growth. With infrastructure, capabilities, and a proven track record of operational resilience in place, Napier Port is well positioned to build on the successes of this year and continue to serve our customers and region effectively. Todd will now take us through this year's results.
Thank you very much, Blair. Good morning, everybody. Thank you for taking the time to attend our annual shareholders meeting today. It's been a year of strong recovery and increased cargo flows following Cyclone Gabrielle last year. Good growing conditions supported by the rebound in fresh produce, apples, and meat. Pan Pac's pulp and timber production continued its ramp-up, and log exports were strong with additional logs sourced from wind-throwing forests and unprocessed logs from Pan Pac, and it was a record cruise season for visits and passenger numbers this year. With the recovery of cargo volumes, activity on port has increased quite significantly. This ramp-up came with some expected pressures as we maintained a freeze on recruitment and deferred spending.
By taking a dynamic approach to using assets and resources, we were able to adapt operations to accommodate our customers' shifting requirements, such as change in volume or cargo type, as their own recovery efforts continued. Cruise, log, and container ships were all flexibly berthed across various wharves. Space, equipment, and personnel were allocated according to demand, ship size, exchange sizes, and as shipping schedules required. The year has shown the effectiveness of our flexible whole-of-port approach. It is delivering efficiency gains and flexibility for Napier Port and our customers. Our ability to do this is closely linked to our strategic investments in infrastructure and customer service enhancements. Te Whiti Wharf continues to ease congestion by expanding berth availability, reducing wait times for vessels, and minimizing ship movements within the harbour.
Log debarking operations, approximately 10% of all logs exported are now processed through our log debarking facility, where demand continues to grow. And we've done some expanded pavement works as well. These upgrades created additional storage space that has been used to establish a woodchip operation supporting Pan Pac during its post-cyclone closure. And currently, additional logs from WPI's parent company are now utilizing the storage space. And in future, we have the flexibility to use this space for containers for other purposes also. These investments, coupled with our dynamic flexible approach, are generating operational efficiencies that underpin our revenue growth and our strong financial position. Having delivered a record year for Hawke's Bay and shareholders, we are strongly motivated by what we see as Napier Port's true capability under normal operating conditions.
Having built capability into our workforce, equipment, and infrastructure, our focus is turning towards using this capability to continue to grow Napier Port's business. The strong recovery seen this year across key cargoes gives us confidence in volume rebuilding within our existing cargo base, and the reinvestment by Pan Pac into their operations and their subsequent rising production and continued visibility that we have in the horticultural sector are indicators that demand and optimism in the region's food and fiber produce remains high. Napier Port's supply chain service, Viewpoint, works closely with our partners and jointly owned Manawatū Inland Port, and KiwiRail. And our partnership with KiwiRail is strong, and collaboration has increased post-cyclone and also post the WPI closure. This extends our reach out of region by creating more options for cargo owners in the central and lower North Island to ship via Napier Port.
In the face of tough times and changing circumstances, we responded to reshaping how we delivered our services and looking closely at our cost base. The priorities were right sizing, adaptability, and flexibility. This journey continues as we look at responding to customer opportunities and how technology and other ways of working may enable us to grow and deliver further earnings growth. Closely linked to this, we will be continuing our focus on our cost to serve and working towards our medium-term goal of achieving returns aligned with our cost of capital. Also, on the sustainability front, good momentum continues with embedding sustainability across Napier Port. 79% of the more than 100 initiatives we identified in 2021 are ongoing and embedded as BAU. These initiatives are diverse across four pillars of our strategy.
Some of the highlights from this year include running port tours for the community, engaging our teams in our sponsorship of the Seabird Sanctuary at Cape Sanctuary through planting days, and a New Zealand first with the tracking of pairs of kororā or blue penguins to learn more about their behavior at sea and on land, and the implementation of an environmental management system, including external certification to support this. Our climate change reporting disclosure can be found on our Investor Centre on the Napier Port website. Our emissions have been externally audited and certified for three years now, and we produced our fourth climate change report. New Zealand climate change standards came into effect for listed companies this year, and our report adheres to these requirements. Total gross carbon emissions increased by 0.3% compared to last year.
This was driven by higher fuel usage by generators used to keep fresh produce at set temperatures in containers. Emissions intensity on a per cargo tonne basis decreased 7.2% as the overall small total emission increase occurred while overall cargo tonnage increased by a higher amount at 8.1%. I'll now hand over to Kristen Lie, our CFO.
Thank you, Todd, and good morning, everybody. I'm pleased to be able to provide a financial report to accompany our audited financial statements for the 2024 financial year. Trade volume is returning following Cyclone Gabrielle last year, supported by the diversity and resilience of our cargo base. We handled 4.9 million tons of cargo in total, which was 8.1% more than the prior year.
Within bulk cargo, log export volumes increased 13.5% to 2.8 million tons, as log exports flowed through the port much more consistently in 2024 compared to 2023, and were supported by the additional unprocessed log supply from Pan Pac and the central North Island post-cyclone. The volume of containerized cargo was 230,000 TEU, and TEU is a measure of container volume in units of 20-foot containers. This was 3.4% higher than last year due to a rebound in apples, pears, and other chilled produce, which were impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle in the prior year. Dry container volumes decreased, driven by lower wood pulp and timber and canned and other food and beverages. We welcomed 89 cruise vessels, an increase of 25 from last year. This financial year, we again achieved significant total revenue growth, increasing NZD 19.4 million year-on-year to NZD 141.4 million. We saw this growth across all three service areas.
Container services increased NZD 8.2 million, bulk cargo increased NZD 7.4 million, and cruise increased NZD 3.7 million. Revenue growth across all areas was driven by the volume growth mentioned, together with continued positive progress with our average revenue per unit across each area. These increases are linked to our investments in infrastructure and additional customer services, and also partially a result of cost recoveries for major expenses such as fuel and insurance. The result from operating activities increased to NZD 52 million, an increase of 39.5% from NZD 37.2 million. While revenue increased by NZD 19.4 million, operating expenses increased by a modest NZD 4.7 million due to our continued focus on costs, and thus we benefited from strong operating leverage and a significant increase in our operating profit. The operating result excludes an additional net NZD 8.9 million of business interruption insurance income and expenses reported within other income in our financial statements.
