Article – BusinessDesk

Education Ministry’s leaky school claim against Carter Holt about a year away

By Paul McBeth

June 22 (BusinessDesk) – The Ministry of Education’s claim Carter Holt Harvey’s Shadowclad product is defective and caused leaks in 833 school buildings will probably reach the courtroom in 12 months in a multi-staged trial, after five years of pre-hearing skirmishes that have already reached the Supreme Court. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

Fletcher Building refreshes board chair, directors after announcing new strategy

By Tina Morrison

June 22 (BusinessDesk) – Fletcher Building’s outgoing chair Ralph Norris announced the board’s audit and risk committee chair Bruce Hassall will succeed him when he steps down from the troubled building company in September. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

NZME heads for Trade Me clash pursuing growth via new digital property, jobs and car sites
By Nikki Mandow

June 21 (BusinessDesk) – Media company NZME says three recently-launched digital advertising products have the potential to boost revenue in a sometimes uncertain media market. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

Z looks at car-sharing start-ups, Amazon parcel lockers, as sunset looms for fossil fuels

By Sophie Boot

June 21 (BusinessDesk) – Z Energy is a petrol retailer in an increasingly unwelcoming world. And as fossil fuels fall further out of favour, it’s looking to car-sharing start-ups and parcel collection in its next evolution. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

Restaurant Brand affirms annual earnings guidance, on look-out for US director

By Paul McBeth

June 21 (BusinessDesk) – Restaurant Brands New Zealand, which operates the local KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks Coffee and Carl’s Jr brands, affirmed guidance for annual earnings to rise 10 percent and said it’s looking for a US director as it scouts out new opportunities in mainland America. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

Gentrack acquires UK-based Evolve Analytics for 23 mln British pounds

By Margreet Dietz

June 21 (BusinessDesk) – Gentrack Group said it agreed to acquire Evolve Analytics, an energy data analysis software and services provider, for 23 million British pounds, or $44.2 million, bolstering its leading position for utility billing and customer information systems in the UK. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

Mainfreight expects momentum to continue, Braid tells investors

By Margreet Dietz

June 21 (BusinessDesk) – Mainfreight, which last month reported a record full-year profit, told investors and analysts it expects momentum to continue. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

NZ dollar hovers near 69 US cents amid global trade jitters; domestic GDP looms

By Rebecca Howard

June 20 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar is hovering around 69 US cents as trade war jitters continue to ramp up but attention could shift to the domestic arena tomorrow if the first quarter gross domestic product data surprises. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

NZ dollar gains vs Aust dollar as threat of US, China trade war looms larger over Australia

By Paul McBeth

June 19 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar extended gains against its trans-Tasman counterpart on concerns that a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies would weigh more heavily on the Australian economy, potentially keeping interest rates lower for longer. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

Pushpay shares drop 4.8% after $100M bookbuild completed

By Sophie Boot

June 19 (BusinessDesk) – Pushpay Holdings shares dropped 4.8 percent after the mobile payment app company completed a $100 million bookbuild to let executive director Eliot Crowther exit the firm he co-founded. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

Dairy product prices seen steady-to-easing at GDT auction

By Margreet Dietz

June 19 (BusinessDesk) – Dairy product prices are expected to slip at the Global Dairy Trade auction overnight amid a pick-up in supply, even as global trade tensions appear to benefit demand for New Zealand dairy products. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

NZ Refining hires renewable energy executive Mike Fuge as CEO, replacing Sjoerd Post

By Jonathan Underhill

June 19 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand Refining has named Mike Fuge as its new chief executive, tapping a manager with experience in renewable energy as the company seeks to engage with the government over its policy of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

Foreign buyer ban gets smoother edges, but critics still see stymied development

By Nikki Mandow

June 18 (BusinessDesk) – Amendments to the government’s foreign buyer ban, if introduced, would give overseas investors more leeway to put money into New Zealand housing developments. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

UPDATE: Pushpay in trading halt as co-founder Eliot Crowther to sell out; ditches US listing plan

(Adds and recasts with new detail) Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

No more cash to sweeten nurses’ deal, govt says

By Pattrick Smellie

June 18 (BusinessDesk) – The government is open to a different structure to the proposed wage settlement for public sector nurses but there is no more money to throw at the problem, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Health Minister David Clark said today. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

Pushpay in trading halt pending ‘material transaction’

By Paul McBeth

June 18 (BusinessDesk) – Pushpay Holdings, the mobile payments app developer targeting US$100 million of annualised revenue this year, is in a trading halt as it wraps up a “material transaction” it expects to announce tomorrow. Read more »

Press Release – BusinessDesk

“Reducing vehicle crime in Waitemata”

Please attribute to Sergeant Jon Winthrop, Volume Crime Response Team, Waitemata West. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

Palmers duo welcome new shareholder as they seek to extend ‘think big’ plan

By Jonathan Underhill

June 15 (BusinessDesk) – Kevin Brewer, an Auckland-based business consultant, has provided a cash injection to the Palmers Gardenworld chain, taking a stake in its brands and franchise businesses for an undisclosed sum. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

NZ dollar gains against greenback as markets digest Fed statement

By Rebecca Howard

June 14 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar gained against the greenback as markets digested US Federal Open Market Committee statement and subsequent press conference. It also got a lift against the Aussie on disappointing jobs data across the Tasman. Read more »

Article – BusinessDesk

Little visibility on bankrupt builder who tried to flee to China, gambled $20.5M at SkyCity

By Jonathan Underhill

June 14 (BusinessDesk) – Li Dong Xie, the Auckland builder jailed for breaches of the Insolvency Act, has left little online trace of his illegal ventures which the Crown says deprived hard done-by creditors. Read more »