Huge quake losses for Wellington port company revealed

The quake-damaged port’s half-year results also revealed that it received $54 million in an interim insurance payment

Huge quake losses for Wellington port company revealed

Insurance News

By Mina Martin

Wellington’s port company has posted its results for the six months to December 31, revealing the losses it incurred from the Kaikoura earthquakes and the insurance payout it received for the quake damages.

CentrePort, jointly owned by the Greater Wellington and Horizons regional councils, revealed that it suffered a hit of almost $120 million due to earthquake damages  - $68.7 million of which were from asset impairments, and another $50 million from the estimated value of its land.

Separately, the port also had the value of its property assets, mostly its commercial buildings, written down by $20.5 million based on an estimation of how much the buildings’ value would have dropped even if they were repaired.

So far, CentrePort said it has received a $54 million interim payment from its insurers.

Want the latest insurance industry news first? Sign up for our completely free newsletter service now.

CentrePort CFO Kieran Sweetman said the asset writedown was for measuring the full impact of the November earthquakes.

“We’ll be informed as detailed insurance assessments come through, and we may have to revisit that estimate... but it does reflect substantially our view of the damage,” he said, speaking to Fairfax Media.

Chief executive Derek Nind said CentrePort’s business continuity insurance would support its operations for three years.

CentrePort posted a net underlying profit after tax of $8.8 million for the six months to December 2016; and a loss of $35.7 million after earthquake provisions and fair value adjustments to property, excluding the $50 million hit to its land values.


Related stories:
Quake-damaged port to draw on $600m insurance
Deadline for lodging Kaikoura claims ends

Keep up with the latest news and events

Join our mailing list, it’s free!