In case you missed it: News bites for the week.
The coalition Government is increasing the rebate families can claim under the FamilyBoost scheme. Finance Minister Nicola Willis said today that, from the start of this month, families can claim a 40% rebate on their early childhood education costs, up from 25% when the scheme was first launched. Willis said that meant a family with early childhood education fees of $100 a week could get $40 back, not $25, increasing their annual savings from $1300 to $2080.
“Cabinet has also decided to increase the number of families eligible for the scheme, by reducing the abatement rate for families earning more than $140,000. This means the upper limit for households to receive a portion of FamilyBoost increases from $180,000 a year of income to just under $230,000.”
She said the changes would help families deal with the increased costs that came with having children.
Synlait Milk chief operating officer Paul Mallard has resigned and will leave the company in December.
Mallard joined the milk processor from Fonterra in January 2023, initially as director of strategy, innovation and corporate affairs. He was appointed to the new role of COO in June 2023 in a restructuring of the executive leadership team.
Synlait chief executive Richard Wyeth said Mallard had player a significant role in advancing the company’s operational and strategic priorities.
“Under his leadership, the team has made notable progress optimising the North Island network and enhancing the overall value chain performance,” he said.
Synlait said it would begin searching for a new COO.
Opening a bank account for your child will become easier under changes being made to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee said that, under the existing law, parents needed to gather and verify a long list of information and the bank was also required to ask detailed questions and monitor the child’s transactions on an ongoing basis.
Under the change, banks will be able to use simplified processes when the risk is low and parents would only be required to provide a birth certificate and prove the parent-child relationship.
“This is commonsense reform. Parents shouldn’t be asked to jump through bureaucratic hoops just to open a bank account for their kids. We’re streamlining the system so that New Zealanders can spend less time on paperwork and more time teaching their children the value of money,” McKee said.
NZX-listed retirement village operator Summerset has reported a record half in terms of unit sales.
The company told the stock exchange it sold 402 units in the three months ended June, comprising 222 new sales and 180 resales.
It was a record quarter for the company and marked its highest ever first half, with total sales of 692 – an 18% increase on a year ago.
“It’s certainly not an easy sales environment for us but we’re very happy with our progress so far this year and we’ll continue to work hard to bring new residents to our villages over the second half of the year,” Summerset chief executive Scott Scoullar said.
He said Summerset’s diverse landbank has been an advantage for the company, with close to half of its sales coming from outside the main centres.
Unsold new stock fell by 6% over the period and contracted new stock rose by more than 50%.
Summerset reiterated that it is on track to deliver between 650 and 730 units in FY25.
Blair Turnbull.
Former Tower chief executive Blair Turnbull has sold shares in the insurance company.
A filing to NZX published today showed the date of the transaction was Tuesday this week.
Overall, 134,000 shares were sold for between $1.58 and $1.59 per share. Turnbull netted $211,824.48.
Turnbull joined fund manager Milford as chief executive in March. He earlier resigned and officially left Tower in February after four and a half years as CEO.
He was replaced by Paul Johnston, who rose to the top job after joining the insurance company as chief financial officer in 2022.
Traffic movements declined in June, pointing to some economic speed wobbles at the beginning of winter, ANZ’s latest Truckometer shows.
The Light Traffic Index fell 1.3% last month, while the more volatile Heavy Traffic Index also declined 1.3%.
Light traffic – a measure of motorbikes, cars, and vans – generally provides a six-month lead on the economy.
Chief economist Sharon Zollner said the light traffic trend was “very mildly” upwards in recent months, while in per capita terms, light traffic was going sideways.
Heavy traffic gives a more immediate economic snapshot for goods production and exports.
Zollner said that index was still trending generally higher, suggesting an ongoing economic recovery, while noting June was soft.
Yesterday, the RBNZ held the official cash rate at 3.25% but economists expect a cut as early as next month once fresh inflation and unemployment data gets released.
Migration to New Zealand has tanked to low levels according to new data from Statistics NZ.
Provisional estimates showed an annual net migration gain of just 14,800 people in the year ended May, compared with a gain of 80,300 the previous year.
Migrant arrivals to New Zealand were down 26% over the latest period, while migrant departures were up 14%.
Annual net migration peaked in the year ended October 2023, with a gain of 135,500.
On a monthly basis, there was a provisional net migration loss of 100 people in May, as departures outpaced arrivals.
Meanwhile, tourism into New Zealand continues to recover after the Covid-19 pandemic. Overseas visitor arrivals were 190,600 in May, up 10,900 from May last year.
More Aussies were crossing the Ditch for a New Zealand holiday, along with more travellers from China and the United States.
Stats NZ said the total number of visitor arrivals in May was 87% of the 219,300 in May 2019, before the pandemic.