Reported net profit after tax increased 49.7% to NZD 24.8 million from NZD 16.6 million. This includes the net business interruption insurance income, higher taxes on higher earnings, and an additional NZD 2 million tax charge for the change removing tax depreciation on commercial buildings. Finally, a brief update on our capital management and debt profile, which continues to be in a sound position. Supported by continued robust operating cash flows in the period, our total drawn debt reduced by NZD 20.5 million to NZD 109.5 million at balance date. In addition, Napier Port had NZD 70.5 million in undrawn credit facilities available at the end of the financial year. Our debt-to-EBITDA ratio decreased to 1.8 times at 30 September 2024, down from 2.98 times at the end of the previous financial year.
Our operating cash flow growth and sound financial position has supported the board's decision to increase the December final dividend payment from the prior year. Now, hand back over to Todd.
Thanks, Kristen. And now, just looking ahead, in September, we unfortunately received confirmation that WPI, one of our significant pulp and timber cargo customers, was closing its pulp and timber mills. While the closure of WPI is a setback, Napier Port's ability to adapt and our core fundamental regional strengths continue to provide volume and support our financial resilience. The fundamentals of our core food and fiber sectors remain strong. Despite WPI's closure, Napier Port has had a very solid year marked by strong regional recovery and key customer trade volumes returning and reaching several new financial milestones. This is due to the resilience of the team, a diverse cargo base, and revenue streams, as well as the capability and infrastructure and a whole-of-port approach taken by managing the operations. Our strategic initiatives are supporting growth.
Wharf capacity, operational flexibility, services on port, and Viewpoint supply chain positions Napier Port well to receive and process more cargo from across the North Island. Looking positively to the future, we continue to invest in our infrastructure and capability. We're currently underway with a renewal and replacement program across several areas of our plant fleet and the implementation of our strategic asset management plan, which will see an increased level of capital investment into our assets in the near term. We're pleased to report trading for the new 2025 financial year to date is proceeding according to our expectations, and we expect to maintain earnings growth momentum into 2025. Thanks to our strong financial position, we are well equipped to continue growing dividends and investing in expanding our cargo base, developing operations, and enhancing our capabilities for the future.
While global markets are still somewhat subdued, we are seeing inflation easing and more favorable macroeconomic conditions emerge. This should provide further stability for cargo owners. Looking ahead, we're optimistic about Napier Port's future. Continuing log export volumes, new season crop plantings, and new investment in the horticulture sector, plus steady cruise bookings, are all positive signs for the future. Today, we are providing earnings guidance for an underlying result from operating activities for the year to 30 September 2025 of between NZD 55 million and NZD 59 million. This range assumes a continuation of the current market conditions. Finally, I'd like to acknowledge and thank my whole Napier Port team, including our board of directors, for all their efforts this year. Now, finally, we are absolutely delighted to also announce the formation of a joint venture today with Port Otago to own and operate a new dredge vessel.
The joint venture will enter into a contract with Damen Shipbuilding to build and acquire a new trailer suction hopper dredge with the capacity and capability to meet the needs of both Port Otago and Napier Port's ongoing maintenance and capital dredging programs. This is a significant investment for both Port Otago and Napier Port that will ensure the future capability of both ports to continue to maintain and enhance the safe access to reliable shipping channels and harbor access to our international port gateways. Napier Port is already fully consented to dredge its shipping channels and harbors to a depth of 14.5 meters.
Consent was granted in 2019 prior to the development of the Napier Port's new wharf to Te Whiti, and future-proofs Napier Port's ability to handle and manage the potential for increased ship sizes and future demands from shipping line customers requiring deeper drafts and more resilient port infrastructure as vessel sizes increase. The potential deepening of Napier Port's shipping channels will also enable a wider range of operating parameters to be accommodated for the safe access of shipping into the harbor due to various weather conditions and provides additional resilience to a critical piece of regional and New Zealand's port infrastructure.
The strategic partnership with Port Otago and the acquisition of the new dredge not only enables Napier Port to access an affordable and a sustainable maintenance dredging capability, it also enables Napier Port to conduct an ongoing capital dredging program to extend its current shipping channel depths from 12.5 meters to its consented depth of 14.5 meters over time. This will strategically support the ongoing relevance and future capability of Napier Port to provide deep-sea shipping access to the Hawke's Bay and wider east coast region of New Zealand's North Island. I'd now like to hand back to the chair, Blair O'Keeffe. Thank you.
Thank you, Todd and Kristen. Now we have concluded our presentation on the annual results. I'd like to open the floor to questions on the presentation and the annual report and financial statements only at this stage. You'll have an opportunity to ask questions on the resolutions and any other general business later in the meeting. If you have a question, please raise your shareholder card and one of our team will bring you a microphone, and I'll just ask that you wait for the microphone before you ask your question. Shareholders participating online through the virtual meeting website are able to submit questions online, and we will answer those after answering the questions from the floor. If you could start your question by identifying who you are, that would be appreciated.
And for the fairness of all attending, we ask that you're as concise as possible and only ask one question at a time. For any media attending, you'll be given the chance to ask questions directly to myself or Todd after the meeting. Are there any questions from the floor regarding the annual report and financial statements? We have a question here.
Thank you. Perry is the name. Looking at the comparisons made, is it fair to compare the current year to years in which there have been adverse consequences from either COVID or Cyclone Gabrielle? It would be good to look back to a time when those events weren't having an impact and saying, how is the performance now, and remove those aberrations?
Yeah, it's a really good question. And if you look at it from a profitability perspective, you'll see that the performance has continued to improve through those events. We've had some challenges in the last couple of years, but if you look through the profit performance for this year, it's the first time we've reached that level. So in terms of comparator, it's beyond any level we've achieved before. In terms of the volumes, some of the volumes are still coming back on the business. And you're right, compared to the down period post-cyclone, those numbers will reflect incremental increases that aren't in line with some of the volumes that were there prior to the cyclone, and we're still in a rebound period this year, which is what Todd's referred to in his commentary. Thank you. Any other questions from the floor?
Yeah, I've got a question about the. Is there a set dividend policy? If I look at the results this year, I was one of the original investors. I think it was about NZD 2.60 I paid. NZD 0.09 per share, which has been the full dividend for the year, represents about 3.5% of my original investment. Not a huge amount. Forgive me if I got figures wrong, but it looked like it was around about 33% of net profit paid out in dividends during the year. Is there a set policy as to percentage dividends paid to shareholders?
