The Star: November 09, 2023

The Star Thursday November 9 2023
10
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Wealthiest iwi files $95.5m loss,
reflects on last 25 years
• By Will Trafford
TWENTY-FIVE years after its
$170 million settlement, Ngāi
Tahu has witnessed a tenfold, or
1000 per cent, increase in assets.
Now recognised by a TDB
Advisory report as New
Zealand’s wealthiest iwi, its
leadership acknowledges that the
group is not completely shielded
from the macroeconomic
headwinds affecting the global
economy and, by extension,
Aotearoa.
Despite its impressive growth,
the group has filed a $95.5m loss
this financial year, largely related
to property write-downs in the
real estate market but business
has been tough overall according
to the group.
“I think we’ve done well, considering
the challenges – we’ve
had some natural disasters come
in,” said chief executive Lisa Tumahai,
underscoring the group’s
resilience amidst
adversity.
Revenues
climbed to
$372.8m, buoyed
by sectors like
farming, seafood,
tourism,
Lisa
Tumahai
and property
but so too did
operating costs,
which jumped to $128.1m, with
borrowing costs at $18.5m.
Paper losses at the country’s
wealthiest iwi have seen them
book a $100m loss on the 25th
anniversary of settlement,
mostly related to the country’s
volatile property market.
A $42.7m loss from property
investment revaluations, led to a
trading shortfall.
“The cost of living, the rising
cost of interests . . . Farming and
forestry had been exposed to
higher costs and falling export
prices,” chair Mike Pohio said.
“We see that house prices are
down. That has slowed demand.
And that has therefore slowed
the number of properties or
residential sections that our
property division sells,” he
added.
Even as the group grapples
with these challenges, Pohio
identifies strengths in the group’s
diversified portfolio.
“Seafoods and tourism have
had great years,” he stated.
Property ventures like the
Mānia industrial land in
Dunedin and Te Pā Tāhuna in
Queenstown have shown strong
performance, with property
assets contributing a $54.5m
surplus despite setbacks like
the costly water damage in the
Uku development in Auckland’s
Hobsonville.
Tourism initiatives like
Shotover Jet and the All Blacks
Experience faced a decrease
in surplus, yet demonstrated
resilience, and farming yielded a
$9.4m surplus.
“Our bottom line showed a
reduction in valuations,” Pohio
remarked.
“However, it’s at times like
these, the tough conditions that
we’ve faced, that we’d benefit
from a diversity in our portfolio.”
A sour note was also the tough
decision to shutter the Mānuka
honey business, Oha Honey,
which had seen its production
plummet to 244 tonnes from
the previous year’s 491 tonnes,
culminating in a substantial
$35.9m operating loss.
As Tumahai reflects on the
25-year journey, she places
ECONOMY:
Paper losses
have seen
Ngāi Tahu
book a $100
million loss
on the 25th
settlement
anniversary,
mostly
related
to the
country’s
volatile
property
market.
PHOTO:
NGĀI TAHU
importance on celebrating past
successes and looking forward
with ambition.
“For this year, we’re celebrating
the last 25 years post-settlement.
It’s crucial we look back on all
the gems, the highlights that
have happened over the last 25
years and celebrate those,” she
said.
Proud of the organisation’s
strategic direction, Tumahai
SET BACKS: It’s been a bumpy ride for
Shotover Jet and All Blacks Experience
owner Ngāi Tahu due to economic
headwinds during the past financial
year.
PHOTOS: NGĀI TAHU
said “one of the positives . . .
is Te Kounga Paparangi, our
climate change action plan. I’m
extremely proud.”
Tumahai reflects on her
tenure with the iwi: “I’ve had an
absolute privilege to be involved
with the iwi in the early stages
. . . to see some of these really
foundational things that will be
there for the next 25 years.”
– NZ Herald
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