K83mil profit recorded

By DALE LUMA
THE PNG Ports Corporation has announced a 2019 full year profit of K83 million.
This enabled a full year dividend payment of K21 million to Kumul Consolidated Holdings (KCH) completed yesterday with the presentation K11.4 million to KCH as a second payment following the first portion of K9.6 million paid last November.
Chairman Kepas Wali said the last two years had been difficult for PNG Ports with the Covid-19 affecting most of its business.
“We saw a decline in shipment and cargo through our ports, but because management instituted certain stringent measures in management and costs, PNG Ports has been able to maintain a healthy bottom line,” he said.
“Despite the Covid-19, we have been able to maintain the ports operationally.
“Management quickly introduced certain protocols at the ports when the pandemic hit to keep the ports operating.
“There wasn’t any stage that the ports where closed down.
“They (PNG Ports Corporation) were able to separate the operation of the ships from the shore so shipping continued and cargo was still transmitted through our shores.”
Wali also clarified that the dividend was based on the loan agreement that they had with the Bank South Pacific (BSP) that only allowed 25 per cent of the profits would be paid as dividend. KCH managing director Isikeli Taureka said the dividend payment for 2019 was timely because the money would be injected into other state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that were struggling during the Covid-19 times.
“One of the things we appreciated is that apart from the major ports, most of the secondary ports around the country are at least recovering cost and breaking even.”
State Enterprise Minister William Duma welcomed the dividend payment.
Duma said PNG Ports had been a consistently performing SOE over the years.
He said the K21 million in 2019 was not a bad effort.
“We need every toea and the K21 million is a lot of money and in times like these millions of kina makes a big difference,” he said.
PNG Ports Corporation has also paid a total of K43 million in taxes to the Government.