Yeah, our endeavor is to pay between 70%-90% of our potential and have an ongoing incremental growth in the dividend. So that's essentially the primary considerations that the board have. We obviously take into account our capital requirements as well. So as you heard, we've got some investments coming up, so we need to balance that in the round and also look at the performance outlook for the business in the year ahead alongside our banking position as well. So there are some parameters we take into account, but there's no mechanical formula that we apply. Oh, and one of our directors just pointed out that 3.5% is after tax as well. But we would like, obviously, yeah. I mean, obviously our goal is to continue to increase the value of your investment, and that's what we focus on
Yes. Yeah.
Sorry, I'll just get the microphone back. Sorry.
Aligned with that, of course, the share price has gone down from the original investment. I appreciate there's a number of reasons for that. But we as investors, of course, we want the best return possible.
Yeah. No, I appreciate that observation. The share price is slightly below what it was at list price. Ultimately, the company and the board don't control what the share price is. The people in this room have more control of that than we do. Our focus is very much on driving the performance of the business and creating an underlying earnings potential for the business. And hopefully you'll see that this year we've just passed, we're back on track with that, and we look forward to continuing to grow that dividend potential and our earnings at the same time. Thank you. Are there any other questions from the floor? We have one back here.
Paul Graham, shareholder. I think congratulations in terms of your volume and your tonnage. You're having to fight back, obviously, to regain market share, and so to achieve the impact was very good. I guess I'm wondering whether you're going to be able to achieve the same impact this year without the insurance payments. But I guess when I look at the port, I think of the food, the fiber, and then the freight and the storage and services. Where is the best growth going to come from? Can you regain market share, or is there going to be growth in one of those three compartments?
I think there are a couple of questions in there, so I'll tackle the first one. I'm not sure if you were in the room earlier when Todd was speaking, but we've provided earnings guidance this morning for our underlying earnings of NZD 55 million-59 million, which is an increase from NZD 52 million last year. How that translates to net profit will play out through the year relative to operating expenses, etc. So there is an uplift we're indicating for the year ahead. In terms of the underlying cargo, some of that cargo wasn't market share changes. It was actually loss of cargo production. So we had the likes of Pan Pac out of action. We had WPI out of action during the year. So their businesses actually were stopped, and the production flow through the business ceased at that time.
So it was more of a direct volume effect for Napier rather than a market share issue. Pan Pac is rebounding and continues to rebound with its recovery. And as Todd pointed out earlier, WPI unfortunately has shut down its production. Our outlook for the NZD 55 million-NZD 59 million for earnings guidance, in our view, reflects underlying continued opportunity for growth within the region as the region rebounds. And we believe both the food and fiber trades have some upside potential from what we've seen in the last year. That's obviously subject to market conditions.
Sorry, just hold for a microphone if you don't mind. Yeah. And if you can just introduce yourself, that'd be great. That's just coming now.
I have a question. I'm Stephen Lin. I was just going to say that I believe there's a lot more potential for the trade because the stuff that goes to China, like I was pretty gobsmacked when I was up in Hamilton, there was a furniture shop that the logs go to China and make it into furniture and send it back. Now, the other day when I was down in, oh, I took some apples back to Tauranga where I'm from, and my neighbor pulls out these cans of diced apples and he says, "Oh, you might need these to make your blackberry and apple pies." Anyway, I saw the Oak on label, and then they're made in China. So obviously sending the apples over to China and bringing them back in the cans were diced for labelled Oak.
The shipping industry's got to be the way to go, right? If it's going to China and then coming back, the same product. It's a win-win, isn't it?
Yeah, a gate does open both ways, yes. So things do go in and out of it, and that's the nature of international trade that sometimes a product starts somewhere and makes its way back to its home over time as something else, and yeah, that's definitely true.
I just told you next, first of all, it was logs, now it's the apples.
So what else are they doing?
No?
Thanks for that. Are there any other questions from the floor? Do we have any questions online from our shareholders? Oh, sorry, we have one more question from the floor.
Sure. Megan Alodosa is a shareholder. I'd be interested to know how you're planning around some of the broader economic issues at the moment, and in particular energy prices, which obviously have a direct impact on the port, but also causing all these other issues with Pan Pac briefly, with WPI, and I presume also with KiwiRail at the moment.
Yeah. Todd, do you want to answer that one?
Yes, that's a good question. Certainly, there's a lot of concern around some of those broader economic impacts that are happening around.
Sorry, can you note that's better? Sorry, yeah. Good question. There's a lot of concern around some of those broader economic impacts that are happening around the New Zealand industry at the moment and globally. One of the things that we, and some of them we can influence, and a lot of them we can't. Electricity prices is a key one. What we're trying to do is obviously move and transition our business to be far more flexible and being able to respond to different circumstances that we can't necessarily predict or control, and we've actually got quite good at that in the last few years, as you may have noticed. We've had to cope with a few different things.
So that flexible approach and an approach of what we call a hold-of-port approach, which is being able to move and transfer our existing resources to where the demand is that we see at the time, and being flexible with how we respond to what's coming through the gate, and trying to manage our cost basis as best as we can as well. So trying to set the port up to be as flexible and dynamic as we can in terms of how we actually manage the operation according to what we can actually see coming and what we can control is what we're trying to do. Thank you. Are there any more questions from the floor? If not, do we have any questions online?
There are no questions from our shareholders online.
Okay, thank you for that. So there appear to be no further questions on the presentation, annual report, and financial statements. So ladies and gentlemen, we've now come to the formal part of the meeting covering matters requiring resolution, which are outlined in the notice of meeting. Shareholders may ask questions after each set out in the notice of meeting is to be considered as an ordinary resolution, and as such must be approved by a simple majority of votes cast by shareholders entitled to vote and voting on the resolution. Your board supports each of the resolutions and intends to vote undirected proxies in favor of all resolutions. The outcome of the proxy votes will be displayed for your information before voting on all the resolutions.
Shareholders on Link's virtual meeting platform will be able to cast their vote using the electronic voting card received when online registration is validated. Online shareholders will vote by clicking "Get a Voting Card" in the online meeting platform. Please refer to the online virtual meeting portal guide or use the helpline 0800 200 220 if you require assistance. Online voting will remain open until five minutes after the conclusion of the meeting. First resolution. I move as an ordinary resolution that Debbie Birch be elected as a director of the company. Director Debbie Birch retires by rotation in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of the company and being eligible offers herself for re-election. The board fully supports the re-election of Debbie, and I will now invite Debbie to address the meeting.
