Quick Takes of the Week to March 7

Monday March 3

CentrePort bumps profit up 22%, pays $4m HY dividend

Anthony Delaney.

CentrePort hiked underlying net profit by 22% to $8.2 million for the half year to December, on an 8% improvement in revenues to $55m.
In what has been a generally positive period for most ports, the Wellington regional council-controlled terminal declared an interim dividend of $4m, up $500,000 on the comparable period.
Chief executive Anthony Delaney said the port had continued to invest into its $60m Seaview wharf renewal project, also committing to upgrades to cruise passenger shelters outside the Old Parliament building.
Delaney said the port had picked up new customers in Oji Fibre Solutions and Zindia Forestry, while also continuing its work with the Government and KiwiRail to support any new vessels brought in to ply the Interislander service.

Sky TV and Cricket Australia ink new deal

Sky Network Television has extended its broadcast agreement with Cricket Australia for at least four years.
The new extension kicks in at the start of the 2025/26 season and will include both international and domestic cricket matches.
The deal comes after SKY TV announced it had won back the broadcast rights for New Zealand cricket. The new deal runs for six years and excludes domestic New Zealand cricket matches.
Sky TV reported its interim results last month, which showed it slipped into the red amid a jump in one-off costs and had lowered its full-year guidance due to the ongoing costs associated with migrating to a new satellite.
The company cut its revenue and profit guidance for the rest of the financial year.

Tuesday March 4

Chief Ombudsman flags concerns about secured aged care practices

The Chief Ombudsman is concerned that people can be placed into secured aged care facilities without proper legal authority. Peter Boshier today released a report following 148 visits to secured residential aged care facilities between 2021 and 2024, 43 of which were owned by NZX-listed companies. He found that there was a lack of independent and centralised oversight around the legal basis for placing someone in secured care.
“In the vast majority of facilities, I found that at least one resident didn’t have a legal basis for being placed there and at a small number of facilities, almost half of the residents didn’t have the proper paperwork.”
He also said there were varying levels of understanding about what is legally required for someone to be placed in secured care.
Among his recommendations was the establishment of a national register for Enduring Power of Attorneys, as he encountered situations where families and facility staff had difficulty locating them.

Wednesday March 5

Mercury appoints ex Jarden banker to board

Rob Hamilton.

Former investment banker Rob Hamilton has been appointed to the board of electricity generator and retailer Mercury, reuniting with his ex-Jarden colleague and Mercury chair Scott St John. In a statement to the NZX, St John said he as delighted to be appointing someone of Hamilton’s calibre.
“His vast governance, leadership and advisory experience across the finance and energy sectors make him an invaluable addition,” he said.
Hamilton is currently a director of Westpac NZ, Oceania Healthcare and Tourism Holdings.
Mercury also announced director James Miller would step down at the annual meeting in September.
In March 2023, when Miller was chair of NZX, the stock exchange operator withdrew its endorsement of Hamilton, to take over as chair, citing Australian regulatory action against SkyCity where Hamilton had served as chief financial officer.

Whole milk powder slips again at latest dairy auction

Key export commodity whole milk powder has declined further at the latest overnight dairy auction.
The price for that commodity eased 2.2% to US$4061 per tonne, following a 0.2% decline a fortnight ago.
The broader GDT index fell 0.5% to US$4209, with a mix of gains and losses across other commodities on offer. Skim milk powder gained just 0.6%, while lactose rose 14% and mozzarella jumped 7.9%.
Last month, dairy giant Fonterra said its forecast FY25 earnings could be at the upper end of 40-60 cents per share range. The co-operative had a strong first half and was still forecasting a farmgate milk price midpoint of $10 per kilo of milk solids.
Fonterra will release its interim results on March 20.

Slower EV adoption poses challenge: MIA

New vehicle registrations stabilised in February, with ongoing demand for new SUVs and hybrid vehicles.
Data from the Motor Industry Association showed 9809 new registrations last month, up 1.5% on the same month last year.
Light passenger vehicle registrations were driven by sustained demand for SUVs and hybrid models, while electric vehicle registrations remained sluggish. Meanwhile, commercial vehicle registrations declined because of the tough economy and cautious business sentiment.
MIA chief executive Aimee Wiley said the slower pace of EV adoption posed a challenge in meeting stricter CO₂ targets.
“Successfully navigating this transition is essential to maintaining vehicle affordability and supporting a well-balanced, sustainable market.”
The top five best sellers last month were the Toyota Rav4, Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Outlander, and Kia Seltos.

Incoming KMD CEO confirms start date

KMD Brands' new chief executive and managing director Brent Scrimshaw will start on March 24.
Scrimshaw, who has been a director of the NZX and ASX-listed retailer since 2017, was appointed in October, when CEO Michael Daly resigned.
The resignation came just a week after KMD Brands reported its annual results.
Daly steps down as a director on March 25, and will complete a transition period with Scrimshaw through to April 4. Daly will participate in the group's first half earnings call, set for March 26.

Thursday March 6

F&P inks construction deal for $250m building

F&P Healthcare has signed a building construction contract with Dominion Construction for a fifth building on its East Tamaki manufacturing campus in Auckland.
The estimated total cost of the new 28,000 sqm building is expected to be around $250 million and it should be operational by 2027.
The move comes as the respiratory healthcare company faces increased costs from the US imposing a 25% tariff on products imported from Mexico and Canada. Around 60% of the company's US volumes are supplied from its Mexico manufacturing facilities.
Analysts have said Mexico is likely to be rejigged to be the manufacturing hub for the rest of the world while capacity within the company’s existing footprint will service the US market.
F&P Healthcare said the new building will accommodate expected growth in Auckland for the next five years. The company also recently submitted a private plan change application for its new Karaka campus which will cater for longer term growth.

