New Zealand's Port of Tauranga Ltd reported a surge in its first half profit to a record level due to higher cargo volumes and one-off gains from an asset sale.

The company's profit for the six months to Dec. 31 was NZ$74.2 million ($62 million), more than doubling the previous year's NZ$34.6 million profit.

Underlying profit, which excludes NZ$35 million from the sale of its 50 percent share in C3 Limited , came in at NZ$39.2 million, from NZ$34.6 million a year ago.

Port of Tauranga, the country's biggest export port, said container volumes rose 25.5 percent from a year ago.

It reaffirmed its forecast for a full-year profit of between NZ$75 million and NZ$79 million, compared to the 2011/12 profit of NZ$73.5 million.

The company declared a dividend of 20 cents a share compared with 11 cents a year ago. (Reuters)