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New Zealand recorded a bigger-than-expected trade surplus in March, as exports fell less than forecast. Statistics New Zealand said the trade surplus was $631 million in March, bigger than the $341 million expected in a Reuters poll of economists and compared with a February surplus of $83 million. Excluding the re-export of a drilling platform to Singapore, last month’s trade …

Genesis Energy, New Zealand’s largest energy retailer, cut its forecast for annual earnings after losing electricity and gas customers amid increased competition and as wholesale electricity prices declined. The shares dropped after the announcement. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and other fair value changes will be between $330 million and $345 million in the year ending June 30, the Auckland-based company …

Kirkcaldie & Stains turned to a first-half loss as sales fell and the Wellington department store operator wrote down a deferred tax asset The loss was $501,000 in the six months ended Feb. 28, from a profit of $563,000 a year earlier, the Wellington-based retailer said in a statement. Total revenue fell to $17.5 million from $19.4 million as retail sales declined 0.6 …

Allied Farmers, which owns a livestock business and has a holding company that is selling down loans and property assets acquired from Hanover and United Finance, plans to raise as much as $1.2 million to repay debt and provide working capital. The Hawera-based company says it will raise $200,000 to $300,000 in a private placement and up to $1 million from …

Goldman Sachs New Zealand Holdings, the local unit of the New York Stock Exchange-listed investment bank, reported a 52 percent drop in revenue and a small loss for 2014, a year marked by fewer high-profile deals and more offshore advisory work. The loss was $2.87 million in calendar 2014, compared to a profit of about $16 million a year earlier, …

New Zealand’s Reserve Bank, the independent body which sets the benchmark interest rate, has appointed Conor English, the younger brother of Finance Minister Bill English, as one of its part-time external monetary policy advisers. Conor English, chairman of Agribusiness New Zealand and the former chief executive of Federated Farmers, will take up the role starting from the bank’s June monetary …

GeoOp, the workforce management app, said annual sales doubled after a strong pick up in customers in the last month of its financial year. Subscription revenue rose to $1.27 million in the 12 months ended March 31, from $610,000 a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Licensed users rose to 17,839, from 9,509 the previous year. It …

Trustpower, the power company controlled by Infratil, had its shares placed in a trading halt on the New Zealand stock exchange pending an announcement by the company. Shares in the Tauranga-based utility company last traded at $8.08 and have gained 2.3 percent so far this year.

Hugh Hendry, one of Britain’s highest profile hedge fund managers, has told New Zealand institutional investors his 2013 conversion from a bearish to bullish outlook is starting to pay off. Speaking to an Auckland audience via Skype from the UK this week, Hendry said his Eclectica hedge fund, which he founded in 2005, was now up 14 to 15 percent this …

The New Zealand dollar declined against a stronger British pound after upbeat minutes from the Bank of England’s last meeting, stoking expectations the next move in UK interest rates will be higher. The kiwi dropped to 50.92 British pence at 8am in Wellington, from 51.39 pence at 5pm yesterday. The local currency slipped to 76.60 US cents from 76.81 cents yesterday. …