Being AI cuts marketing and HR roles

Being AI has disestablished two more executive roles after board departures more than a month ago that left its stock market quotation suspended.
In a disclosure to the NZX this morning it said the roles of chief marketing officer Paul Shale and vice president of human resources Jane Indries had been axed “following a consultation period”. The terminations were effective yesterday.
On his LinkedIn, Shale also lists himself as co-founder and CEO of Tymestack since September 2024, although Being AI announced it had taken a 50% stake in the company prior to that, in June 2024.
Shale was an advertising executive with DDB, Colenso and Saatchi & Saatchi before co-founding and leading the Consortium advertising agency until 2016. He was CEO of DraftFCB between 2019 and 2021.
Trading in Being AI’s shares was suspended by the NZX market regulator, NZ RegCo, on February 3 after it failed to appoint two new independent directors – a listing requirement – to replace Brett O’Riley and Andy Higgs.

Public finances in better shape than expected

The Government’s accounts continue to track slightly better than forecast in the December half-year update. In the seven months to the end of January the tax take was up on forecast, and spending was down. But in the case of the lower-than-expected spending – $80.1b compared with the forecast 80.7b – the Treasury largely puts that down to timing issues. The operating balance excluding gains and losses (Obegal) recorded a deficit of $4.99b, $1.23b lower than forecast. Obegal, excluding ACC, recorded an even lower deficit of $3.66b. That was almost $1.4b below the December forecast. Net core Crown debt as a proportion of GDP stayed stable at 42.8% and the Government’s net worth was more than $3b higher than expectations at $188.88b.

Interim CEO appointed at Michael Hill

Michael Hill International's chief financial and supply chain officer Andrew Lowe has been made interim chief executive, effective

Andrew Lowe.

immediately, after the unexpected death of Daniel Bracken last week. The board will search globally for a replacement CEO, and will consider internal and external candidates.

Chair Rob Fyfe said, “Following Daniel’s passing, the board is confident in Andrew’s ability to steer the Michael Hill Group through this period of transition drawing on his extensive strategic, financial and operational experience as well as his enthusiasm and passion for the Michael Hill business and our people. Andrew is well supported by a very experienced and highly effective executive leadership team, who are well equipped to deliver on our strategic priorities and execute the group’s business plan.”
The board today also appointed director Claudia Batten to the position of deputy chair.

Building volume slides 4.4%, hits floor of cycle

Stats NZ valued the seasonally adjusted volume of building work put through during the December quarter at $7.4 billion, down 4.4% on the previous quarter and extending a downward trend in activity dating back to the September 2022 quarter. Residential builds fell 4.9% to $4.5b, its lowest level in more than four years, while non-residential was down 3.1% at $2.8b on a seasonally adjusted basis. Westpac senior economist Satish Ranchhod said the falls were "more pronounced" than expected, but should mark the bottom of the building cycle. At the same time, he said, the bank expected any recovery in the housing market to be gradual, with no "material lift" expected until late this year. Quotable Value, meanwhile, reported "relatively steady" construction costs in spite of the build downturn, with the average cost of a 'standard' one-or-two storey, 150-230 square metre home up 0.4% over the March quarter. Ranchhod, meanwhile, is pencilling in a 0.3% lift in GDP for the December quarter.

Phil Goff loses High Commissioner job over Trump comments

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has said Phil Goff’s position as High Commissioner to London is “untenable” after comments Goff made about United States President Donald Trump. RNZ reported that Goff told a Chatham House event that Winston Churchill told Nelville Chamberlain after the Munich Agreement that he had a choice between war and dishonour. Churchill said Chamberlain chose dishonour but would still have war. “President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history,” Goff was reported as saying.
Peters was not impressed. “Phil Goff’s comments are deeply disappointing. They do not represent the views of the NZ Government.” Peters said Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Bede Corry was to work through with Goff the upcoming “leadership transition” at the High Commission in London, foreshadowing Goff’s sacking as high commissioner.

Harbour, QuayStreet and Nikko scoop fund manager awards

Harbour Asset Management landed the 2025 Morningstar award as New Zealand's overall fund manager of the year, based on the Wellington-founded investment firm's combination of risk-adjusted medium-to-long term performance and forward-looking fund performance for the 2024 investing year. Harbour's Australian equity fund took out the award for domestic equities, while QuayStreet Asset Management landed the fund manager of the year accolade for its KiwiSaver fund performance. Nikko Asset Management was named best fixed interest fund manager. Speaking at the awards in Auckland on Thursday evening, Morningstar Australasia director Matt Olsen said 2024 had proven a difficult year to navigate, given peak inflation, growth uncertainty and geopolitical uncertainty. Morningstar had canned the international equities award as there had been no eligible candidates demonstrating "suitable achievement" across the award criteria, Olsen said.

Friday March 7

NZME asks Grenon for clarification of support

NZX-listed media company NZME is seeking clarification from investor James Grenon about how many shareholders support his proposal to sack the board. Yesterday the company said Grenon, who disclosed a 9% shareholding earlier this week, had sent a letter to NZME outlining his proposal to replace the board with four new directors. He said he has the support of 37% of shareholders. Since the announcement, media reporting has suggested support for Grenon's proposal is around 40%. In a disclosure this morning NZME noted differences between the letters sent to it and to shareholders, and said it has asked Grenon and his solicitors to clarify whether the 37% figure includes his 9% holding or not. NZME said it will update the market when it receives clarification

NBR Staff Fri, 07 Mar 2025

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