Business Desk

Air New Zealand, the national carrier, expects annual earnings to rise by as much as 60 percent, with benign trading conditions continuing into the second half of the year. The shares gained 2.2 percent to $2.58 in today’s trading. The Auckland-based airline forecasts normalised pre-tax earnings of between $520 million and $530 million in the 12 months ending June 30, up …

APN News & Media chief executive Michael Miller will leave the Australian owner of New Zealand media group, NZME, to head up the Australasian arm of News Corp’s empire, and will be replaced by the company’s top radio executive, Ciaran Davis. Miller’s resignation comes after he was appointed executive chairman of News Corp for Australasia, but he will stay with APN during …

Liquidators of property developer Tony Gapes’s investment vehicle Victoria Street West are yet to finalise how much is owed, but said there is the potential of $1.4 million to be available for unsecured creditors.. Victoria Street West appointed liquidator John Gilbert of C&C Strategic on April 10. In Gilbert’s first liquidators report he was still establishing how much was owed to …

New Zealand commodity prices had their biggest decline since the height of the global financial crisis in 2008, led by falling dairy product prices. The ANZ Commodity Price Index fell 7.4 percent in April, the biggest decline since October 2008, when it fell by the same amount. The latest decline has reversed most of the gains seen since the start of the …

The liquidators of Western Pacific Insurance, which failed in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes, say they’re likely to complete their five-year task in 2016, although quake claims alone may exceed the estimated recovery from reinsurers. The Queenstown-based insurance company appointed liquidators in April 2011 amid concern the firm may be insolvent. At the time it had about 7,000 policies with New Zealanders, which were subsequently …

OceanaGold Corp, which operates the Macraes gold mine in Otago, reported a 58 percent drop in first-quarter profit with sales down from a year earlier, and announced plans to buy the Waihi Gold Mine for US$101 million. Net profit fell to US$24.5 million in the three months ended March 31, from US$58.9 million a year earlier, the Melbourne-based company said in a statement. Sales …

Tourism Holdings, the largest campervan rental business in Australia and New Zealand, has boosted full-year guidance for a third time and hired First NZ Capital to review its capital structure. The Auckland-based company said it expects annual profit to be between $19.5 million and $20 million in the year ending June 30, from the $11.1 million it recorded in 2014. Tourism Holdings …

New Zealand business confidence slipped from a seven-month high as sentiment waned in retailing, manufacturing, agriculture and construction. A net 30 percent of firms were optimistic about the general economy in April, down from 35.8 percent in March, according to the ANZ Business Outlook. Sentiment improved in the services sector. The survey shows business confidence remains sturdy, recording the third straight …

Criminal charges against Jamie Peters, a high-profile former property developer discharged from bankruptcy against the wishes of the Official Assignee, have been dismissed by the District Court at Auckland, which found his rights to a fair trial had been breached. Peters was bankrupted in October 2009 by Marac Finance for just over $3 million relating to a personal guarantee he gave in …

Shares of Tower were halted on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges, as it reviews its Canterbury provisions and flags a “material impact” ahead of reporting its first-half earnings next month. In its request for a trading halt to the ASX and NZX, the insurer said in preparation for reporting its earnings in the six months ended March 31 it is “reviewing its Canterbury …