Business Desk

New Zealand recorded a bigger-than-expected trade surplus in March, as exports fell less than forecast. Statistics New Zealand said the trade surplus was $631 million in March, bigger than the $341 million expected in a Reuters poll of economists and compared with a February surplus of $83 million. Excluding the re-export of a drilling platform to Singapore, last month’s trade …

Genesis Energy, New Zealand’s largest energy retailer, cut its forecast for annual earnings after losing electricity and gas customers amid increased competition and as wholesale electricity prices declined. The shares dropped after the announcement. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and other fair value changes will be between $330 million and $345 million in the year ending June 30, the Auckland-based company …

Kirkcaldie & Stains turned to a first-half loss as sales fell and the Wellington department store operator wrote down a deferred tax asset The loss was $501,000 in the six months ended Feb. 28, from a profit of $563,000 a year earlier, the Wellington-based retailer said in a statement. Total revenue fell to $17.5 million from $19.4 million as retail sales declined 0.6 …

Allied Farmers, which owns a livestock business and has a holding company that is selling down loans and property assets acquired from Hanover and United Finance, plans to raise as much as $1.2 million to repay debt and provide working capital. The Hawera-based company says it will raise $200,000 to $300,000 in a private placement and up to $1 million from …

Goldman Sachs New Zealand Holdings, the local unit of the New York Stock Exchange-listed investment bank, reported a 52 percent drop in revenue and a small loss for 2014, a year marked by fewer high-profile deals and more offshore advisory work. The loss was $2.87 million in calendar 2014, compared to a profit of about $16 million a year earlier, …

Hugh Hendry, one of Britain’s highest profile hedge fund managers, has told New Zealand institutional investors his 2013 conversion from a bearish to bullish outlook is starting to pay off. Speaking to an Auckland audience via Skype from the UK this week, Hendry said his Eclectica hedge fund, which he founded in 2005, was now up 14 to 15 percent this …

Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, affirmed its milk payout forecast and lowered guidance for dividends, while posting a 16 percent drop in first-half profit it says reflected “tough conditions in dairy.” The forecast payout for the current season was affirmed at $4.70 per kilogram of milk solids, down from a record $8.40/kgMS last season, while guidance for dividends was …

By Tina Morrison   March 23 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar set new records against the euro and the Australian dollar as investors sold the greenback on concern the US may hike interest rates later than previously expected.   Over the weekend, the kiwi touched a post-float record 97.46 Australian cents, beating its previous high of 97.22 cents from …

March 23 (BusinessDesk) – Pumpkin Patch, whose shares soared on Friday after the children’s clothing retailer announced it was seeking proposals to acquire or refinance the company, said today that it was too soon to predict an outcome or what value any proposal would put on the company.   The shares jumped 33 percent to a four-month high 28 cents on Friday after the …

Mark Powell, chief executive of retailer Warehouse Group, says he hopes to eventually see someone promoted to his role that started out in the Red Shirts in Schools programme as a 16 year old.   “There’s not many companies that can say that anymore, but it’s possible in our industry and in our business,” he said.   Powell’s comments came at the official opening …