In case you missed it: News bites for the week.
Stew Hamilton.
Electricity generator and retailer Mercury has announced the departure of two long-serving senior executives, who are “stepping down to explore new opportunities”.
Executive general manager of strategic affairs Phil Gibson leaves on April 10, five months after taking on the newly created role designed to support security of supply.
Chief people and technology officer Fiona Smith leaves in February 2026.
Gibson has worked for Mercury since 2004. Smith joined Trustpower in 1995 and moved to Mercury when the company was acquired in 2021.
Mercury chief executive Stew Hamilton said Gibson had made an “outstanding contribution” to the company and Smith had provided “invaluable” leadership.
“I’d like to extend my thanks to Phil and Fiona for the contributions they have made to Mercury and wish them the best for the future,” he said.
Inland Revenue is warning that it will begin charging interest on loans taken by sole traders and small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Small Business Cashflow loan was introduced in May 2020. More than 129,000 businesses were given loans totalling $2.4 billion.
Most had five years to repay the loan. From June, IRD planned to default on loans with interest of 10.88%, plus a standard interest rate of 3%.
As of December 31, last year, 51,021 people had repaid their loan in full, with a total loan balance of $953 million still owing. About 10,000 loans were already in default, owing just over $161m.
Doug Steel.
The services sector fell back into contraction in February, dragged down by weaker sales and new orders.
The BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index fell to 49.1 last month, down 1.3 points from January. A reading under 50 indicated the sector was in contraction.
Key sub indicator activity and sales fell 4.6 points, while new orders and business dropped to 49.4. The employment indicator also remained in contraction.
BNZ senior economist Doug Steel said economic turning points could get messy. “The brief foray above 50 in January remains the only month in the last year the PSI hasn’t been in contraction.”
It was a contrasting story with the manufacturing sector. The BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index rose to 53.9 in February, the highest level of expansion since August 2022.
All key sub indicators were back in expansion during the month, with production and new orders both at the highest levels since 2022. Employment also picked up pace.
Listed healthcare and animal care company Ebos Group has denied an Australian media report that it was weighing up the purchase of Real Pet Food Company, which has been put up for sale by investment bank Citi. The Australian reported yesterday that it understood Ebos – the largest marketer, wholesaler, and distributor of healthcare and pharmaceutical products in Australia and New Zealand – was working on a possible purchase of the A$1.1 billion business under outgoing CEO John Cullity. Real Food operates in Australia, New Zealand, China, and Britain.
However, Ebos said the article was “inaccurate” and it was not considering acquiring the company. It added Ebos has a long-standing strategy though of investing for growth through small to medium-sized boil-on acquisitions.
Its most recent acquisitions have been in the medical device space in Asia. Craigs analyst Stephen Ridgewell commented that new CEO Adam Hall's appointment could signal a more aggressive M&A stance by Ebos in future.
Richard Yan.
Bankrupt property developer Richard Yan’s South Island estate has fetched $3.2m in a sale due to settle on April 15.
The property was sold by the Official Assignee as liquidator of Yan’s company Richina Ltd, as part of efforts to recover $35m for creditors.
The Campbell Park mansion with numerous outbuildings and 79ha of land Otekaieke on the Waitaki River was acquired by Richina in 2016.
Yan, whose last known address was in China, was bankrupted in May last year after he was found liable for damages relating to breaches of the Companies Act in the collapse of his company Mainzeal.
Large format retail property company Investore Property has entered an unconditional agreement for the sale of its Woolworths Mt Roskill store on Stoddard Rd for $25m, with settlement scheduled for later this month. The NZX-listed group, managed by Stride Investment Management, said the sale represents a premium to book of 11%, or $2.5m with a passing yield of 5.85%. The divestment will see Woolworths' tenant weighting across IPL's portfolio dip slightly, to 61.7% by contract rental. Chair Mike Allen said the proceeds will be used to repay bank debt, to be recycled into strategic investment over time. Last August, the company sold two regional large format properties in New Plymouth and Invercargill for $54.3m. That was used to snap up Bunnings Westgate for an initial $51m cash, with another NAV-based share tranche of $7m on the table. Its portfolio was valued at $1b at its half-year results stage last September, at an average property market capitalisation rate of 6.38%.Key export commodity whole milk powder held steady overnight after recent declines at the dairy auction. The price rose just 0.2% to US$4052 per tonne, while the broader GDT index was relatively steady at US$4245, with a mix of gains and losses across other commodities on offer. Earlier this month, dairy co-operative Fonterra lifted its FY25 earnings guidance from 40-60 cents per share to 55-75 cents per share. Chief executive Miles Hurrell said this reflected strength in its core ingredients business, in particular. “Our consumer channel has shown good volume and margin growth while recovering the higher Farmgate Milk Price this season.” Fonterra will release its interim results tomorrow.
