Quick Takes of the Week to September 12

Monday September 8

New battery electric trains from 2030 for Wairarapa and Manawatū

The Government has announced a new fleet of 18 battery electric trains for the lower North Island as part of its $802.9 million investment into the Wairarapa and Manawatū lines.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop said French rail manufacturer Alstom had been selected to deliver the trains. “The new train fleet will significantly improve travel times and passenger experience on the Wairarapa and Manawatū lines.”
The new trains will replace the ageing diesel locomotive-hauled fleet which date back to the 1970s.
“These modern battery electric trains will deliver real benefits for commuters, increase productivity, support economic growth, and allow Kiwis to get where they need to go quickly and safely,” Bishop said.
The Government is funding about 90% of the costs for the procurement of the trains and infrastructure upgrades on the two lines, with the remainder funded by the Greater Wellington Regional Council and Horizons Regional Council.
The new trains are due to enter service from 2030.

Tourism Holdings hives off Sydney and Brisbane dealerships

Tourism Holdings will exit its Sydney RV Super Centre and Brisbane's Kratzmann RV Super Centre dealerships, as part of a structural review of its Australian retail sales division. Chief executive Grant Webster said a "steamlined asset sale" for the two dealerships will reduce overheads and limit exposure to the broader recreational vehicle sales market, while still maintaining a sales presence in both cities. The company had accepted that while overall sales volumes would decrease, it would have an "increased focus" on ex-fleet sales and their higher margin business, it said. Webster added that the rationalisation of locations, products, brands and structure, as well as further reductions in inventory, is expected to "significantly improve", the divisional performance for this financial year.

NZ Super Fund returns 11.8%, $745m above passive

Jo Townsend.

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund generated a pre-tax return of 11.84% after costs in the year ended June 30, 2025.
The total fund was up $8.4 billion during the year, to $85.1b. Its return in the 2024 financial year was 14.90%.
NZ Super chief executive Jo Townsend said the fund had beaten its two performance benchmarks.
The first was net return, which was a comparison against the 90-Day Treasury bill rate of 4.61% over the last year. That made NZ Super's return 7.24%, or $5.5b better off for the Crown, she said.
The second was its value-add return, which was a measure of its active management versus a passive, index-tracking strategy. On that measure, the fund returned 0.98%, or $745 million more than passive. Over the past 20 years, Townsend claimed the fund's active strategies had generated close to $20b more than passive. About 11% of the fund is invested in New Zealand, or just under $10b.

Santana completes capital raise amid strong demand

Santana shares were trading on the ASX today at A72.5c and on the NZX at 81.5c
Money raised from the share offers will be used to fund development of Santana’s planned gold mine near Bendigo.

Also on Monday, Santana published the results of further test drilling beyond the planned mine area.

Mark Weldon appointed to board of Treasury Estates

Mark Weldon.

Former NZX and Mediaworks chief executive Mark Weldon has been appointed an independent non-executive director at ASX-listed wine group Treasury Wine Estates.
The former Olympic swimmer, who headed the NZX for 10 years to 2012 and spent three years at Mediaworks, is the owner of Bannockburn winery Terra Sancta, and his wine industry experience also includes serving as chair of the Central Otago Winegrowers Association.
He was also a director of Sileni Estates.
In August, Treasury reported earnings before interest and tax were up 15.5% to A$470.6 million ($522m), as revenues grew by 6.5% to $2.99 billion.
The company will drop out of the ASX50 following the ASX September quarterly review.
Treasury chair John Mullen said Weldon brought “deep experience in wine” to the company’s board.
He said Weldon was also a leader in sustainability and climate advocacy and had an extensive understanding of capital markets.

Oceania Healthcare exec resigns with immediate effect

NZX-listed retirement village operator Oceania has announced the departure of its chief legal and risk officer Claire Fisher in a brief statement to the stock exchange this morning. 
“The board and executive team thank Claire for her contribution to Oceania,” the statement said.
No reason was given for her abrupt departure.
According to Fisher’s LinkedIn profile, she joined the company in January 2024 as group general counsel before becoming chief legal and risk officer a few months later in May.
She previously worked in a variety of roles at ANZ Bank.

New Zealand King Salmon purchases commercial site for $8.14m

King Salmon plant worker.

The transaction is expected to settle by October 7 and will be paid for from existing cash.
The board of the NZX-listed fishing company said the purchase was an exciting step in supporting its future processing requirements.
Any changes to current operations were expected to be at least three years away, and there would be no immediate or near-term impact on the Nelson factory or staffing.
The company will continue to be based out of Nelson, and some factory processing operations will remain there.

