British American Tobacco Holdings (New Zealand), the nation’s largest cigarette company, reported a 3.9 percent decline in annual profit as it absorbed the government’s latest hike in excise tax. The local arm of British American Tobacco, whose brands include Pall Mall, Benson & Hedges and Dunhill, reported net profit of $126.5 million in calendar 2014, down from $131.6 million a year …

Murray Radford will retire as chairman of Mowbray Collectibles as the auction house prepares to rename as Bethunes after selling units and repaying debt. Radford will end 15 years on the Mowbray board and Christopher Swasbrook will act as chairman until a replacement is found, the Wellington-based collectibles company said in a statement. Mowbray settled the sale of subsidiaries Mowbray Bethunes and …

Beingmate Baby & Child Food Co shares have halved in value on the Shenzen stock exchange over the past three weeks, pushing their price 12 percent below what Fonterra Cooperative Group paid for its 18.8 percent stake in the Chinese infant formula maker. Beingmate shares closed at 15.82 yuan yesterday, below the 18 yuan apiece, or 3.46 billion yuan that the Auckland-based dairy cooperative paid …