Business Desk

New Zealand’s listed companies beat earnings estimates on average in the latest results season, but still fell short of the bullish growth expectations built into stock prices, analysts say. Per-share earnings at the 42 companies followed by analysts at Forsyth Barr rose a median 3.5 percent, beating a forecast gain of 3.3 percent. Sales on that basis grew 7.4 percent versus a forecast 6.6 percent, while …

Law firm Adina Thorn Lawyers is asking leaky building owners to join a proposed class suit against plaster cladding manufacturers, which it says could seek damages exceeding $100 million. The law firm wants to pursue a product liability claim against the manufacturers of plaster and polystyrene cladding, including global building products maker James Hardie Industries, and is in talks with several international litigation funders …

The major banks are breathing a sigh of relief that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has dropped proposals that would have deemed anyone owning five or more residential properties as a commercial borrower, although the Property Institute is unhappy with the latest proposals, published yesterday for consultation. The central bank intends to require banks to set aside more capital against lending on …

APN News and Media, the Australian publisher of The New Zealand Herald newspaper, has put off the public share float for its newly consolidated kiwi business, NZME, as it announced an annual profit fall of 11 percent for its New Zealand operations..  Last year, the Sydney-based company bundled its New Zealand business, which include The New Zealand Herald, The Radio Network and GrabOne, under the …

Jenny Morel’s venture capital firm No. 8 Ventures and Martin Aircraft Co founder Glenn Martin plan to cut their stakes in the jetpack business ahead of a planned initial public offer, which will see China-based investor KuangChi Science invest A$50 million to take a majority holding in the firm.  The Christchurch-based company has changed the terms of its offer, which will see the firm list on …

Oceania Healthcare is on track for an initial public offering in early 2015, but the Macquarie Group managed aged-care operator’s chief executive, Earl Gasparich, says he’s also in talks with private investors and funds. The Auckland-based company is seeking new capital to develop prime brownfield sites in Auckland, Tauranga and Nelson, Gasparich told BusinessDesk. That could be through either an IPO, which was first touted in …

Westland Milk Products, the Hokitika-based dairy cooperative, has overtaken rival Fonterra Cooperative Group in cutting its forecast payout to farmers, citing falling global dairy prices and the persistent strength in the kiwi dollar. The cooperative revised its payout forecast to between $5.40 and $5.80 per kilogram of milk solids before retentions in the 2014/15 season, down from between the $6 and …

The New Zealand dollar rose after Fonterra Cooperative Group yesterday said it would maintain its milk price forecast, expand its local processing capacity and form a partnership to help sell its products in China, New Zealand’s largest trading partner. The kiwi gained to 83.75 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 83.67 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index was at 78.98 from 79 …

Investors flocked to a US auction of US$35 billion in five-year notes as European bond yields sank to record lows amid bets that the European Central Bank will add more stimulus in an effort to prop up the flagging euro-zone economy. “It was a fantastic auction,” Ray Remy, head of fixed income in New York at Daiwa Capital Markets America, …

New Zealand food prices declined in July, adding weight to speculation that softer inflation will prompt the Reserve Bank to keep the benchmark interest rate on hold until next year. The food price index fell 0.7 percent from June, its first decline in four months, as discounting led to lower prices for beef and processed meat, Statistics New Zealand said. The …