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New Zealand recorded a smaller-than-expected trade surplus in February, led by declining dairy exports, while the annual deficit widened to the largest in more than five years. Statistics New Zealand said the trade surplus was $50 million in February, lower than the $392 million expected in a Reuters poll of economists. January’s surplus was revised down to $33 million, from $56 million. The …

Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, affirmed its milk payout forecast and lowered guidance for dividends, while posting a 16 percent drop in first-half profit it says reflected “tough conditions in dairy.” The forecast payout for the current season was affirmed at $4.70 per kilogram of milk solids, down from a record $8.40/kgMS last season, while guidance for dividends was …

MightyRiverPower, whose first half earnings slumped as it wrote down the value of assets and exited its international geothermal interests, said its gas-fired Southdown power station will close at the end of the year in response to growth in renewable generation. The 140-megawatt Southdown station in Auckland had played a small role in MightyRiverPower’s portfolio the past two years, representing just …

Hamish Bohannan has resigned from Bathurst Resources after five years leading a coal miner whose expansion has been put on hold pending a recovery in coal prices.   Bohannan joined Bathurst in 2008 and played a key role establishing the company as a coal producer and driving the heavily contested consenting process for its Escarpment project on the Denniston Plateau. The company has since restructured …

New Zealand lamb wool prices fell from a four-year high at auction last week as a rising local currency made the fibre more expensive for overseas buyers.   The price for clean lamb wool slipped 2.3 percent to $6.50 per kilogram from the previous week’s auction, which was the highest since February 2011, according to AgriHQ. The average price for …

2Degrees, New Zealand’s third-largest mobile telecommunications provider, is to acquire Christchurch-based internet service provider, Snap, to allow it to compete more effectively for business customers by offering a full range of mobile, broadband and fixed-line voice telephony using the internet.   The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, formally links the two companies, which have been in a selling partnership arrangement for the …

New Zealand consumer confidence rose in the first three months of the year, as Kiwis enjoyed cheaper fuel prices and lower fixed home-loan rates, and became more upbeat about the near-term outlook for the economy.   The Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index rose to 117.4 in the latest survey from 114.8 three months earlier. The present conditions index gained 1.8 points to …

By Tina Morrison   March 23 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar set new records against the euro and the Australian dollar as investors sold the greenback on concern the US may hike interest rates later than previously expected.   Over the weekend, the kiwi touched a post-float record 97.46 Australian cents, beating its previous high of 97.22 cents from …

March 23 (BusinessDesk) – Pumpkin Patch, whose shares soared on Friday after the children’s clothing retailer announced it was seeking proposals to acquire or refinance the company, said today that it was too soon to predict an outcome or what value any proposal would put on the company.   The shares jumped 33 percent to a four-month high 28 cents on Friday after the …

Mark Powell, chief executive of retailer Warehouse Group, says he hopes to eventually see someone promoted to his role that started out in the Red Shirts in Schools programme as a 16 year old.   “There’s not many companies that can say that anymore, but it’s possible in our industry and in our business,” he said.   Powell’s comments came at the official opening …