Rangatira first-half profit falls 39 percent

Wednesday 28th November 2012

Rangatira, the Wellington-based investor that is adding the Rainbow's End theme park to its portfolio, reported a 39 percent decline in first-half earnings, reflecting the 'lumpy' timing of work at its half-owned Contract Resources.

Profit fell to $3 million in the six months ended Sept. 30, from $4.4 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement. It kept the interim dividend payment unchanged at 18 cents a share

The company said full-year operating earnings would rise between 10 percent and 20 percent.

"The slower first half largely reflected phasing of project work in one of our major investments, Contract Resources," said chairman Murray Gough.

Contract Resources is a specialised engineering maintenance and industrial cleaning company for refineries, petrochemical plants and mining processing plants and counts Caltex, Shell, Exxon Mobil and NZ Refining Co among its customers. Its returns tend to jump around depending on the timing of work, Gough said.

Rangatira has more than $150 million of assets in its portfolio and some $20 million of funds earmarked for further investments. Last week its bid of $10 million for a cornerstone 74.86 percent stake in NZ Experience, owner of Rainbow's End, was accepted.

Other recent investments include a 15 percent stake in Konnect Net, which provides business process management systems for the insurance and health industries, and increased its holding in insurer Partners Life to about 9 percent. Other holdings include 50 percent of smallgoods manufacturer Hellers and 100 percent of Auckland Packaging Co.

"It is our intention to make additional unlisted New Zealand investments and we are actively looking to invest in up to two mid-sized companies that have good growth opportunities and require additional capital to take them to the next stage," said chief executive Ian Frame.

Rangatira has two classes of shares that trade on the Unlisted platform, with 67 percent held as class 'A' shares and 33 percent held in class 'B' shares to differentiate between charitable and non-charitable shareholders. Both last traded at $6.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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