Tag Archives: Companies

Michael Hill International, the jewellery chain that bears its founder’s name, posted a 5.9 percent gain in first-half profit on Australian sales growth and said it is still battling tax departments on both sides of the Tasman over its 2008 restructuring. Net profit rose to $27.8 million, or 7.23 cents per share, in the six months ended Dec. 31, from …

New Zealand Post became the latest major employer to announce job cuts as it closes its Datamail centre in Petone, Wellington, at the cost of 70 jobs, and axes 30 jobs in Auckland. Datamail, which prints junk mail for advertisers, will close the Petone site in mid-2014, will offset the cuts with the creation of 30 new positions in its …

Japanese drinks giant Asahi has filed papers in the Federal Court of Australia in Melbourne over the $1.5 billion price tag on its Independent Liquor purchase from private equity firms Pacific Equity Partners and Unitas Capital. Asahi Holdings (Australia) and Independent Liquor (NZ) today filed an originating application in the court, alleging the private equity firms made false representations about …

Australian wool merchant Lempriere has reached the 90 percent target of Wool Services International, allowing it to mop-up the remaining shares. The Melbourne-based company reached 90.9 percent of acceptances yesterday, according to a substantial security holder notice, meeting its minimum acceptance and letting it compulsorily acquire the remaining shares in the company. Lempriere launched the takeover last year, offering 45 …

American computer network provider Emulex Corp says it had received acceptances for 88.4 percent of the shares of New Zealand-based, London AIM exchange-listed Endace, and will extend its offer to Feb 26 to allow it to mop up remaining shares, if possible. If Emulex reaches 90 percent acceptances, it has the option to trigger the compulsory acquisition provisions of the …

Livestock Improvement Corp, which compensated some farmers for selling bull semen that caused ‘hairy calf’ mutations, increased first-half profit 7.3 percent as dairy farmers raised their herd investment, even as farmgate prices fell. Net profit rose to $30 million, or $1.017 a share, in the six months ended Nov. 30, from $28 million, or 94.7 cents, a year earlier, the …

Shares of Rakon tumbled about 24 percent to a record low after the former local tech darling cut its annual earnings guidance for the second time since December, blaming increasing price competition in the smart device market. best part time jobs The stock fell 9 cents to 29 cents, slicing about $17 million off its market value to $55.4 million. …

ASX-listed Raisama Energy has backed out of its 10 percent interest in the Kakapo oil and gas prospect in Taranaki, preferring opportunities in Asia instead. The Perth-based company said it has written to partner NZOG Developments, a subsidiary of New Zealand Oil & Gas, and won’t go ahead with its farm-in agreement on the Taranaki Basin permit, according to a …

CeresNZ, the Christchurch-based unit of American firm Ceres Environmental Services, says it has a “strong interest” in buying Mainzeal Property and Construction from the receivers. CeresNZ plans to have preliminary talks with the receivers, betting that the rebuild of Christchurch provides a role for the “highly skilled people within Mainzeal,” according to a statement posted on the Scoop website. Mainzeal, …

China Northern Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry Corp easily outbid KiwiRail’s Hillside workshops in tenders to supply new rolling stock, the Auditor-General says in ruling out an investigation of the contracts. The Auditor-General reviewed documents dating back to 2005 after Labour Party and Dunedin South MP Clare Curran last August asked the body to investigate four purchases of rolling stock …