CCHL plans to lift Orion's debt

Bob Lineham

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The ratepayer-owned Christchurch City Holdings, the city's largest company, is looking at taking cash out of its electricity networks company, Orion, which has little debt.

Orion is one of six trading companies owned by CCHL.

CCHL chief executive Bob Lineham said yesterday having little debt was not efficient for that business and the council was looking at ways to restructure the balance sheet and return capital from Orion to the council.

CCHL is the investment and trading arm of Christchurch City Council; along with the six companies it has a smaller stake in a forestry company, Selwyn Plantation Board.

The six companies include Orion, Lyttelton Port Co, Christchurch Airport, contractor City Care and Red Bus.

CCHL has released its annual report for the year to June 2007 and says it wants to invest in more infrastructure for the city.

In the annual report, Lineham says it plans to continue its new direction of infrastructure investment to support the council's aim of making Christchurch a world-class "boutique" city.

CCHL's newest investment is Christchurch City Networks, which is spending $10 million on a high-speed telecommunications cable project for the city.

Lineham warned also that spending at the airport and the port could lessen their dividends in the short term.

The report shows CCHL group's $98.6m profit was made from $500m of revenue and is 24 per cent higher than last year's $79.4m, both calculated under new international accounting standards.

Chairwoman Paddy Austin said in the annual report the rise in profit mainly came from a strong performance by Orion and the sale of two investments by Orion in Whispergen and Energetics.

CCHL's total assets stand at $2.15 billion and have jumped by about $560m from $1.59b last year to $2.15b this year, mainly as a result of revaluing the assets of Christchurch International Airport and Orion.

CCHL holds its annual meeting next week at which Austin will stand down after six years as chairwoman to be replaced by Bruce Irvine, a director of CCHL and a partner at accountancy and management firm Deloitte's in Christchurch.

CCHL is charged by the council with operating commercially. It has an AAplus credit rating from international credit agency Standard and Poor's.

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