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Tauranga man Vincent Reynolds was sentenced to 24 months' imprisonment on March 17 on 10 fraud and evasion charges related to claims made during the Covid pandemic. Reynolds was found guilty of filing false GST and income tax returns and making false Covid relief claims, netting $47,866 in payments. In June 2020, he set up NZ Digital Media Holdings, resigning as a director within a couple of weeks and installing his mother instead. According to Inland Revenue, he applied for a combined $84,000 under the various programmes, receiving $36,800 before the IRD stopped payments. That, added to falsified GST and income tax returns, saw him apply for a combined $131,865 over a period of 15 months. Reynolds has leave to apply for home detention.
Listed automotive dealer Turners has upgraded its earnings guidance for the financial year to March 31, off the back of a stronger summer trading period. The company now expects net profit before tax, before goodwill adjustments, to be about $63 million, an increase from the previous guidance of about $60m, and approaching the previously stated profit target of $65m in FY28. Turners noted strong vehicle sales volumes and an improvement in vehicle margins in the auto retail division. It also benefited from disciplined purchasing, competitive pricing, and market share gains. Finance lending activity also improved in January and February, with several new lending records. CEO Todd Hunter said it planned to update the market on its five-year business strategy next week, with a new target for earnings over that period.