Ngāi Tahu releases annual financial results

Nov 9, 2020

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu today released its annual report for the financial year ended 30 June 2020, outlining the significant impacts of COVID-19, and particularly the border closure, on Ngāi Tahu Holdings’ businesses.

Ngāi Tahu Holdings Chair Mark Tume says: “We have not been immune to the effects of the COVID-19 response and like businesses all over the world we are grappling with the fall-out.

“By far the biggest impacts on our overall result were impairments and revaluations of the businesses we own and operate, particularly within the tourism industry. This resulted in a net loss of $25.7 million. We had a small operating surplus before taking these impairments into account.

“With the borders closed and the country in lockdown, we were forced to act quickly and temporarily pause 10 of our 11 Ngāi Tahu Tourism businesses, which had a major impact on revenue and forced a significant restructure of our operations.

“We have since been able to reopen several of our businesses for the domestic market, albeit with reduced capacities and operations. We remain committed to the industry and are looking forward to the summer season and the opening of the All Blacks Experience in Auckland in December.”

Mr Tume says the action already taken by Ngāi Tahu Holdings is positioning the businesses for improved results.

“Our focus remains firmly on our duty to protect and grow the pūtea for Ngāi Tahu whānau and we are confident in our ability to do so. We are in a reset phase, which means optimising the performance of our assets and tilting our portfolio towards growth.

“We know the next year will also be difficult, but we are confident that the resilience of our businesses and investment portfolios will meet the challenge.”

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Lisa Tumahai says the iwi is firmly focused on recovery.

“COVID-19 has had an immense impact on us all. This is an exceptional situation for our commercial arm, but one that we are tackling head-on as we strive to protect and grow the pūtea – mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei.

“Throughout this crisis, we have seen the incredible strength shown by our Papatipu Rūnanga, by supporting kaumātua and those who have been financially impacted, by distributing PPE, kai, and care packages. This manaaki was supplemented with Puna Pākihi and Pūtea Manaaki grants from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, which we ensured were allocated to those whānau and whānau-owned businesses most in need.

“As our focus broadens to recovery, the welfare of our whānau and Papatipu Rūnanga remains at the centre of all our decision-making. This means building tribal economies, developing our regions, leveraging our relationships with Crown entities, and targeting our resource at Ngāi Tahu whānau who need it most.”

Ms Tumahai says despite the challenges of the pandemic, the iwi has been moving ahead with other matters of critical importance.

“We are making significant progress regarding our rights and interests and reaffirming our rangatiratanga – particularly in the freshwater and conservation space.”

Read the full annual report on our website.