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KiwiRail, the state-owned railway company, posted a 7.6 percent gain in first half operating earnings as it benefited from a pickup in freight revenue and a continued drive to cut costs. The operating surplus was $46.9 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, from $42.6 million a year earlier, the Wellington-based company said in a statement. Operating revenue rose …

New Zealand Oil & Gas has asked to be placed in a trading halt for around four hours on both the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges, pending “a material announcement regarding how NZOF progresses with a material asset.” The company is making no further comment. However, information on the company’s website suggests the announcement is likely to be regarding …

MOD Resources, the ASX-listed gold, copper and silver explorer with permits in the South Island’s Golden Bay region, has raised A$2.5 million in a placement to Hong Kong-based Meriton Capital. The placement was for 50 million MOD shares at 5 Australian cents apiece, compared to their last trading price on the ASX of 4.8 cents. Meriton now owns 9.6 percent …

New Zealand business confidence rose to a 19-month high this month, with gains in all five sectors tracked as companies become more bullish about investment, profits and hiring. A net 39.4 percent of firms polled in the ANZ Business Outlook expect general business conditions to improve in the year ahead, up from 23 percent a month earlier. A net 38 …

Fisher & Paykel Appliances is to recruit 100 new, highly skilled staff over the next two years to boost the company’s strengths product research and development as it deepens its relationship with its Chinese owner, global whiteware supplier Haier. The plans call for a range of industrial engineers, designers and product developers to be split between the company’s two development …

The Commerce Commission says it is still working on its investigation into whether interest rate swaps were misleadingly marketed after claims from farmers that they got locked into confusing contracts with excessive break fees. The commission began its probe in August last year and has received 42 complaints since concerns over the way the financial derivatives were sold first aired …

New Zealand First warns that Government cuts to biosecurity will lead to another disaster to match the Psa kiwifruit bacteria outbreak which has been identified as reaching the country in a consignment of anthers from Shaanxi Province in China to Kiwi Pollen in June 2009. It is understood that Otago University associate professor Russell Poulter undertook genetic analysis to trace …

Tourism Holdings, which merged its campervan rental business with two rivals last year, cut its annual earnings guidance on a deteriorating Australian market after posting a small first-half loss as expected. The shares fell 1.5 percent. The Auckland-based company made a loss of $500,000, or 0.4 cents per share, in the six months ended Dec. 31, from a profit of …

Wellington Drive Technologies, which makes energy efficient motors, narrowed its full-year loss after embarking on a strategic overhaul that cut costs, spending and inventory and widened its margins. The net loss shrank to $6.3 million in calendar 2012, from a loss of $14.5 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Revenue rose 2 percent to $35.6 …

Competition regulator the Commerce Commission has confirmed that gas distribution network owner Vector will have to cut its prices by 18 percent, and cut its wholesale gas transmission charges by 29.5 percent. The final determinations are in line with earlier drafts, and remain the subject of a High Court merits appeal led by Vector and supported by a range of …