Latest news with #ChannelInfrastructure
Scoop
06-08-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Could Northland's Marsden Point be NZ's first 'Special Economic Zone'?
A 'Special Economic Zone' at Northland's Marsden Point could supercharge the region's - if not the country's - economy, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Jones and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters visited Marsden Point on Tuesday to inspect a jet fuel storage project, while also promoting their vision for encouraging investment around Northland's main port. Peters said the area could "easily" become New Zealand's first Special Economic Zone. It had New Zealand's best deep-water port, was closest to international shipping lanes, and had plenty of land to build on. "These zones go a step beyond fast-track legislation. The zones will also have tax regimes that appeal to investors, local and international alike." Jones said Special Economic Zones already operated in Ireland, Singapore and Croatia. He said increased depreciation, tax "holidays" in which companies initially paid no tax, and attractive regulatory regimes could be used to attract large-scale investment in specific areas. Jones admitted the plan was "unorthodox" and would not say if it was supported by the party's coalition partners - but he believed bold moves were needed because current efforts to grow the economy were not working. "The Ruth Richardson bare austerity approach … it's not delivering the economic growth we need. Unless we have these kinds of bespoke initiatives, with tax incentives and self-consenting powers, I fear we're just going to be stuck in a rut talking about the same things year after year … and that's not good enough." He said the party wanted to table Special Economic Zone legislation in the coming year, or take the policy to the next election. Jones was typically provocative when describing how consenting in a Special Economic Zone might work. "When the zone is created any conditions of an environmental resource management character should be written into the zone. And then, my view is, you just have a couple of engineers in a tin shed somewhere, they can quickly consent things. This business of constipating and protracting all these resource consent processes is making the country broke." The Marsden Point zone, if created, could incorporate the former oil refinery site, the proposed Northport extension, and a planned dry dock facility for servicing large vessels such as Navy ships and Cook Strait ferries. A rail link between the port and Northland's existing railway line was also vital for the development of Marsden Point, Jones said. Meanwhile, the aviation fuel tank the ministers came to inspect was being constructed by Channel Infrastructure on the former Marsden Point oil refinery site. Jones said it would boost New Zealand's resilience at a time of increasing geopolitical instability. Channel chief executive Rob Buchanan said the 30-million-litre tank had previously been used for crude oil and was being adapted for jet fuel at cost of up to $30m, in partnership with Z Energy. It would hold enough fuel for 10,000 flights between Auckland and Wellington. Once complete it would increase total storage of jet fuel, petrol and diesel at Marsden Point to about 300 million litres. Buchanan said it was not the only project bringing life back to the site where oil refining ended in 2022. "One of the projects we're working on very actively at the moment is repurposing the old refinery into a biorefinery, which could produce diesel and jet fuel. That's with some international partners because it would be a very significant amount of capital investment. It'd be really exciting to bring back manufacturing capacity," he said. Buchanan would not say what would be used as the raw material, citing business confidentiality. A decision as to whether the biorefinery would go ahead was expected next year. Both Jones and Peters expressed disappointment at the oil refinery's closure, but with the cost of reopening it estimated at $5-7 billion, Jones accepted that was not going to happen. "We're over that chapter and we have to support new industry and new investment," he said. Peters said the Marsden Point rail project, which was part of the coalition agreement, was continuing to make progress. Almost all the land required had been bought and KiwiRail had completed the design work. The 19 kilometre rail spur between Oakleigh, south of Whangārei, and Northport had initially been estimated to cost $1 billion. Peters said he would not accept such a high cost. In the coming weeks KiwiRail would share its designs, on a confidential basis, with other potential builders, he said. "We're going to get value for money. And if we don't get it from New Zealanders we'll get it from international competition. That's why I can guarantee you we're not talking about a billion dollars or anything like it." Construction had originally been due to begin in late 2026 or early 2027 but Jones said that had been delayed. The other major project planned for Marsden Point was a dry dock expected to cost $400-500m. Jones said it would be a public-private partnership part-funded by the Regional Infrastructure Fund. Shortlisted companies had until May to submit Requests for Proposal. Jones said the government was "getting closer" to choosing a successful bidder.
