Business Desk

The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 1.8 percent weekly decline as financial markets remain volatile ahead of Greece’s referendum on whether to accept a bailout package from its European creditors, and as the wheels start coming off the local economy. The kiwi dropped to 67.18 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 68.42 cents on Friday in New York …

British American Tobacco Holdings (New Zealand), the nation’s largest cigarette company, reported a 3.9 percent decline in annual profit as it absorbed the government’s latest hike in excise tax. The local arm of British American Tobacco, whose brands include Pall Mall, Benson & Hedges and Dunhill, reported net profit of $126.5 million in calendar 2014, down from $131.6 million a year …

Murray Radford will retire as chairman of Mowbray Collectibles as the auction house prepares to rename as Bethunes after selling units and repaying debt. Radford will end 15 years on the Mowbray board and Christopher Swasbrook will act as chairman until a replacement is found, the Wellington-based collectibles company said in a statement. Mowbray settled the sale of subsidiaries Mowbray Bethunes and …

Beingmate Baby & Child Food Co shares have halved in value on the Shenzen stock exchange over the past three weeks, pushing their price 12 percent below what Fonterra Cooperative Group paid for its 18.8 percent stake in the Chinese infant formula maker. Beingmate shares closed at 15.82 yuan yesterday, below the 18 yuan apiece, or 3.46 billion yuan that the Auckland-based dairy cooperative paid …

MightyRiverPower’s Metrix metering business has walked away from a deal with Infratil-controlled Trustpower that would have supplied the power company’s 242,000 electricity customers with smart meters. The Auckland-based company decided not to proceed with the contract after reviewing the systems development to date and ongoing requirements, it said in a statement. The contract was expected to start this year, before scaling …

The New Zealand dollar touched a fresh five-year low after dairy prices fell to a six-year low in the GlobalDairyTrade auction overnight, paced by whole milk powder, the nation’s key export commodity. The kiwi touched 67.27 US cents and was trading at 67.41 cents at 8am in Wellington, from 67.95 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index dropped to 70.73 from …

Kathmandu has urged shareholders to take no action on a full takeover offer from Briscoe Group pending the board’s response and has retained Goldman Sachs as an adviser.  Briscoe, the homewares and sports good retailer, yesterday offered 89.7 million of its own shares and $32.3 million cash for the 80.1 percent of the outdoor equipment and clothing chain it doesn’t already own. The …

Marlborough Lines has bought an 80 percent stake in Yealands Wine Group, New Zealand’s sixth-largest wine exporter, for $89 million. The South Island electricity lines company took control from founder Peter Yealands, who wanted to keep the winery fully New Zealand owned, the companies said in a joint statement. Marlborough Lines is debt free and had realised $100 million in cash from …

Spark New Zealand, the country’s biggest telecommunications provider, has affirmed annual guidance after the Commerce Commission today said regulated pricing on Chorus’s copper line network would largely be unchanged. The Auckland-based company, which is Chorus’s biggest customer, said 2015 financial guidance for low single digit growth in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and for a low single digit decline …

The Commerce Commission looks likely to settle on a price close to its original decision on what telecommunications network operator Chorus can charge its customers, though it probably won’t backdate any update. The regulator today released its draft determination for what Chorus can charge on its regulated copper lines in its final pricing principle – a more rigorous process to …