In case you missed it: News bites for the week.
Bremworth’s bottom line has been inflated by a large insurance settlement related to Cyclone Gabrielle, obscuring the underlying decline in the company’s performance.
The company’s unaudited accounts show it reported a net profit of $18.2 million for the 12 months ended June, up from $4.6m in the prior year, due to the $42m insurance payout.
After taking into account the claim and other one-off costs, Bremworth reported an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation loss of $13.2m, compared with a $4.7m loss in the previous year.
While revenue rose by $8m to $88.9m, the cost of sales jumped $16.5m to $76.5m.
Chief executive Craig Woolford said it had been a tough year, with weaker volumes and margin pressures weighing on performance as demand remains subdued.
The company said it was investing $6m to restore yarn production capacity in Napier and was adding more sales staff on both sides of the Tasman to return the business to growth.
Formerly listed retirement village operator Metlifecare received a $107.7m cash injection from a subsidiary of its Swedish parent company in the 12 months ended June.
The size of the cash injection from Asia Pacific Village Group was disclosed in the company’s full-year accounts, released on Friday. The cash was used to create debt headroom.
Despite the injection and borrowings increasing by $55.5m, Metlifecare saw its cash position fall by $1.1m for the year to $7.1m.
At a headline level, Metlifecare’s net profit for the year rose to $66.4m, from $53.1m, as it benefited from a $135m gain in the value of its property portfolio.
Operating revenue for the year was up $22m to $243m, driven by higher deferred management fees, care fees, and village fees.
Total expenses rose by just under $8m to $315.2m.
Metlifecare called it a strong result delivered in a challenging environment.
The company said it enters the current year with strong momentum.
Consumers can now compare up to three home loan offers with a comparison calculator from today.
The new tool is in response to a recommendation in the Commerce Commission’s market study into personal banking services last year. The watchdog’s recommendation said providers should present offers in a “readily comparable” way.
The home loan calculator, hosted by Interest.co.nz, allows would-be borrowers to compare costs and incentives.
New Zealand Banking Association chief executive Roger Beaumont said banks compete “strongly” in the home loan market and he supported clear comparison information. “We hope uptake is strong and that users find it helpful,” he said.
The calculator’s development and ongoing maintenance is funded by members of the NZBA.
Rural sector investor MyFarm Investments and hydrogen-focused Hiringa Energy have initiated development of two further 5MW solar-to-hydrogen farms to support a green hydrogen transportation fueling network.
The MyFarm Solar Fund successfully raised $13.4m through an offer, launched in June, which is still open "amid continuing enquiry" including through the Active Investor Plus Visa scheme, according to a joint statement from the partners.
Meanwhile, the companies say their first solar farm at Ruakaka is set to commence construction this month, with the goal of generating energy from the first quarter of 2026.
MyFarm Solar Fund expects to use the proceeds from the capital raising to buy the first Northland farm from the MyFarm Solar Development Limited Partnership – once it is completed – and to finance the second and third farms.
Over time, they envisage developing five solar farms generating 25MW in total.
New Zealand building consents held steady, with only a slight annual decline in the year ended July, while house price expectations have softened.
Statistics NZ today said there were 33,879 new homes consented over that period, down just 0.1% compared with the year ended July 2024.
Consents for stand-alone houses rose 1.7% in the year ended July, apartments also increased, while townhouses and retirement village units fell.
On a monthly basis, the seasonally adjusted number of new properties consented rose 5.4% in July, after falling 6% in June.
Meanwhile, ASB’s latest Housing Confidence Survey today revealed a mixed picture. A net 26% believe now is a good time to buy, down from 28% in the previous survey. House price expectations softened, with a net 18% of respondents expecting prices to rise over the next 12 months, compared with 26% in the previous quarterly survey.
Crimson Education co-founder and CEO Jamie Beaton has declined to comment further on news out of Australia that his education company is preparing to launch a non-deal roadshow. On Sunday, the Australian Financial Review reported Crimson's founders, including Beaton, had mandated Barrenjoey Capital Partners to introduce it to a handful of fund managers in Australia, starting this week.
Sources said Barrenjoey had pitched Crimson as 'a mini IDP Education', which is a $1.2 billion ASX-listed higher education business with a focus on international education services.
Crimson Education hit unicorn status in 2024 following a $67.7 million Series D capital raise that valued the company at more than $1b. The company was reported to have generated more than US$100m ($169.6m) in revenue for the 2023 financial year.
Australian payments security authority, Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) has issued a A$187,000 ($207,000) fine to remittance service provider Revolut for the late reporting of international finance transactions.
Austrac said that Revolut, which applied to become a registered bank in New Zealand last December, has paid the fine in full and had been cooperative on the issue.
Revolut failed to submit the transfer instructions within the timeframe stipulated by the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act.
The company self-reported the late disclosures to Austrac.
Dual-listed transport software company Eroad has hired former Sky TV chief financial officer Ciara McGuigan as its new CFO.
No reason was initially given when McGuigan resigned with immediate effect from Sky in February after less than a year at the company. Her departure came two weeks before Sky was due to report its interim results, with the firm later saying her exit was a “personal decision”.