I'll just have to move this a little bit. [Foreign langauge] I'm Debbie Birch. I'm standing here seeking appointment to the Napier Port Board. And thank you, Blair, and the board for support. I'm also a director of HBRIC, and I was appointed in June 2023, last year, so had a little bit of time in the region. Previously, in my executive career, I ran capital markets operations for large global banks, mainly offshore, and that was for a period of 17 years in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia. In my governance career, I've had 15 years. I began in 2010, originally was appointed to Kordia, and have spent quite a bit of time in the infrastructure sector, but my experience stretches across both private and public entities. I've recently retired from the NZX and ASX-listed Tourism Holdings.
I stepped down at the end of September this year, and in terms of my experience, it really has stretched across many sectors, primarily not just tourism, primarily the primary infrastructure and funds management sectors. I'm currently on the board of Westpac, Eastland Group, Tuaropaki Trust, Miraka, and an investment company called Te Pūia Tāpapa. I believe I've got the skills that are complementary and add value to the board, primarily in sustainability, strategic risk, and health, safety, and wellbeing, and I feel pretty privileged to be standing here today to be considered, and with your approval, I welcome the opportunity to work with a very experienced board. Thank you very much. Happy to take questions.
Thank you, Debbie. We'll now take questions from the floor. I'll just get you right there. Are there any questions from the floor regarding this resolution? Are there any questions from shareholders online concerning this motion?
There are no questions from our shareholders online.
All right. There appear to be no further questions. Thank you, Debbie. Proxy votes for resolution one will now be shown on screen. Thank you. For those in the room, please mark your voting cards in the way you wish to vote by ticking for, against, or abstain in the appropriate place on the voting card. I now move to resolution two. I move as an ordinary resolution that Vincent Tremaine be re-elected as a director of the company. Independent Director Vincent Tremaine retires by rotation in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of the company, and being eligible offers himself for re-election. The board fully supports the re-election of Vincent, and I'll now ask Vincent to address the meeting.
Thank you, Blair. [Foreign language] good morning. My name's Vincent Tremaine, and I've had the privilege of being a director of Napier Port since February 2019. Prior to that, for 16 years, I was the CEO of Flinders Ports in South Australia, which owns seven South Australian ports and the Adelaide Container Terminal and a couple of other businesses. In addition to the Port of Napier, I'm chair of Riverland Water in South Australia. I've been both a CEO and a director of the Port of Geelong in Victoria, and I was on the board of the Australian Port Industry Body, Ports Australia, for 15 years, including four years as chair. In fact, I've been involved in ports one way or another and logistics as CEO and director for roughly 35 years.
As a result of that, I have a fairly good understanding of ports and the industry that we're in. Other board roles I've been in include the superannuation industry in Australia, environmental commerce, even space ports in Australia, the South Australian Chamber of Commerce, and the Australian National Heavy Vehicle Regulator. I'm the chair of Napier Port Board's Health and Safety and Sustainability Committee, and I'm very proud of the work that we have collectively done to improve the port's health and safety over the past six years. We still have a lot to do, but we're all deeply committed and passionate about ensuring everyone goes home safely every day. Given I'm an accountant by profession, I'm also a member of the Port's Audit and Risk Committee.
With your support, I'd like to continue to work with our exceptional management team and my fellow directors to add value to the business and the community of Napier and to keep us all safe. Thank you for listening.
Thank you, Vincent. Are there any questions from the floor regarding the motion? We have one question here. If you can just get a microphone.
Yes, it's just regarding DP World. I know it's probably not regarding the resolution, but I just wanted to float the idea. I know DP World have got 70 ports around the world, and they've owned four ports in Australia. Were you involved in any of those ports when DP World was looking at it?
Actually.
Oh, DP World?
We owned in Flinders Ports, we owned what was the Dubai Ports' container terminal. And through various methods, we managed to take that over from them because we thought we could do a better job than they could. So yes, I have had some involvement with Dubai Ports over the years, quite a bit. I'm not going to tell you that I'm one of their friends because they weren't overly happy with how we managed to get hold of the container terminal. But since then, in South Australia, we've been able to run the ports in an improved manner, let's just say. And by the way, I think it's very good that Napier Port owns and runs the container terminal here. It's a better system to have the port involved in the container terminal.
We actually looked at what was happening here in New Zealand when we convinced our shareholders that we should own the container port. It's very important, I think, to Napier.
Right. So what I was going to ask is, do you think they might scope New Zealand, even though they've got four ports in Australia now, they mustn't have New Zealand on their radar? What I'm looking at is, sorry, Steve, can you speak in the microphone?
Oh, sorry. Yeah, what I was looking at is, hey, this company is a bargain, all right? As the joker behind me pointed out, the locals paid NZD 2.65 years ago, all right? It's only near that mark now. I know we've collected a few dividends, and this dividend has been really appreciated this time around, all right? Because I know last year's was pretty, well, we can all understand what went on. But all I'm looking at is, hey, it's so undervalued that those guys must be having a bit of a nosy. That's what I was getting at. I'm trying to help my buddy out behind me.
I think that's more of a statement than a question and probably doesn't relate to the motion, but I understand your point. Obviously, there are global port operating companies looking at all opportunities around the world. And yeah, we don't have anything particular to add to that question or statement. Thank you.
Yeah, I've just got another question, a generalized question, not specifically to Vincent. What's the mix of—and I appreciate you've got to get the best person for the job—but what's the mix of local residents in Hawke's Bay amongst the directors to all the directors?
That's a good question. So there's three of us who are based locally. Myself, Dan, and Stephen are based locally. And we have one director based in Taupo and two based in Auckland and Vincent's based in Australia. So we've got a good mix across the country, but with a large percentage based locally as well. Are there any further questions from the floor regarding the motion?
Just a question to Vincent. You've had a lot of experience in ports. How can Napier Port grow its market share?
I think that's probably a question for Todd to answer. There are lots of ways, but yeah, I'll hand over to you, Todd.
Yeah, if you don't, can we hold that question for general business? Is that okay? We will come back to it because it is a good question. Is that okay?
Thank you. Are there any other questions from the floor? Are there any questions from our shareholders online concerning the motion?
There are no questions from our shareholders online.
All right. Thank you, Vincent. So there appear to be no further questions. Proxy votes for resolution two will now be shown on the screen. Thank you for those in the room. Please mark your voting cards in the way you wish to vote by ticking for, against, or abstain in the appropriate place on the voting card. The next resolution, resolution three, relates to my reappointment as a director of the company. Given the next resolution concerns me, I will ask another director, John Harvey, to chair this portion of the meeting.
