In case you missed it: News bites for the week.
TruScreen device.
Dual-listed Kiwi cervical cancer screening company TruScreen says it has received firm commitments from both new and existing investors for an initial placement of 107 million shares, meaning it has so far raised $2,354,750 before costs. The company said approximately 80.9 million of the shares will be issued under its existing 15% placement capacity, with the balance being subject to shareholder approval at a meeting to be held on July 11. It also intends to issue one free attaching option for each new share issued, with an exercise price of $0.022 and a one-year expiry date, subject to shareholder approval. A share purchase plan (SPP) offer is due to open today, providing eligible shareholders the opportunity to purchase up to $50,000 (A$45,000) worth of new shares. The company is limited to raising up to an aggregate of $1,220,796 (A$1,119,996) via the SPP, but the board may accept oversubscriptions, subject to shareholder approval.
A deal to save power by cutting production at Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will end four months early as storage at hydro lakes improves. In a statement to the NZX, electricity generator Meridian said it had agreed with NZ Aluminium Smelters that Tiwai could start increasing production from June 16 and the current demand response would end on August 11 rather than November 25.
“New Zealand’s hydro storage is looking much healthier than it was just a few weeks ago, so we are now confident regarding security of supply this winter,” said chief executive designate Mike Road. “As a result, we want NZAS to get back to business.”
Meridian had called on its option to cut Tiwai’s power use by 50MW in February to run for an initial period between March and August, with a ramp-up period of 86 days thereafter.
Peter Mence.
NZX-listed property investor Argosy Property has said its chief executive and board chair will retire from their positions in 2027. In a note this morning, the company said chief executive Peter Mence has notified the board of his intention to step down after next year’s annual meeting. Mence has been in the top job since 2009. The company said the long notice period enabled a well-planned leadership transition with a CEO search to start in the latter part of 2026. Alongside Mence’s departure, chair Jeff Morrison will step down from his role after next year’s annual meeting when his three-year term comes to an end. Arrangements were already in place for Martin Stearne to take his seat at the head of the boardroom table. Directors Chris Gudgeon and Mike Pohio, who are nearing the end of their terms, have also said they will not stand for re-election at this year’s annual meeting. Alex Cutler, who joined the board last year, will stand for election.
Business lender UDC Finance has reported a sharp increase in provisioning for bad debts in the period to March 2025.
Financial statements filed to the Companies Office show an allowance for expected credit losses of $100.1 million at balance date, up from $74.1m in December 2023. Total credit impairments doubled to $40m from $19.7m at the previous balance date, while loans in default doubled to $66.2m from $33.9m. At balance date, UDC had net loans and advances of $4.6 billion, up from $4.5b in December 2023. About a fifth of UDC’s main lending was categorised as “personal and other services”, with construction, agriculture, and retail the next biggest sectors. After a change in balance date, UDC, a subsidiary of Japan-based SBI Shinsei Bank, reported a net profit of $95.6m for the 15 months to March, compared with $74m for the 12 months to December 2023.
Chris Penk.
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says councils are processing building consents and code compliance certificates quicker since the Government began publicly releasing council performance data. He said just over a year ago he directed the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment to start publishing quarterly performance data to show how well building consent authorities were handling consent applications. “The decision to put performance in the spotlight is paying off, and I wish to acknowledge councils who have moved quickly to expedite consenting processes.” Penk said the latest data showed 92.7% of building consent applications and 96.8% of code compliance certificates were processed within the statutory timeframe in the first three months of this year. That was up from 88% and 93.6%, respectively, when reporting began last year.
New data shows business credit demand has increased, but the tough economy is still putting pressure on key growth sectors. The Centrix Credit Indicator for May, released today, showed business credit demand across all sectors rose 8% on the previous year. The report also said credit defaults were up across the board, sitting at +18% year on year for all sectors. Notably, manufacturing, construction, and transport credit defaults had risen. Meanwhile, company liquidations rose 30% from last year, with 175 liquidations in April. Over the past year, 730 construction companies were liquidated, up 48% from the previous year.
