The New Zealand government had a smaller than expected first-half operating deficit after Treaty of Waitangi settlement costs didn’t eventuate in the period, and tax revenue was in line with forecasts. The operating balance before gains and losses (obegal) was a deficit of $3.19 billion in the six months ended Dec. 31, 4.7 percent smaller than expected in the December …

Fletcher Building, the biggest company on the NZX 50 Index, posted a 1 percent gain in first-half profit as home building and Canterbury reconstruction in New Zealand made up for declining Australian earnings. The stock fell on the results. Profit rose to $146 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, from $144 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based company …

Trade Me, the online auction site spun out of Fairfax Media in 2011, lifted first-half profit 2.7 percent, beating the forecast in its offer document as its classified advertising rallied. The company signalled plans for more add-on acquisitions. Net profit rose to $37.4 million, or 9.43 cents per share, in the six months ended Dec. 31 from $36.4 million, or …