Thank you, Blair, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I move as an ordinary resolution that Blair O'Keeffe be re-elected as a director of the company. Independent director Blair O'Keeffe retires by rotation in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of the company and being eligible offers himself for re-election. The board fully supports the re-election of Blair. I now ask Blair to address the meeting again.
Thank you, John. Look, I'm privileged to be standing here before you for reappointment today. As you've heard, the business is performing well and continues to develop its strategy for the creation of long-term shareholder value. We have a strong board and management team, and I believe that I contribute as part of that high-performing team. I bring to the board significant commercial management and governance experience, including international markets, port and maritime management and governance, supply chain, property, infrastructure, customer-facing operations, health and safety experience as both an operator and a regulator, and chair experience. My experience includes working in commercial businesses, local and central government, and NZX-listed companies. I have a portfolio of governance roles which support my ongoing development of best practice and access to best practice. Napier Port is an excellent company with good prospects and an evolving market which continues to feature ongoing change.
The challenges these trends present require deft leadership to navigate whilst protecting and enhancing value for our shareholders over the long term. I believe my skills and experience can support Napier Port and our shareholders to navigate that road ahead. I'm proud to be part of Napier Port, and I welcome your support for reappointment, and I thank you for the opportunity to serve you.
Are there any questions from the floor concerning the motion? Very good. Are there any questions from shareholders online concerning the motion?
There are no questions from our shareholders online.
Thank you, Blair. There appears to be no further questions. Proxy votes from the resolution will now be shown on the screen. Thank you. For those in the room, please mark your voting cards in the way you wish to vote by ticking for or against or abstain in the appropriate place on the voting card. I'll hand back to Blair.
Thank you, John. Thank you. Resolution four is to authorize that the director fees be set as a total annual fee pool of NZD 795,000 plus GST, if any, being an increase of NZD 140,000 from NZD 655,000, with the annual fee pool to apply from the 2025 financial year and be divided among directors as the board determines and as more particularly described in the explanatory note two. Are there any questions from the floor regarding the motion? Are there any questions online?
There are no questions from our shareholders online.
Okay. There appear to be no further questions. Proxy votes for resolution four will now be shown on screen. For those in the room, please mark your voting cards in the way you wish to vote by ticking for, excuse me, against or abstain in the appropriate place on the voting card. To resolution five. Resolution five is to authorize directors to fix the auditor's remuneration for the ensuing year. In accordance with section 70 of the Local Government Act 2002, Napier Port Holdings Limited is a public entity as defined in section four of the Public Audit Act 2001, and in accordance with that act, the auditor general is the auditor. The auditor general has appointed EY to undertake this audit on its behalf. The proposed resolution authorizes the board of directors to fix the remuneration of the auditors in the ensuing year.
Are there any questions from the floor concerning the motion? We have a question.
I actually find that quite a startling sort of comment because my understanding of accountants, and I appreciate I've got a representative from EY, and they're here today, they normally charge based on the time they spend. Could you actually direct them, this will be the price?
The way it works is there's a scope of activities for the audit for the period, and then EY in this instance provides us with a price for those fees, and then we consider that as a board, and then we agree or discuss that item.
So you get a quote there, is that what you're saying?
That's correct.
And so therefore you can open it up to other organizations?
That's a good question.
If they could give you a better quote?
No, that's a good question and because the auditor is appointed by the auditor general, they decide who the auditor shall be, and then we work with that auditor so it's not a traditional market. We receive the auditor that we are given is essentially how it works.
So if that's the case, can they put in a quote for anything they want to because you said you've already appointed EY, and there's no other alternatives, therefore they can put in a quote for whatever they want to?
They still have to justify their fees to us, and we have the right to reply to the Auditor General if we're dissatisfied with the fairness of those fees.
So therefore you have a right to change auditors if the fees are not appropriate?
We have a right to reply to the Auditor-General to discuss the fees if we're not satisfied with them. And if we're not satisfied with the performance of the auditor, equally we can refer that to the Auditor-General for consideration as well. But I do have to say our auditors who've been with us for quite some time are very good to work with, and we have no complaints.
I haven't got a copy of the accounts in front of me, and I didn't see it. This may be a question to the finance person I do not know, but what was the price they charged you last year?
Kristen, do you want to take that one?
Let me consult with the financial statements.
All right. Stuart's happy to comment too, actually. So as the - sorry, we'll just wait for a microphone, Stuart. These are all great questions that the board asks too, so thank you for that.
Morning, everybody. I'm Stuart Mutch from Ernst & Young. I might just go back a little bit. One of the questions you asked in terms of could you challenge the fee. Our fees are initially provided to the office of the auditor general who benchmarks and analyzes those fees to ensure that they are appropriate for the sector and for the nature of the entity. We then go into a commercial discussion with the port in terms of negotiating those fees, and that is an arm's length transaction to resolve those fees. The fees for the audits across the various different reporting dates that were applicable for 2024 was NZD 261,000, and that covers half-year reporting at 31 March, reporting to HBRIC as a majority shareholder at 30 June, and then the audit of the statutory and financial statements at 30 September 2024.
Thanks, Stuart.
Just one comment here. I assume the.
Just hold for a moment, please.
I'm sorry.
Just so the online audience can hear you clearly.
I assume the role is purely auditing, not consulting in any way, shape, or form?
That's correct. So the brief is strictly contained to audits. Stuart, do you want to add a further comment to that? There are protocols for the appointment for auditing and/or other services.
The Office, the Auditor-General, has the strictest independence rules that we have in the country, and so they will only allow audit service providers to provide other assurance services, not consulting or even tax consulting engagements with organizations that they audit on behalf of the Auditor-General. So the answer to your question is no. The only additional service we provide is we check on the vote count here today.
Thanks, Stuart. And I can assure you that they conduct a very thorough process on your behalf and ours as a board each year. Are there any further questions from the floor regarding this motion? We have one here.
Thank you. It was a long time ago when a representative of the Inland Revenue Department said to me, when I was in a very different position, he said, "Never forget that the auditors are the watchdogs for the members." Now, if we translate that for the shareholders, theoretically, they are the people, the auditors, who should say, "Oh, your board is up to something dodgy." And then we have an arrangement which seems a little bit incestuous when it should be more arm's length.
Stewart, do you want to make some comments on that? And then I'll add some.