NZ Herald
04-08-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Northland boosted with jet fuel tank, dry dock, rail link announcements
'A commercial dry dock will bring specialist skills and international customers to NZ, maintaining large ships in a manner that a maritime nation desperately needs,' Peters said. Estimated to cost $500 million, the dry dock will enable large ships and ferries to be serviced in NZ. A report by Northland Inc suggested the facility could create an additional 1135 jobs and generate an income of $290m a year by 2060. Peters said procurement is close. 'We are getting closer to finalising procurement of a provider for the Regional Infrastructure Fund part-funded dry dock at Northport, which offers the best harbour in NZ as it is deep, there is plenty of land, and transport connectivity is only going to get better. 'As an exporting nation, we need strong connections for shipping lines and Northport offers the efficient shipping connections to bolster port services in Tauranga and Auckland.' Peters also announced the Marsden Point Rail Link will be open for discussions with investors and potential builders. The link, estimated to cost at least $300m, will provide rail to Marsden Point and Northport. 'We are pleased to confirm that KiwiRail will open discussions, under commercial agreements, on its Marsden Point Rail Link design data for investors and builders – informing the best approach for building and funding this project,' Peters said. He highlighted the importance of Marsden Point to the country. 'The burgeoning energy, export and economic powerhouse of Marsden Point means NZ will prosper with much needed jobs, trade, manufacturing and economic development.' A recent NZIER report commissioned by Northland Corporate Group found Northland could become a $60-billion-a-year economy by 2050 through such projects. Jones pointed to the new fuel tank, a collaboration between Channel Infrastructure and Z Energy, which will store more jet fuel before it is sent to Auckland Airport through the pipeline spanning Marsden Point to Wiri. The tank will provide an additional 30 million litres of fuel - enough for the equivalent of about 10,000 flights between Auckland and Wellington, he said. Channel Infrastructure, which stores and distributes 80% of all NZ's jet fuel, is investing up to $30m over two years for the tank. Z Energy is also increasing storage at Marsden Point, Jones said. 'While this on its own is great news for NZ's fuel resilience, other initiatives being undertaken here such as the potential development of sustainable aviation fuel, the upcoming construction of a bitumen import terminal, diesel peaker and biorefinery make Marsden Point a world-class proposition,' he said. 'As I announced earlier this year, I am particularly interested in how we, as a country, develop these areas further and attract investment into our regions. 'I will be taking a paper to Cabinet soon on the use of special economic zones (SEZs) to do just that. With attractive regulatory regimes and tax treatment, SEZs could be the fuel that really gets NZ's economic engine roaring,' Jones said. More to come
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Channel Infrastructure NZ Limited's (NZSE:CHI) Stock Is Rallying But Financials Look Ambiguous: Will The Momentum Continue?
Most readers would already be aware that Channel Infrastructure NZ's (NZSE:CHI) stock increased significantly by 11% over the past month. However, we wonder if the company's inconsistent financials would have any adverse impact on the current share price momentum. Specifically, we decided to study Channel Infrastructure NZ's ROE in this article. Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity. We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free. The formula for return on equity is: Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Channel Infrastructure NZ is: 3.2% = NZ$26m ÷ NZ$818m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024). The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each NZ$1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made NZ$0.03 in profit. Check out our latest analysis for Channel Infrastructure NZ So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics. It is quite clear that Channel Infrastructure NZ's ROE is rather low. Even when compared to the industry average of 4.3%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. However, we we're pleasantly surprised to see that Channel Infrastructure NZ grew its net income at a significant rate of 71% in the last five years. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place. Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Channel Infrastructure NZ's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 34% in the same period, which is great to see. The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is CHI fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know. The really high three-year median payout ratio of 148% for Channel Infrastructure NZ suggests that the company is paying its shareholders more than what it is earning. Despite this, the company's earnings grew significantly as we saw above. Although, it could be worth keeping an eye on the high payout ratio as that's a huge risk. Besides, Channel Infrastructure NZ has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 160%. Still, forecasts suggest that Channel Infrastructure NZ's future ROE will rise to 4.7% even though the the company's payout ratio is not expected to change by much. Overall, we have mixed feelings about Channel Infrastructure NZ. Although the company has shown a pretty impressive growth in earnings, yet the low ROE and the low rate of reinvestment makes us skeptical about the continuity of that growth, especially when or if the business comes to face any threats. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
National Business Review
23-05-2025
- Business
- National Business Review
Higher dividends ahead at Channel Infrastructure
Fuel terminal operator Channel Infrastructure has marked its annual meeting today with announcements signalling higher dividends and an ASX listing. In a statement to the NZX, the company said it had changed its dividend policy and would now expect to pay out 70-90% of normalised free cash flow, up
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Those who invested in Channel Infrastructure NZ (NZSE:CHI) three years ago are up 132%
By buying an index fund, you can roughly match the market return with ease. But if you buy good businesses at attractive prices, your portfolio returns could exceed the average market return. For example, the Channel Infrastructure NZ Limited (NZSE:CHI) share price is up 94% in the last three years, clearly besting the market decline of around 9.1% (not including dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 47% in the last year, including dividends. With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies. Check out our latest analysis for Channel Infrastructure NZ While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price. Channel Infrastructure NZ became profitable within the last three years. So we would expect a higher share price over the period. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). It is of course excellent to see how Channel Infrastructure NZ has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. Take a more thorough look at Channel Infrastructure NZ's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet. It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Channel Infrastructure NZ the TSR over the last 3 years was 132%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments! We're pleased to report that Channel Infrastructure NZ shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 47% over one year. That's including the dividend. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 16%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Channel Infrastructure NZ . But note: Channel Infrastructure NZ may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast). Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on New Zealander exchanges. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
