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- Release Date: 05/02/14 15:46
- Summary: GENERAL: TWR: TOWER's Canterbury rebuild programme gains pace
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TWR
05/02/2014 13:46
GENERAL
REL: 1346 HRS Tower Limited
GENERAL: TWR: TOWER's Canterbury rebuild programme gains pace
5 February 2014
Market Information
NZX Limited
Level 2, NZX Centre
11 Cable Street
Wellington
New Zealand
Company Announcements Office
Australian Stock Exchange Limited
Exchange Centre
Level 6, 20 Bridge Street
Sydney NSW 2000
AUSTRALIA
TOWER Limited: TOWER's Canterbury rebuild programme gains pace
TOWER expects to complete nearly 200 new houses and more than 300 over-cap
repairs for its Canterbury earthquake customers in 2014.
TOWER continues to make industry-leading settlement of its claims related to
the Canterbury earthquake events, with 78% of all claims now settled and
closed, providing many of our customers with certainty.
Earthquake Recovery Manager David Ashe said today the number of house
rebuilds and major repairs had accelerated in the second half of 2013, and
would continue to gain momentum this year.
"This year we'll complete nearly 200 new houses and more than 300 over-cap
repairs, subject to consenting and customer decision timeframes - a
significant increase on last year," he said.
In the 12 months to December 2013 TOWER completed 127 major house repairs and
rebuilds, compared with 38 for the 12 months to December 2012. Eighty three
of these projects were completed between June and December 2013.
Mr Ashe said TOWER was committed to substantially completing claims
settlement by the end of 2015.
"We're now in a position to move forward at pace and really focus on getting
our customers and their families back into their homes as quickly as
possible, after a period of assessment and working through wider issues such
as Crown zoning and the issuance of MBIE rebuild and repair guidelines."
Mr Ashe said planning for the projects - some of which carry a cost of well
over $1 million - has been underway for a number of months. Customers,
engineers, builders and project managers have all been involved in the
comprehensive process.
"If you've ever carried out a significant renovation on your home, or
yourself built a new house, you'll be aware that the end-to-end process from
design through to completion can take up to 12 months and in some cases
longer. Completion means that all of the necessary consents have been
obtained and the customer is now living back in their house - there's nothing
left to be done," he says.
Over the past six months TOWER had undertaken a number of initiatives to
ensure it is well positioned to deliver to customers this year. These
included planning well ahead to ensure that TOWER had building capacity
available this year, when it was likely to be stretched.
As well as the rebuilds and major repairs, TOWER will substantially complete
its out of scope, or minor repairs, programme by the middle of this year.
Information on TOWER's progress on Canterbury earthquake claims can be found
on its website at http://www.tower.co.nz/company/canterbury-earthquake
Ends
Michael Boggs
Chief Financial Officer
TOWER Limited
ARBN 088 481 234 Incorporated in New Zealand
End CA:00246689 For:TWR Type:GENERAL Time:2014-02-05 13:46:21