I am appointed by the Auditor-General. I have a role for John Ryan, the Auditor-General. Ultimately, in terms of how fees are agreed between auditors and shareholders effectively, you will see normal practices for the directors to be anointed with that power to do that, to undertake that negotiation, so while commercials have to come into it in terms of I have to do a job and the directors have a role to play, ultimately, this is an FMA-listed entity. I'm appointed by the Auditor-General. I have professional standards, and if there are any matters that I have concerns with, I would initially raise them with management, with the board, but ultimately, I could actually utilize powers to go to the Auditor-General if I had serious concerns that were not being listened to.
I think there are perfectly good avenues for any concerns or issues to be resolved through other mechanisms if I had concerns with the board.
And I'll just add to that that part of the process involves the board providing letters of assurance to our auditors around the supply of information and the statements that are made in the preparation of all of our affairs. So we're actually providing them with assurance, and their process also provides us with some comfort that there's an independent set of eyes on everything we do. And as you heard, ultimately, the auditor general kicks in over the top if there's any problems anywhere in the system. Are there any other questions from the floor regarding the motion? Are there any questions online?
There are no questions from our shareholders online.
Okay. There appear to be no further questions. Proxy votes for resolution five are now shown on the screen. For those in the room, please mark your voting cards in the way you wish to vote for by ticking for, against, or abstain in the appropriate place on the voting card. That's the end of our resolutions for today. So, ladies and gentlemen, our registry Link Market Services will now move through the room and collect your voting cards. Shareholders attending online may now use the time to submit your electronic voting card or submit any general business questions you may have. We will just wait a moment while those cards are collected. Okay. It appears that all of the cards have been submitted. Thank you very much. The floor is now open for general questions.
Can I remind you, please, to wait for a microphone and then clearly state your name before answering the question, sorry, asking the question. To be fair to all shareholders, I ask that questions be as concise as possible and please be considerate to other shareholders wishing to ask questions. We'll take questions from the floor first and then go to our participants online. And at this moment, I'm going to come back to the question at the back around, you'll have to remind me of the question, sorry. I'll get Todd to answer in the first instance, and I know you were directing some of the question at Vincent, so once Todd's replied, I'll ask Vincent.
I believe that ports manage very well the way you're able to retain your profitability. It's getting harder for provincial ports in some ways. So I'm just wondering, where is the strategic growth? What do you identify to get the volume? You're good at keeping the tariffs up. It's all good, but is there volume growth out there or some other way to get strategic revenue up?
This one? Yeah. It's a good question. Yes, we have got a number of different strategies in play around how we're going to drive growth. We think about the business across sort of three or four main areas, obviously container trade, bulk trade, our cruise business, and any other services and things that we can provide. And I think there is what we look at is our core catchment in terms of our in the region cargo, and we can see that there is general growth coming from that. We can go out, touch fields, see the trees, for example, on the ground, the investment that's going into the likes of the horticulture. We know that there will be growth in terms of volume coming from our core catchment. Outside of that, we are very focused on extending our reach and the services that we're providing.
The Viewpoint supply chain service is something that we've been working on for the last couple of years and is growing in momentum. That is primarily the rail service that we provide to customers for imports and exports going in through the port into the central North Island, into our inland port operation, and providing services to customers to bring that cargo catchment through. And that's mainly focused around container trade, but equally, there is a bulk trade as well that is available, more forests and things that we could access for log trade and things like that to bring through to the port as those forests mature and come online. And then we do have, up until very recently, a very strong and growing cruise business.
Obviously, some people may have heard in the media as well that the cruise industry is under a little bit of duress here in New Zealand at the moment. But overall, on a global basis, the cruise industry is very much a growing industry, and I would personally think that that blip that we're seeing at the moment is probably only temporary. And so the investments that we've made around wharf infrastructure and things enable us to keep growing our cruise trade as well. And then other port-on-port services that we're providing, such as things like the debarking and those sorts of things and warehousing, there's also opportunities there. With WPI's exit, we now have a shed that we can use and market to bring more cargo through to the port. So there's a number of different things there.
Equally, some of the investments we're making around the additional space on port, that tar-sealed area that I talked about earlier, and with the investment we're making in the dredge, enables us to be able to service the future to provide additional services to cargo owners, but also to shipping lines. You'll see that other ports around the country have made quite big gains over the last decade in things like transshipment cargo, that we are seeing increased demand from carriers to be able to provide those services also, and having a deep harbor in the future enables us to potentially look at that as an area for growth for the port too.
There's a multifaceted kind of view across the business in terms of we would look to try and drive continued volume growth, as well as what we do around managing our costs is really, really important. See that bottom line grow through good management of our costs. Yeah, so that's the things that we're focused on.
So very much looking to extend our reach and/or look where we can add value with this existing core trade. Are you happy that's answered the question, sir? Thank you. We have another question from. You're struggling to hear me? Okay. Sorry about that. Is that better? I think the mic got moved, sorry. Are we lining the auditor up for another question here?
Yeah. One time I heard that Maersk, who are quite a significant container shipping company, were cutting back the ports in New Zealand. Has Napier, I'm not too certain, Maersk gone through Napier Port? And are there any issues in that regard? Because I did see a statement in the press not so long ago that they're going to cut down the ports they're going to visit New Zealand.
Was that Maersk that you're referring to? Sorry. Look, the shipping lines tend to change their approach to how they service New Zealand quite frequently in the services and things that come around the coast. We've seen, as recently in the last few months, a change of service through Napier Port, a swap from a Southern Star to the Northern Star service, just a different ship going on a different rotation. So those changes aren't uncommon for us to see. One of the advantages that Napier has is that our catchment is very close at hand, and also 80%-90% of our cargo comes from within 100 kilometers of our port. And also the type of cargo that we have is actually very, very high-value cargo to the shipping lines.
So, i.e., the reefer or chilled cargo, the high-value apples and meat and those sorts of things, they like it. We are not a very big deviation off the main shipping line route up and down the East Coast of New Zealand as they transit between Auckland, Tauranga, down to Lyttelton, Dunedin. We are convenient to call. Those things work for us. But as you pointed out, those international lines that make decisions in places like Copenhagen and things, which we have very limited control on, but we do have a very attractive cargo base, which I think is something that's of value to them. We are not too worried that they are not going to call us.
I'll just add to that that we're the fourth largest container terminal in the country, so we've got critical mass that attracts all of the shipping lines according to what works for their plans. When one line makes a change off another line, see that as an opportunity to collect cargo as well. It's a dynamic market. Are there any more questions from the floor? We have one in the middle, and then we'll come to the one at the back. Just gentlemen with the sunglasses. Yeah. Glasses.
