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The Treasury’s gloomy outlook for the economy
Brent Edwards
Thu, 21 Nov 2024
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Stripe enables NZ businesses to accept contactless payments
US financial services giant Stripe has partnered with Apple to introduce Tap to Pay on iPhone in a New Zealand first that will allow businesses to accept payments using just their phone.
The move will see businesses able to accept all forms of contactless payments using only an iPhone and a supporting app, with no additional hardware or payment terminal needed.
“As New Zealand consumers are continuing to adopt digital payments, we’re thrilled to introduce Tap to Pay on iPhone, giving businesses more ways to accept contactless payments and deliver a seamless and secure customer experience,” Stripe New Zealand head Ben Hanna said. “With this easy-to-deploy technology, New Zealand businesses can now accept contactless payments from more customers, in more locations, and scale their operations rapidly.”
Revenue and subscription gains at IkeGPS, deeper HY loss
Dual-listed ikeGPS Group has reported a half-year revenue boost despite also booking a deeper financial loss.
The company’s technology helps utilities such as lines companies manage their pole infrastructure.
Its total revenue rose 15% to $12.2 million in the six months ended September, with subscription revenue up 28% to $6.5m, when compared with the same period last year.
The company’s net loss was $6.9m, compared with a loss of $6.4m last year.
Chief executive Glenn Milnes said the company invested significantly to build five new products, three of those launched in the first half, while it added new customers.
“We believe macro-market tailwinds across North America remain highly supportive of Ike’s business and will continue to grow over the coming decades. Our North American-headquartered team is executing on sizable sales opportunities.”
He was optimistic about market share and customer gains through the remaining six months of the financial year.
AFT reports first-half $2.4m loss after drop in intl sales
AFT Pharmaceuticals has reported a $2.4 million net loss for the first half of FY25, in line with forecast, following a drop in international and Asian sales and higher expenses. That compares with a $1.8m profit in the prior year.
AFT reported record sales led by double-digit growth in Australia and NZ despite subdued economic conditions. A strong recovery is forecast in the second half of FY25, with the temporary drop in demand in Asia and international sales due to several of its largest customers reducing stock and a doctors strike in South Korea, which significantly affected Maxigesic IV sales.
While momentum is expected to accelerate in the second half due to product launches, the company has lowered its full-year forecast to operating profit ranging from $15m to $20m due to trading challenges compared with $22m to $25m in earlier guidance.
Chair David Flacks said it was confident of a strong finish to FY25 and the company was still likely to deliver a solid growth result.
NZX investigating issue with market announcements
The New Zealand Stock Exchange says it is investigating an issue after its website did not show any new market announcements for half an hour on Thursday morning. A spokesperson told NBR they were aware of an issue and were looking into it, and later confirmed the problem was due to an overnight IT change. Announcements eventually began to show on the website just before 9am.
Infometrics survey highlights lingering regional economic pain
New Zealand regions are still under severe economic stress, with business conditions tough despite recent interest rate cuts, Infometrics says.
The latest Quarterly Economic Monitor shows a flat level of economic activity over the past 12 months to September.
Infometrics chief executive and principal economist Brad Olsen said provincial and rural areas were feeling the pinch the hardest, while ‘metro’ areas experienced a small increase in activity. Construction and retail trade industries were hardest hit.
Olsen said households were still cautious. “Personal income tax cuts took effect during the September quarter, and interest rates eased more over the quarter, but the impact of these two changes haven’t hit the economy immediately.
“Higher unemployment is set to weigh on household spending until 2025, and until households re-fix onto lower interest rates now on offer.”
On the positive side, Olsen noted green shoots, with higher dairy prices and meat prices recovering.
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