Napier Port lists on NZX, just the third company in two years to do so

Tuesday, 20 August 2019

Napier Port hopes to raise up to $234 million in an initial public offering.

Napier Port's new shareholders saw the value of their investment rise when company listed on the NZX on Tuesday.

In the first five minutes of trading Napier Port Holdings (NPH) share price rose to $2.91 and within two hours it had risen to $2.99.

Napier Port chief executive Todd Dawson said it was a 'good little uplift', but the success of the initial book build had indicated it might go that way.

Investors paid $2.60 a share through an initial public offering (IPO) for 45 per cent of the port company, raising $234 million.

The port is only the third company in two years to list on the NZX. Cannasouth, a medical cannabis company, listed in July and Oceania Healthcare in May 2017.

Alisdair MacCleod, chairman of Napier Port ringing in the port's listing on the NZX.

* Napier Port to give workers interest-free loans to participate in share float

* Port Napier share float and NZX listing given go ahead**

NZX chief executive Mark Peterson said he was 'really excited' by the listing.

It was great example of how councils could retain ownership while also bringing growth to a region, he said.

Hawke's Bay residents, ratepayers, port staff and certain iwi entities had the first opportunity to apply for shares.

Napier Port heavy plant operator Raymond Perrett took up the offer to buy shares using the interest free loan on offer from the port. Without the loan he would not have been able to purchase shares.

Napier Port heavy plant operator, Raymond Perrett says he wouldn't have been able to buy shares without the interest free loan from the port.

'It's amazing. It's the most people focussed company I've worked for,' he said.

Perrett believed in the growth objectives of the port, including the construction of a new wharf and said his investment was for the long term.

Napier Port is seeing increasing numbers of cruise ships, part of the rationale for listing is to fund the construction of a new wharf that will accommodate more, and larger, cruise ships.

'It would be nice if in 15 or 20 years it helped me buy another motorbike.'

Forklift operator Warren Nicholas, who has worked at the port for 20 years and bought shares with his personal savings said the priority offer was a great opportunity to keep the port locally owned.

Todd Dawson, Napier Port's chief executive said the first day of trading on the NZX was a happy day.

Nicholas has three kids and hoped one day to be able to help them buy homes using his investment.

Four iwi groups and 97 per cent of port staff bought shares under the offer.

The opening share price on listing in August was $2.60.

There was no public pool of shares available.

From the money raised, $110m will be used to repay debt and to build a new multi-purpose wharf.

The existing wharves have become congested, with ships often needing to park outside of the port to make way for larger ships, like cruise ships.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council will receive $108m from the sale. The remaining $16m will fund interest free loans to port staff to buy port shares and cover the cost of the IPO.

Napier is one of five main ports on the coastal shipping route including Ports of Auckland, Port of Tauranga, CentrePort in Wellington, Lyttleton Port and Port Chalmers in Dunedin.

Port of Tauranga is the only other listed port.

It listed a $1.05 a share in 1992 and we now worth about $6. Port of Tauranga is the largest and most profitable port in the country, with profits after tax of $94m last year.

More than 95 per cent of staff owning shares in the company.

Lyttelton Port listed on the NZX in 1996 with a public offering of 19 per cent but reverted to Christchurch City Council full ownership in 2014. The council said at the time that this gave it greater flexibility in its relationship with the port company.