Yeah. Good morning. Ian, shareholder. Very interested to read your PR blurb that you've got on Smartflow on page 34. As a reasonably large customer of a quarter of your log trade into the Napier Port, I see very little value in your Smartgate or Smartflow thing that you have running there. It's really just a tax for customers, and you are actually penalizing all these shareholders in this room. I can personally tell you that as part of what I do in my role, I've turned 3 million tons around and are now heading that to Eastland Port just because of the actions of the two people standing in the front of the room. Both of you are responsible for reducing the actual shareholder return in the future for a significant number of people sitting here today.
I want you to understand, I'll lead you in a second, please, that I didn't take that decision lightly. I gave you a very good question last year, Todd, which you danced around and didn't give a direct answer to regarding the speed in which you're loading vessels. You didn't answer it. Be quite clear about that. The next thing I was going to point out was one thing you said in last year's AGM that we weren't using the rail. We were using the rail up till late December prior to the cyclone, and the reason we weren't using it was because there was a contractual, I guess, a dispute between Kiwi Rail and the service providers. We were more than willing to continue railing wood from Wairoa, which increased your working circle, you might call it.
That working circle is now moved from well north of Wairoa to pull wood to Napier, has now come back to the top of the Mohaka Hill. Anything south of the Mohaka Hill will come to Napier. Anything north of that, there's about three million tons over the next three years, you're going to lose that volume. And for the gain of NZD 0.25, I think it is, that you're charging us for Smartflow for every truck that comes in the gate, which doesn't provide us any logistical benefit at all. And yeah, I just think it's something that the shareholders need to know, and I'll be certainly pointing that out. Out of respect for you, Blair, I didn't bring up when you were nominating yourself. Will you be in touch with the Samoa family this year?
I haven't had contact with them for a little while, but I appreciate that question.
Yeah. Okay. I'd like you to actually make a point of doing that.
Sure.
Okay. For those of you in the room who don't know, Blair was the CEO of Wellington CentrePort at the time when he had a—they had a death. It would actually be you were responsible at the head of the organization, and I believe that you need to actually fulfill your human obligations. Okay. There's a few other things I'd like to bring up, but I'll let other people have some questions.
Yeah. Thank you. Well, I appreciate those comments and this blend of shareholder questions and comments in there and other matters. Is there a question you want to put to the room?
Have you factored in what it's actually really going to cost you? 3 million tonnes, nearly 3 million tonnes over three years against your 25 cents a tonne of really what you're paying, you're making us charge now. It's a small amount of income.
Yeah. G'day, Ian. Nice to see you here, and thanks for those questions. Just for context, Ian is a customer of the port for Forestry Management New Zealand, which is part of the Roger Dickey New Zealand. The three million tonnes that you're talking about there, Ian, I believe that's probably cargo that you're referring to up in the East Cape. Is that correct?
Basically, from the Mohaka Hill port.
Just for context, everybody in the room, logs will typically go about 150 kilometers away from the nearest port. The regional catchment for Napier Port is the typical cut-off area is around about Wairoa. Everything north of that will typically go to its closest port, which is Gisborne. Ian's statement of the 3 million tons that is available is highly likely to go to Gisborne anyway. The charge of Smartflow that Ian is referring to there, NZD 15 a truck that we introduced in September, I believe it was, we brought in. We actually gave Forestry Management New Zealand a little bit of extra time around that as part of introduction of that service. They're now paying for that service, and we've had a charge on our eastern gate for containers for well over a decade.
The forestry industry is not being paying for its access into and out of the port at all. So as shareholders, I hope that you understand that we're doing and acting in your best interest to try and drive a return on the invested capital in the port. Yeah, I don't think I've got too much more to add. We're not too concerned that we're going to lose three million tons that Ian's talking about because I don't think those three million tons are actually going to come to Napier Port anyway.
That three million tons was the amount that came to Napier.
Okay. Well, that's interesting, but I'd probably disagree with you there, Ian.
Thank you. And look, I'll just respond briefly to your comments about me. I was Chief Executive of Wellington's port when there was a fatality. I can assure you that we were pushing very, very hard to increase the safety standards at that time. It was a terrible accident, and it's probably the worst moment in my career. And I spent a lot of time with the family and making sure that the company took responsibility for what happened. And the company was prosecuted at the time for that. And my commitment to health and safety has never wavered. I was appointed the Chair of Maritime New Zealand, the safety authority when I left Centreport. So hopefully that signals my commitment to ongoing safety improvements within the industry.
And since joining this port, I've been involved in pushing and working with the team to make sure we continue to raise our health and safety standards. Ports are dangerous places. We never want an accident to occur. They do occur. And when they do occur, I agree that it's appropriate that people take responsibility for those events. And I feel like I did that at the time. So thank you.
That's on. In terms of your question that you raised last year, Ian, around productivity on the port, I do have some stats for you. We actually have improved the productivity of the port substantially through investments made. For example, the wharf investment that we made in Te Whiti has actually improved the turnaround time of vessels and less disruption for the forestry industry by 30%. It's a significant increase there. Additional to that, our 2022 versus 2024 load rates on the port have improved by 9.2%.
All right. I think that we're into more commercial matters now.
I appreciate you raising the matter. What you're entitled to do as a shareholder and as a customer of the port. It sounds like there's more conversation to have offline on that matter as well. Are there any other questions from the floor? We have a question at the back.
Just supporting this person. If it was just a matter of the Smartflow charge, would you drop that charge?
Hang on just a moment, sir. We'll get that, somebody's phone's ringing. We can just turn that off.
Would you consider dropping that charge to retain or retrieve the three million tonnes? So that's the first question. The second question from me is, I've sat through the beginning of the shareholders' meeting for three years now. I'm a person of prayer myself. I can't follow the karakia. I know it's a greeting from local hapū, and I understand that. But could we have the same prayer re-spoken in English? Or alternatively, could every second year the karakia be brought by someone else in English?
All right. Thank you. Well, I'm just.
I'm sitting here. I don't know who I'm praying to and what I'm hearing.
Look, on that second item, that's a very good point to raise, and we will work to improve everyone in the room's understanding of anything that's been conveyed. So we'll take that on board as an action for next year. In terms of the further questions around cargo flow, I'll hand that to Todd.
So to answer the question around the cargo flow and the NZD 15 charge, as I was explaining to Ian, I don't believe that that 3 million tonnes of cargo is actually cargo that was coming to the port anyway. So no, we wouldn't be reversing our decision around the NZD 15 per TEU.
