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Asciano post huge profit jump

Transport and logistics operator Asciano has posted a net profit of $199 million for the six months to December, a 7.45 per cent increase on the same period last year.

The report trumped analyst expectations of $171 million profit, with the company declaring an interim dividend of 5.25%, fully franked.

The result was driven by volume growth in Pacific National Coal following new contacts in Queensland, and growth from contracts in the Hunter Valley, the company said.

Its port business also grew in volume due to an increased activity from the resource sector and record imported car volume growth in 2012.

"We are particularly pleased with this result in light of the very soft first quarter market conditions across most of our businesses, which made forecasting customer demand and responding with the appropriate level of resources extremely challenging," Asciano's chief executive and managing director John Mullen said.

Mullen said with two strategic multi-year capital projects in PN Coal and the commencement of a new project which will see the container terminal at Port Botany expand, the company will continue to drive strong returns on its investments.

"We continue to believe that, based on the long-term customer contracts that underwrite all four divisions, we will report long-term earnings growth in line with previous forecasts, albeit the mix and timing will be slightly different from original forecasts given the variable market conditions’’.

Image: asciano.com.au

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