Briscoe Group, the homeware and sports goods chain controlled by managing director Rod Duke, lifted first-quarter sales 5.9 percent, helping offset weaker gross margins caused by increasing competition among retailers and a late start to winter. Sales rose to $108.6 million in the three months ended April 28, the Auckland-based company said in a statement, with a 5.5 percent lift …

Average house prices in Auckland fell from a record high last month, snapping a three-month advance, as more properties came to market, according to Barfoot & Thomspon, the city’s biggest realtor. The average sale price fell about 0.5 percent to $643,089, having reached a record $645,928 in March, the firm said. The median price dipped 2.4 percent to $566,000 The …

Z Energy’s second full year of operation since its sale to local investors by Shell has produced a 13.1 percent lift in operating earnings, although sales have fallen as the transport fuels distributor cut out loss-making contracts and faced severe competition on petrol station forecourts. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and changes in the value of financial instruments came …