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NZME editorial board nothing to fear, new chair Joyce says
Hamish McNicol
Tue, 03 Jun 2025
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Council consenting processes have sped up
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.
Bad debts rise at UDC Finance
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.
TruScreen raises $2.3m via initial share placement
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.
Argosy boss, chair to step down in 2027
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.
Improving hydro storage allows increased production at Tiwai
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.
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