Underwriters pick up $30m of SkyCity retail offer

SkyCity’s retail shareholders took up only about a third of their entitlements under the company’s discounted capital raise, the casino operator reported on Tuesday.
Announcing the completion of its retail offer, SkyCity said sub-underwriters had picked up $30 million of the $45m retail offer, after retail investors subscribed for just $15m.
A placement and rights issue to institutions completed on August 22 raised $195m, with institutions taking up 95% of their entitlements.
The offers were priced at 70c a share, a 30% discount on the closing price before the offer was announced and a 22.8% discount on the theoretical ex-rights price.
NZX disclosures indicate institutions increasing their stakes included ACC, NZ Super Fund, and Lazard Asset Management, while those not taking up their full entitlement included Investors Mutual and Allan Gray.
The capital raise had been criticised by Allan Gray as “a terrible capital allocation decision”.

Wednesday September 10

Migration gains still soft in July, as holiday numbers rise

Annual migration to New Zealand continues to falter in a weak economy, while Australian tourists flock here in record numbers for a holiday. Statistics NZ travel and migration data out today continues to paint a contrasting economic picture. The country recorded a net migration gain of just 13,100 people in the year ended July, compared with 63,600 the previous year. Migrant arrivals fell 20% and migrant departures rose 14%. Meanwhile, travel to New Zealand continues to recover after the Covid-19 pandemic. There were 236,600 overseas visitor arrivals in July, up 14,700 from the same month last year. There were 126,700 visitors from Australia, a record for July, which coincided with the Australian school holidays. Stats NZ said the total number of overseas visitors in July was 93% of the 255,600 in July 2019, before the pandemic.

Home detention sentence for $410k Clean Car Discount fraud

A South Island car dealer has been sentenced to home detention and community work for widespread fraud under the previous Clean Car Discount (CCD) regime. Hamish Gardyne was sentenced to nine months and two weeks of home detention, along with 200 hours of community work, in the Dunedin District Court yesterday. The CCD rebate could be claimed from April 2022 to December 2023 by low-emission vehicle owners. Dealers were allowed to claim a rebate for cars they registered to themselves and used as a company car, courtesy car, or demonstration vehicle for at least three months. Between March and April 2023, Gardyne applied to get rebates on 119 Nissan Leaf vehicles, claiming they were demo models. The total claim was $410,550. A subsequent investigation by the Transport Agency found his claims were false, and that he had already sold and exported 90 vehicles to Australia. The agency said the scale of the fraud was significant, and the sentence should send a clear warning to the sector.

Thursday September 11

Former Labour MP Stuart Nash resigns over comments about women

Former Labour MP Stuart Nash has told RNZ he quit his job with recruitment company Robert Walters after it initiated a formal review into how he described women during an interview on The Platform this week. Nash publicly apologised after he told interviewer Sean Plunket a woman was a "person with a p***y and a pair of t**s." The comments came just two days after he appeared at a New Zealand First conference, amid speculation he was hoping to resume his political career.

Christ Church Cathedral reshapes restoration plan

A revised plan could see parts of the Christ Church Cathedral open by 2030. Under the new plan, the Christchurch landmark would be restored in stages. The first stage, set to be completed by 2030, would include the restoration of the tower and rose window, as well as a seating area for up to 700 people. Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement director Mark Stewart estimated the stage would cost about $90 million. The Anglican Church has committed $20m toward the project, dependent on the sale of its transitional cathedral. A further $7m is being held by Christchurch City Council on behalf of the restoration group, and another $3m is in the bank. Stewart said he was confident about $20m could be raised from the public, and said the group had received hundreds of donations and a "significant number" of pledges since construction was paused last year due to funding challenges. The new plan has halved the funding shortfall to between $40m and $45m.

Friday September 12

‘Calculated step’: Price cap lowered on Russian crude oil

The Government has announced additional sanctions on Russia in a “calculated step” against the war in Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said New Zealand is lowering the price cap on Russian crude oil, joining Canada, the European Union, and the UK.
“Lowering the price cap from US$60 per barrel to US$47.60 is a calculated step to curtail crucial oil revenues fuelling [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine,” Peters said.
New Zealand also sanctioned Russian individuals involved in cyber-attacks against Ukraine. That included Russia’s military intelligence.
“This is New Zealand’s 32nd round of sanctions. It targets 19 individuals and entities, and 19 vessels.
“We’re sanctioning actors involved in chemical weapons and disinformation, as well as shadow fleet vessels, alternative payment providers, and third-country facilitators in North Korea and Iran,” Peters said.

Manufacturing slips back into red zone, as retail shows growth

New Zealand’s manufacturing sector slipped back into contraction in August, suggesting a sustained recovery is still yet to come.
The BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index fell 2.9 points to 49.9 last month, when compared with July. That’s just on the cusp of expansion and contraction because a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
BusinessNZ advocacy director Catherine Beard said the sector was struggling to regain its footing after an extended period of contraction through 2023 and 2024.
New orders and deliveries of raw materials expanded last month but production, employment, and finished stocks were all in contraction.
Meanwhile, Statistics NZ data also out today revealed some improvements for retail spending. Electronic card data showed spending in retail industries increased 0.7% in August, when compared with July.
The data was mixed, with gains recorded in hospitality, clothing, and household items and goods, while motor vehicle and fuel spending declined.