ANZ New Zealand posted a 27 percent gain in first-half cash profit, recording the biggest gain among the four operating divisions of Australia’s third-largest lender after growing its home loan book and cutting costs. Cash profit, which excludes non-core items, rose to $887 million in the six months ended March 31, from $697 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based lender said …

The value of cash market trading on the NZX dropped 20 percent in the first quarter while a rise in smaller transaction drove a jump in overall volumes on the New Zealand bourse. Total trades rose 35 percent to 313,903 in the three months ending March 31 from a year earlier, NZX said in a statement. Trades of less than $50,000 jumped …

Mighty River Power, whose shares have been below their listing price since May last year, named company insider Fraser Whineray as chief executive when long-serving CEO Doug Heffernan leaves at the end of August. Whineray is currently general manager of operations at the Auckland-based power company, which is about 52 percent owned by the government following its initial public offering …