There's a question up front here.
A clarification, please. Smartflow, NZD 15. Are you charging them to drive onto the port to deliver something that you're going to load onto a ship and send away? Is that what that means?
Essentially, yes. It is a charge per vehicle of cargo coming onto the port. And we've had a vehicle booking system in place on our eastern gate for, I'm sorry, on our western gate for well over a decade. And it's been introduced on our eastern gate now as well.
Did you mention that a truck delivering to a supermarket is going to be paying that? It just seems odd that you would do that when they're bringing business. I don't understand it.
So there is a cost to using infrastructure, which is what we are charging for, is the cost to use our port infrastructure. The idea behind the system as well is that the cargo, at the moment, the trucks can turn up whenever they like or have been able to turn up whenever they like at any time of day. It causes massive congestion issues on the port also. So by giving us the information about what is coming onto the port, how much and when, and who's bringing it on, we can start to manage the actual flow of the vehicles coming onto the port and make the port more efficient as well, and provide that information back to the cargo owners with their cooperation and collaboration with us.
Can I just check whether this is a shareholder question or a commercial one? Yeah. We'll go to the gentleman at the back, and then I think we'll move on shortly to other matters.
This is a pure consultant-type question. I don't know if you guys know what the definition of a consultant is. That's where someone asks you what the time is, and you show them your watch. Okay? That's pretty much what the forest industry is doing for Napier Port now. We're providing all the information of the truck flow, and we're getting charged for the beauty of doing it. It provides no further incentive or benefit to us of our scheduling, of our flow of trucks, of anything like that at all. I still go back to my question, Todd, about the speed in which vessels are loaded. You have not answered that question, and you still don't.
I made an invitation for you last year for you to come for a ride with me up State Highway 2 when you said, "Oh, it's relatively back to normal." You need to come for a drive and sit in a truck and understand what it is like to drive that road. It will not be right for the next 10 years. It will not be right. Okay? Make that clearly understood. 70% of the wood coming to the Napier Port comes down State Highway 2. You guys are in dreamland. Listen to your customers. You get paid big bucks, Todd, but you still need to listen to your customers. Okay?
All right. Thank you.
Great that you got a shareholder dividend this year, but it wasn't going to percolate me. I'm sorry.
Thank you. Well, look, I appreciate comments. This is a shareholder meeting, and I appreciate you've raised it and related to that matter. Let's expand any further conversations in a different forum. I have a question here. Oh, sorry, one at the back first. Sorry.
Sorry. Matt Doyle, shareholder, at risk of flogging a dead horse. For the interest of the shareholders here, can I suggest that there's a cost-benefit analysis done on the potential loss of volume coming in with the Smartflow? Would that be beneficial for everyone?
Look, we'll take that into consideration, but that's probably more of an offline matter to be considered. Thank you. We have a question up front here.
Yeah. I'm just going to, just for my own information, probably for the rest of the shareholders too, schedule of charges. I've got no idea what you charge. But is it fairly similar to, for example, to other ports for similar situations throughout New Zealand, or is it higher or lower or mid-term or what?
Highest in the country.
The charging regimes are all commercially set by management and endorsed by the board where that's appropriate when delegated authority is required. At the end of the day, we're a commercial operator. We've got an obligation on your behalf as shareholders to get a return on your investment. Pricing is one of the methods we use to get returns on our investment. There are others which are growing volume and managing costs as well. At the end of the day, we've got to get the balance of those right to be sustainable and make sure the customers continue to move their trade through our business and get a return on the infrastructure investments we're making. And as Todd pointed out earlier in his speech, we are still working towards ensuring we recover the cost of our capital as a business.
So that tells you that there's some room to move for us to generate more returns from the business. And ultimately, that's our primary driver for us in our decision-making on your behalf. Are there any other questions from the floor? Do we have any questions online?
Yes. We've received two questions from a single shareholder online. I'll read both questions out now. This is from Elizabeth Marks. First question is, what is the lead time regarding the new dredge being commissioned? And the second question is, what is the limit to the number of ships you can have in port at one time?
Thank you. Those are great questions. I'll ask Todd to answer those.
So the lead time on the new dredge will be late 2026, is when it's expected to arrive and be in service. And the second question, how many vessels can we have at any one time? In theory, we have seven wharves. So the logical answer would be seven vessels.
Thank you, Todd. Are there any more questions online?
There are no further questions online.
Okay. We have two other questions that were submitted prior to the meeting. One from Stephen Jan Van Der Linden. Napier Port is a NZD 1 billion asset at least. Are the directors concerned that the current share market price for Napier Port is half of this, i.e., NZD 500 million? Thanks for your question, Stephen. So ultimately, we're continuing to work to drive the value out of the business. The business's value on the NZX is driven by multiple forces that we aren't completely in control of. And our job is to try and drive the earnings potential for the business to generate the share price value to the best of our ability possible. So we would like to see the share price improved. There's no doubt about that.
We believe we're undertaking a whole series of actions to try and improve that, some of which you've just heard sometimes aren't well received by everybody. So that's an answer to that question, Stephen. Appreciate that. We have another question from David Lovrich. Why is it that the directors of Napier Port do not each have substantial shareholdings? Do those directors not believe in the company? We tend to receive this question each year. The policy for our directors is that they are entitled to buy shares in the company should they wish. There's no exclusion for buying shares in the company, although we did have one initially at the IPO when we listed because we wanted to ensure that all other parties had the right to access shares at the time. But currently, our policy is it's optional.
Some of us have invested in shares, and it's a personal choice for investment decision. The Shareholders Association has a view that it shouldn't be compulsory for directors to acquire shares, and we take that into account in setting our policy as well. So thank you, David, for that question. On that note, it's my pleasure today to conclude the annual shareholders' meeting for the 2024 financial year. On behalf of the board, I extend our thanks to all of our shareholders, our community, the cargo owners who entrust their product to Napier Port, and all of our business partners, and to the entire Napier Port team who, led by a very capable senior management team, continue to bring their best to work every day, facing whatever the day brings with an unflappable commitment and resolve.
As I call the meeting to a close, I'd like to invite everyone who is present at the War Memorial today to light refreshments, which will be served just out to the side here. Our people are available to answer any questions about port operations, and of course, our directors will be available for any governance questions that you may have. Thank you for coming today, and thank you for your continued support for Napier Port. Know better, turn.