Today, Eroad co-chief executive Mark Heine said the company was delighted to appoint McGuigan, whose appointment takes effect immediately.
“We are looking forward to Ciara joining Eroad at this pivotal time in Eroad’s growth journey, following the New Zealand Government’s announcement of moving all vehicles to electronic road user charges from 2027.”
She replaces Rebecca Lineham, who has been serving in the role on an interim basis since January after the previous CFO, Margaret Warrington, resigned in November to take up a similar position at Summerset.
Americans are parting with a median of $380 per day when visiting New Zealand, ahead of their Chinese counterparts at $366 and almost double UK tourists, who come in at a more frugal daily median of $207.
A survey by the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment showed that international visitors injected $2.5 billion into New Zealand's tourist economy during the June quarter.
Australians made up the largest chunk of arrivals, spending a median of $1800 per seven-day visit. That was less than half of that spent by visitors from either Asia ($3600) or 'rest of the world' ($3800), who tended to stay longer at 10 and 14 days respectively. Total arrivals were at 3.38 million between April and June, up from 3.21 million year on year, or 87% of pre-pandemic levels.
International tourists spent $12.1b during the 12 months to June, up 4.3% on the prior year.
Dairy prices fell at the latest overnight auction, with key export commodity whole milk powder down 5.3% to US$3809 per metric tonne, after three consecutive gains. Most other products on offer recorded price drops, including butter and skim milk powder, but cheddar rose 3.6%. The overall GDT index declined 4.3% to US$4043 per metric tonne, after a small fall a fortnight ago. ASB said it had factored in a fall in dairy prices in its forecasts and there were no material risks. “Dairy has remained a stronghold of New Zealand’s economic recovery,” said economist Wesley Tanuvasa. Last month, dairy giant Fonterra raised the 2024/25 season forecast Farmgate Milk Price from $10 per kg of milk solids to $10.15 per kgMS. Fonterra will confirm the final price later this month. The co-op also retained the $10 per kgMS forecast for the current 2025/26 season.
Ferry Holdings has secured the preferred supplier of two new Cook Strait ferries, with the big reveal likely within a "few short months", Rail Minister Winston Peters says. Peters said the Crown entity had signed a letter of intent and agreed on a fixed price with the preferred builder after a closed tender process with six international shipyards. The next stage involves "technical negotiations" ahead of signing a full contract later this year. The two 200-metre-long ferries will have road and rail decks, each with capacity for 1500 passengers. Delivery is marked as 2029. Peters said: "In a few short months, we will show the taxpayer exactly how we have saved them billions by returning to the no-nonsense ferry replacement solution that was supposed to happen in 2020." The comments reinforce speculation that the renegotiated job will again go to South Korea's Hyundai Mipo shipyard, which was paid $222 million after cancellation of the former iReX project.
The Government is simplifying the process for exporters to send food products overseas. From September 25, food exporters will no longer need to apply for special exemptions from New Zealand rules if their products meet the requirements of an importing country. Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard said it was a necessary fix. “This simple change means that as long as exporters comply with the rules of the country they’re sending food to, they won’t need MPI’s approval to get around New Zealand’s composition or labelling requirements.” Until now, exemptions had to be applied for product by product, which exporters claimed added to costs and caused delays. ExportNZ executive director Joshua Tan said it was long overdue. "Simplifying labelling and composition exemptions has been on the agenda for some time, and we’re pleased to see it addressed." Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand chair Guy Roper said the changes would make it easier to export more high-value dairy products.
Liam Mason.
The Financial Markets Authority is calling for sector feedback on the growing market for tokenised products, as it considers whether regulation is helping or hindering the sector. Tokenisation is the process of converting physical or digital assets into digital tokens that can be exchanged on the blockchain. Examples include fractionalising property ownership with tokens so that people can buy and sell small stakes in a physical asset. The regulator has today released a discussion document calling for feedback to help it understand the implications of tokenisation on local financial markets, what it can do to support innovation, improve regulatory certainty, and enhance consumer protections. “Having a constructive conversation with industry enables us to respond faster, make adjustments to rules and licence conditions, and seek law reform where needed to remove regulatory barriers or enhance consumer protection,” FMA general counsel Liam Mason said. Submissions close on October 31.
NZ Rural Land Company has hired KPMG to help with “a capital review of its strategic options”.
The selection followed an invitation for advisers to pitch for the work.
The farm land investment company said it expected the review and its response would be finished by December.
Plans to conduct the review were announced on August 5, when the company said although it had been listed for five years, its progress was not reflected in its share price.
“The board considers that the full range of strategic options on the capital structure require review and input from shareholders,” it said.
Māori Queen Nga wai hono i te po.
The Māori Queen Nga wai hono i te po has used her maiden Koroneihana address at Tūrangawaewae to set an investment agenda built on kotahitanga.
She announced Ōhanga Ki Te Ao and a Māori-owned Kotahitanga Fund to pool iwi capital under Māori governance.
The aim is to back ventures that lift mana motuhake and keep decision making in Māori hands.
She urged her followers to “return to their homes as Māori, and to live life in the driver’s seat.”
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