Satish Ranchod.
Ongoing cost pressures and tariff hikes have dented New Zealand consumers' confidence. The Westpac-McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index dropped 8 points in March to 89.2. Westpac senior economist Satish Ranchhod said increased trade tension and volatility in financial markets had cast a shadow over the economic outlook. He said financial pressures were also a concern. “While inflation is now finally back close to 2%, many of us are still grappling with the big increases in living costs over the past few years that have eaten away at our spending power.” The level of pessimism increased across all demographic groups in the March quarter, with men’s confidence down 11.3 points to 97.3. Confidence amongst women also fell. Tomorrow, Statistics NZ releases December quarter GDP data and economists expect slight growth at the end of last year.
New Zealand’s current account deficit was $5.9b for the December quarter, according to Statistics NZ. That was down $475m from the previous quarter, driven by an increase in the value of New Zealand exports to key trading partners. On an annual basis, the current account deficit narrowed to $26.4b, or 6.2% of GDP, in the year ended December. That compares with $27.3b in the year ended September. The data now sets the scene for the release of GDP data for the December quarter. Most economists and the RBNZ forecast slight expansion at the end of last year, compared with the deep recession recorded from the middle of last year.
Solution Dynamics chairman John McMahon.
NZX-listed Solution Dynamics, which provides global customer communications management as a service via its cloud-based software platform, has appointed Baker Tilly Staples Rodway as its new auditor. The firm replaces Grant Thornton, with effect from today. Solution Dynamics chair John McMahon said the change was not a reflection of the quality of service provided by Grant Thornton. "The decision to change auditor was driven by the decision of the company’s Audit and Risk Committee that, after working with the same auditors since the company was listed in 2004, it was desirable to rotate the appointment."
Air New Zealand has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Air India with the objective of boosting air connectivity between the two countries.
The MoU includes the establishment of a new codeshare partnership on 16 routes between India, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, meaning customers will now be able to travel from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai on Air India and connect at Sydney, Melbourne or Singapore onto Air New Zealand-operated flights to Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown. The codeshare flights will be available to book "progressively".
The agreement will also see the airlines explore the introduction of a direct service between India and New Zealand by the end of 2028, subject to new aircraft deliveries and approvals from relevant government regulators.
Currently, Air New Zealand customers travelling between New Zealand and India benefit from "strong connectivity options via Singapore Airlines, offering a smooth transit through Singapore".
The Commerce Commission believes switching between telecommunications providers is not easy enough, and it wants companies to improve the process to better serve consumers.
The Commission's latest consumer satisfaction report found that 31% of mobile consumers and 29% of broadband consumers have not switched because it requires "too much effort to change providers", even though switching might mean they could get a better service for a better price.
“We’re concerned that 50% of mobile switchers and 45% of broadband switchers ran into at least one issue when switching and that 29% of mobile switchers and 27% of broadband switchers said the whole experience was so bad they wouldn’t want to switch again in future,” said Telecommunications Commissioner, Tristan Gilbertson.
Gilbertson says a lack of comprehensive protocols between the ‘gaining’ and ‘losing’ service provider seems to be the central issue, leading to problems including double billing, unexpected charges, and delays.
Company director Paul Zealand is resigning from the boards of listed companies Genesis Energy and Channel Infrastructure.
An announcement to the NZX relating to his Genesis resignation cited health reasons, while the Channel Infrastructure announcement said the move was the final piece of a board refresh.
Zealand had joined both boards in 2016.
Channel Infrastructure chair James Miller said Zealand had made an enormous contribution to the company.
"Paul’s passion for Channel is second to none, and I join with my fellow directors in thanking Paul for all he has given to Channel and its people over many years and wish him the very best for the future.”
Zealand, meanwhile, said he was proud of what the company had achieved.
"The company is now well positioned to pursue a range of exciting growth opportunities, and I wish the Channel team every success in the future."
Christchurch Airport and Ngāi Tahu Tourism have partnered to launch ‘Magnificent South’ – a tourism initiative aimed at strengthening ties between New Zealand and India, and particularly enhancing the South Island’s appeal to Indian travellers.
The partnership agreement was signed in India during Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s business delegation visit, foreshadowing the campaign’s launch in October 2025.
The partners, in collaboration with Tourism New Zealand and "leading travel partners", will roll out "tailored traveller packages, offering luxury, adventure, and cultural experiences across the South Island".
A statement from the airport said Diwali and India’s honeymoon season typically drives Indians’ outbound travel demand at that time of year.
Travel packages will be developed by leading Kiwi inbound tour operators and distributed through a consortium of top Indian tour operators and New Zealand specialist agents, the airport said.
The Warehouse Group reported interim sales for the six months ending January 26 down 1.6% to $1.6 billion, while net profit after tax totaled $11.8 million, up 150%.
