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Auckland Council posts six-month $1bn surplus

Author
NZN,
Publish Date
Wed, 28 Feb 2018, 11:50AM
Auckland mayor Phil Goff. (Photo \ Gia Garrick)
Auckland mayor Phil Goff. (Photo \ Gia Garrick)

Auckland Council posts six-month $1bn surplus

Author
NZN,
Publish Date
Wed, 28 Feb 2018, 11:50AM

Auckland Council has posted a six-month, $976 million surplus, despite saying it faced increasing pressure to invest in infrastructure to keep up with population growth.

The surplus after tax, gains and losses for the six-months ending December 31, 2017, came off $3.3bn in revenue that was $226m higher than the prior year.

The council had $8246m in total net group debt, an increase of $277m in the last six months, and total assets of $49.2 billion, up by $1.8b from June 30, 2017.

Council's acting group chief financial officer Matthew Walker says the figures reflected the pressure of Auckland's fast paced population growth.

"As Auckland continues to grow, so do the infrastructure requirements within the Auckland region," he said.

"The need to balance the council's investment programme with the demand on council's services and resources remains a challenge."

He said the results were in-line with the council's efforts to keep rates charges at "manageable levels", control debt and meet its 10-year budget goals.

He said Auckland Council spent $760m on infrastructure during the six-month period, as well as $1.7b in the last financial year.

This included $149m on water and wastewater projects, $72m on transport and travel demand management, $220m on roads and footpaths, and $79m on parks and community facilities.

"The council's credit ratings of AA (stable) from Standard and Poor's and Aa2 from Moody's were reaffirmed in October 2017," he said.

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