NZX-listed medicinal cannabis company Rua Bioscience has settled legal proceedings against Cann Group, which had cancelled an existing supply contract. The settlement follows mediation between the parties, who have signed new supply agreements for their respective operations in the New Zealand and Australian markets. Rua CEO Paul Naske said the settlement terms are confidential but involve agreement on pricing for the cultivator to supply Rua with medicinal cannabis as the marketer and distributor needs it. Rua had filed a claim in the Supreme Court of Victoria in February 2024 that it had suffered significant damages after Cann breached a term of its existing supply contract requiring the Australian firm to supply it exclusively with products that were to be resold in both markets. This month Rua’s board approved a $2 million debt facility offered to wholesale lenders to provide additional working capital to purchase stock to meet significant sales growth.
Westpac Australia's mortgage lending subsidiary, RAMS Financial Group, which closed to new business last August, is in line for a civil penalty after being sued by regulator Asic over the lending practices of some franchisees. Asic has begun proceedings in Australia’s Federal Court over what it said was RAMS’ “systemic misconduct in arranging home loans”. The regulator claims that between 2019 and 2023, RAMS conducted business through unlicensed operators, failed to supervise its representatives, and failed to implement adequate policies and procedures. The result was “widespread misconduct”, which created the opportunity for home loans to be provided to unqualified customers while RAMS franchisees earned commissions. Westpac issued a statement today saying RAMS had reached agreement with Asic to resolve the investigation through civil penalty proceedings.
Global dairy prices declined at the latest overnight auction, with key export commodity whole milk powder down 3.7% to US$4173 per tonne. The broader GDT index also dropped for the second consecutive auction, with price declines recorded for several other commodities, while anhydrous milk fat and mozzarella increased. Overall, dairy prices are still at strong levels and are reflected in a solid payout forecast to farmers. Last week, dairy giant Fonterra announced an opening forecast Farmgate Milk Price for the 2025/26 season of $10 per kg of milk solids, driven by stable market demand. Chief executive Miles Hurrell said it was committed to delivering strong shareholder returns through earnings and the farmgate price. “Looking at the season ahead, we expect this demand to continue for now, but we acknowledge the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and the potential for a wider series of outcomes across the season.”
New Zealand Rugby has struck a multi-year sponsorship deal with global insurance brokerage Gallagher Insurance. Gallagher's brand will appear on the training and match-day shorts of NZR's teams, including the All Blacks, Black Ferns, Māori All Blacks and Sevens teams. Gallagher's brand will also be on New Zealand referees' jerseys across all domestic competitions from next year, while All Black Beauden Barrett has signed on as a global brand ambassador for the company. The partnership with Gallagher comes after NZR agreed a three-year deal with Toyota, both contracts replacing the deal with Ineos, which pulled out of its six-year sponsorship with NZR.
A survey on electricity retailing by Consumer NZ has found respondents gave Flick Electric the highest satisfaction rating at 71%. The survey of 1985 people took place from March 12 to April 7, before Meridian announced it had bought Flick for $70 million from Z Energy. Reporting the survey results, Consumer said customer satisfaction with Meridian subsidiary Powershop, seven times previously the top performer in the survey, had fallen to 60% from 67% last year. “Flick has consistently rated well in our surveys, so it’s disappointing to see it absorbed by a larger player,” said Consumer's acting head of research and advocacy. “Flick customers have typically been among the most satisfied. We don’t know what the future holds for Flick customers, but there is a risk it will be consumers who will bear the brunt of reduced competition.” The poorest performers were Pulse Energy (41%), Contact (44%) and Mercury (47%).
Vector chief executive Simon Mackenzie, who was due to step down at the end of June, will stay on until the end of the year. In a statement to the NZX, the electricity distribution utility said the recruitment process for a new CEO was continuing. "The board is grateful to Simon as this provides Vector with continuity of leadership and direction." Mackenzie, who has been CEO since 2008, announced his departure in February.
Natural gas rig.
Natural gas reserves reduced 27% in the past calendar year, data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment shows. MBIE data service delivery head Karlene Tipler said natural gas reserves continued to reduce faster and sooner than previously forecast. “Previous forecasts had annual gas production falling below 100 PJ by 2029, but due to revised production forecasts, we now expect to reach this level by 2026.” In 2024, natural gas 'proven plus probable' reserves reduced from 1300 PJ to 948 PJ. The reduction was largely driven by field operators reducing their estimates of gas readily extractable from the ground by 234 PJ. The remaining reduction of 119 PJ reflects the portion of gas reserves that were used during the year. Contingent natural gas reserves, which is gas that exists in the ground but cannot be extracted due to current economic or technical conditions, increased by 184 PJ or 10% from the previous year’s figure.
