Methven, the tapware maker, confirmed a 20 percent slide in annual profit that it first flagged last month, due to a weak Australian market. It is still mum on a potential acquisition. Profit dropped to $5.2 million, or 7.7 cents per share, in the 12 months ended March from $6.5 million, or 9.7 cents, a year earlier, the Auckland-based company …

Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, expects to pay $1.20 more to farmers per kilogram of milk solids for the 2014 season as a result of strong international prices for dairy products. The farmer-owned cooperative will pay $7 per kgMS next season, up from $5.80 in the current season, it said in a statement today. Auckland-based Fonterra held …

Restaurant Brands, which operates four fast-food chains, lifted first-quarter sales 3.9 percent after it added the Carl’s Jr burger brand to its stable in November. Sales at its 179 stores increased by $2.8 million to $73.3 million in the 12 weeks ended May 20, from the year earlier period, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. The addition of three …