Methven, the tapware maker whose board agreed to link directors’ fee increases to earnings growth, reported a worse-than-expected 27 percent drop in first-half profit on its unprofitable British operation. Net profit fell to $2.3 million, or 3.5 cents per share, in the six months ended Sept. 30, from $3.2 million, or 4.8 cents, a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said …

Tower, the insurer that’s 34 percent owned by Guinness Peat Group, posted a 67 percent jump in full-year profit and said it will return $120 million to shareholders after the sale of medical insurance business. The shares climbed 4.2 percent as the market opened. Profit rose to $55.8 million in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, from $33.4 million a …

New Zealand business confidence rose this month as firms became more upbeat about the outlook for profits, hiring and investment. Canterbury was the most upbeat region. A net 26 percent of respondents in the ANZ Bank Business Outlook expect general business conditions to improve in the year ahead, up from 17.2 percent in the previous month’s survey. Those expecting a …