February 20, 2014 [Weekly Times Now] - The three new liquid storage facilities will collectively provide 65,000 cubic metres of capacity for a range of products including petroleum and chemicals.
GrainCorp spokesman Angus Trigg said they were part of the business opportunities which had arisen since GrainCorp took over edible oils company Gardner Smith in 2012 to build its GrainCorp Oils division.
“There is a lot of growth opportunity in this business,” Mr Trigg said.
The company said the investment would lift earnings by $8 million by 2015-16.
They would be funded by a mix of cash reserves and borrowings.
The NSW storage will be built on land adjacent to GrainCorp’s grain port terminal at Port Kembla which the company leased from the port operator.
It will service demand from the local chemical industry.
The other two storages will be built on existing GrainCorp Liquid Terminals port facilities at Pinkenba in Queensland and in Fremantle, WA.
The Pinkenba storage will service the petroleum sector, improving the flexibility for one of GrainCorp’s longstanding customers.
The Fremantle tanks will provide storage for the chemical and mining sectors in WA.
The company said there was scope to increase the size of the storages in the future should demand warrant it.
GrainCorp executive chairman Don Taylor said the investments formed part of the growth initiatives targeting an additional $110 million of incremental underlying EBITDA.
“It’s pleasing to see continued growth and opportunity for the liquid terminals business we purchased in 2012,” Mr Taylor said.
“There is strong, confirmed customer demand for each of these projects and we have a high level of confidence in their ability to generate good returns for our business as well as supporting the growth of our customers’ businesses.”
