Topics

ASB Bank, the New Zealand unit of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, boosted full-year cash profit 12 percent as it grew its wealth and insurance business and kept a lid on costs. Cash profit, which excludes one-time items that don’t reflect the underlying business, rose to $699 million in the 12 months ended June 30, the company said in a statement. …

Goodman Fielder, the biggest food company in Australia and New Zealand, has returned to annual profit after two years of restructuring aimed at streamlining its range of brands, exiting unprofitable businesses and paying down debt. Net profit was A$102 million in the year ended June 30, from a loss of $146.9 million a year earlier, the Sydney-based company said in …

Investors would be better to wait until after the Z Energy float to buy shares in the petrol station chain as volatility in the sector means the price is likely to slip in the future, according to research house Morningstar. Z Energy, owned by infrastructure investor Infratil and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, will list on the New Zealand stock …

SkyCity Entertainment Group, which has won increased gaming concessions in Auckland and Adelaide, said full-year profit fell 8 percent, missing estimates, on a flat result in New Zealand’s biggest city and one-time benefits the previous year, which weren’t repeated. Shares of SkyCity fell as much as 4.9 percent to $3.90 as soon as trading opened on the NZX, recovering to …

The New Zealand dollar weakened as investors bet retail sales growth in the US suggests a revival in the world’s largest economy which will prompt the Federal Reserve to start tapering its monetary stimulus next month. The kiwi slipped to 79.64 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 79.97 cents at the 5pm market close yesterday. The trade-weighted index dipped …

The New Zealand dollar weakened as investors bet retail sales growth in the US suggests a revival in the world’s largest economy which will prompt the Federal Reserve to start tapering its monetary stimulus next month. The kiwi slipped to 79.64 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 79.97 cents at the 5pm market close yesterday. The trade-weighted index dipped …

Wall Street advanced as comments by a US Federal Reserve official suggested not all policy makers believe September should mark the start of easing the central bank’s bond-buying program. Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said the US economy has had an “uneven performance” and that he “would argue that recent data do not present a clear picture” about the potential …

Port of Tauranga, New Zealand’s busiest export port, has agreed to buy a half stake in PrimePort Timaru in a $21.6 million deal aimed at strengthening the Tauranga site as a hub for coastal shipping. The deal is subject to public consultation because PrimePort is 71.4 percent owned by Timaru District Council’s investment arm. The process will start on Aug. …

Telecom Corp is taking its spat with rival Vodafone New Zealand to the Commerce Commission after dropping threatened legal action over the ‘SuperNet’ ad campaign. Auckland-based Telecom has dropped High Court proceedings against its rival, saying Vodafone stopped “several aspects” of the ad campaign in its formal response to the action, and has dobbed in its competitor to the antitrust …

Telecom Corp’s dominance in the country’s retail broadband market and how it chooses to unbundle services on Chorus’ ageing copper network are central to the conundrum facing the Commerce Commission. The regulator has backed away from imposing a sharp cut to the regulated price Chorus can charge wholesale customers for access to the copper lines, and has released another paper …