Pioneer Energy reaches milestone of over $100 million in dividends back to owner and local community funder, Central Lakes Trust (CLT).
Pioneer Energy forms a significant portion of CLT investment portfolio at 35%. The Trust has a diversified portfolio of investments, but has retained 100% ownership of the energy company since inception in 2000.
The second quarter of the financial year, 31 September 2021 saw Pioneer tip over that $100m mark having returned $101,343,500 in dividends to the trust. This amounts to over 75% of all charitable funding the trust has returned to the local community since inception in 2000.
CLT chair, Linda Robertson says “The performance of Pioneer has certainly had a significant impact on our ability to maintain a healthy and growing grants budgets, which in turn positively impacts the charitable organisations we fund within our local community.
The trust’s annual grant budget now worth approximately $9m annually comes from the prudent and diversified investment of the trust’s assets, worth approximately $450m.
“We are very proud of our partnership with Pioneer Energy and the award-winning work they carry out. Their success is integral to the work of the trust and we look forward to continuing to strengthen that relationship,” Robertson says.
Pioneer Energy Chair Rob Hewett concurs, “Pioneer are privileged to have the support of Central Lakes Trust in continuing to grow our business nationally in both scale and diversity for the benefit of our community.”
Pioneer Energy owns and operates a diverse portfolio of energy assets, products and investments throughout New Zealand. It generates energy from water, wind and waste, providing renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions. They also develop, own and operate innovative, clean energy plant for New Zealand businesses.
“By developing new energy facilities, like the local Upper Fraser hydro generation scheme, expanding our wood fuel business and increasing scale nationwide, we create new job opportunities in our community,” says Pioneer Energy chief executive Fraser Jonker.
“Pioneer has supplied renewable power to New Zealand business and communities for more than 80 years and in the past 10 years we have diversified our energy service capabilities to supply both heat and power markets.”
Trust Chief Executive Susan Finlay says, “Pioneer are working on a range of innovative development projects, that are both environmentally sound and sustainable into the future including the recent opening of Matiri hydro scheme, the joint venture with Ecostock Supplies Ltd to create New Zealand’s first large-scale food waste-to-bioenergy facility in Reporoa, and Stirling Fonterra’s conversion to wood biomass.
Finlay says, “It is this sound vision which has seen the Trust provide a long-term preference share facility to support these development projects,” she says.
The preference share facility reflects Pioneer’s initiative to seek out growth opportunities and diversity, ultimately strengthening the Trust’s balance sheet.
“Through several strategic investment partnerships, Pioneer has access to a continued pipeline of growth options. These growth options will contribute to the development of a sustainable energy future for New Zealand," Jonker added.
The Trust’s origins hail from the government’s electricity reforms of the 1990’s. The then, Otago Central Electric Power Trust sold their lines business and retained the generation business, now Pioneer Energy. The funds from the sale of the lines business and the assets in the generation business were bestowed to Central Lakes Trust.