NZX, the market operator, doubled annual profit as it benefited from new listings, a surge in trading activity and fees for running market operations, more than making up for a drought-impacted NZX Agri division. Profit rose to $6.4 million, or 2.51 cents a share, in the six months ended June 30, from $3.2 million, or 1.27 cents, a year earlier, …

Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, faces a 14 day temporary ban on selling products in Sri Lanka, and denies claims its products still contain traces of a nitrate inhibitor that sparked a food scare earlier this year. Three workers representing Sri Lanka’s National Health Services Union have won a temporary injunction to stop the Auckland-based company from …

PGG Wrightson, the rural services company controlled by China’s Agria Corp, took a $321 million charge to write off goodwill from its 2005 merger while posting a decline in operating earnings in line with guidance on the effects of this year’s drought. The net loss was $306.5 million in the 12 months ended June 30, from a profit of $24.5 …