Australia’s Quattro Group has bought two-thirds of a downtown Auckland city block, including the former Finance Centre from the BEI Group for $104 million. The office buildings, spanning almost 1.2 hectares adjoining Durham and Victoria Street West, sit next to the City Rail Link’s Te Waihorotiu Station. As part of the transaction, BEI acquired 110 Custom Street West from Quattro Alberts for $20.6m. Quattro Alberts vice-president Real Estate Mark Gedye said the site will be redeveloped into 'curated' office suites and a mixed-use retail precinct, rebadged as The Exchange. It will comprise 19,250 sqm of lettable area along with 410 car parks. The retail offering will be anchored by Woolworths, together with an Alberts club and workspaces. Gedye said that, on completion, the project is expected to be valued at about $230m, taking the property investor's Auckland portfolio to more than $650m. The former Auckland Real Estate Trust's portfolio includes 1 Albert and the Formery at 87 Albert.
Listed rural services group PGG Wrightson says solid commodity pricing and favourable growing conditions will help boost its operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation to $54m, up on the prior guidance of $51m for the year to June.
Chair Garry Moore said several businesses had performed ahead of expectations, led by livestock and real estate, which delivered a strong turnaround on last year. The livestock business benefited in particular from the 26% jump in sheep values from pre-Christmas levels.
Returns from kiwifruit and apples had also added lustre to horticulture returns and lower inflation and interest rates were supporting "renewed optimism" from farmers, Moore said.
The listed company is due to issue its audited results on August 12.
Ryman Healthcare's first-quarter unit sales were 11% lower than a year ago.
The NZX-listed retirement village provider has reported it sold 337 units in the three months ended June, comprising 76 new sales and 264 resales.
While total sales were down on the prior year, they were up 12% on the previous quarter.
The overall decline is not entirely surprising, given the company forecast total sales for FY26 would be between 72% and 85% of what they were in FY25.
Meanwhile, gross contracts, which are a lead indicator for unit sales, climbed to 91%, from 75% and 60% in the prior two quarters.
Ryman chief executive Naomi James said the company has continued to see improving contracting and sales levels since increasing its deferred management fees last year.
“We still expect variability throughout the year, given the flow-through impacts of softer contracting in the second half of last year and mixed market conditions.”
FY26 sales were tracking towards the upper end of its guidance.
Chris Brown, the chief operating officer for NZX-listed waste management business WasteCo, has resigned and left immediately, the company said today.
His resignation follows former CRO David Peterson stepping down from his role at the end of June.
The board is still searching for a new CEO and, in the interim, chair Roger Gower has assumed an executive role.
In late May, the company announced it had won a $40m, nine-year solid waste management contract with the Ashburton District Council covering more than 12,000 households.
At the same time, NBR Rich lister Wayne Wright disclosed a 16.8% stake in the company that interests associated with him had built up since last December.
WasteCo’s shares have dived more than 48% in value in the past year and are now trading at 1.7 cents per share.
Tait International will not increase its offer for NZX-listed Vital Limited “under any circumstances”, according to a market filing.
In May, Tait said it intended to make a full takeover offer for the company at 45 cents a share, payable in cash and subject to a 90% minimum acceptance condition.
Last week Vital’s board recommended its shareholders accept the offer, despite it being “at the low end” of independent adviser Grant Samuel’s range.
“While the Grant Samuel report and recent media commentary speculate that Tait may be willing to pay a higher price, Tait is of the view that its offer is at the maximum of Tait’s value assessment considering all relevant information, including the risks of executing Vital’s business plans in highly competitive markets, as well as any potential synergies for Tait," it said.
“For this reason, Tait will not increase its offer under any circumstances.”
In a separate filing today, Tait revealed the level of acceptances for its offer had reached 28.5%.
The manufacturing sector remained in contraction in June, with weak production and employment prospects, according to the latest BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index.
The index was at 48.8 last month. A reading below 50 indicates the sector is in contraction. The survey was well below the average of 52.5.
Four of the five main sub-index values were in decline, while new orders sat at 51.2. Production was at 48.6 and employment was 47.9, after a drop in activity from the month before.
The proportion of negative comments was roughly the same as May, with manufacturers noting a “major slowdown” because of weaker consumer demand, high living costs, and economic uncertainty.
Falling construction activity, rising input costs, and global instability were also a handbrake on orders and cashflow, while supply chain issues added further pressure.
An undisclosed number of New World supermarket loyalty customers have had their accounts compromised. The company sent an email to select Clubcard members this afternoon, advising them of a recent “cybersecurity incident”, which may have led to their accounts being compromised. It said its tech team had noticed scammers attempting to access members’ accounts by using commonly used passwords. Accounts with weaker or re-used passwords may have been successfully accessed. New World stated that its systems have not been breached. The company has disabled the redemption of New World ‘dollars’ and removed the encrypted token representing customers’ credit cards, meaning shoppers will need to re-enter their details the next time they shop online.
In a statement, Foodstuffs said no personal credit card data has been compromised and that it has asked affected customers to reset their passwords.
Foodstuffs would not disclose how many customers were affected or when breaches occurred.
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