Business

Photo: RNZ The ongoing economic downturn has again hit the profit of retailer Briscoe Group, despite record sales for the first half. Key numbers for the six months ended July compared with a year ago: Net profit $33.2m vs $42.7m Revenue $372m vs $369.2m Interim dividend 12.5 cents per share maintained from the previous year The homeware and sports gear retailer's net profit dropped more than 22 percent compared to the same period last year. Managing director Rod Duke said like all retailers, the company is dealing with profit margin pressure with consumer spending down, but his team has done well to produce a growth in sales. "Optimising gross profit while maximising sales is a constant focus for the team and they have done a terrific job this half in enhancing the promotional events ...

It took 'massive self belief' for Carmen Vicelich to walk away from a senior corporate role and start her own businesses. She reflects on how she did it as part of RNZ's new series, RICH: The meaning of wealth in Aotearoa. Twenty-three years ago, in a glitzy auditorium in central Auckland, 450 of the country's top political, business and academic minds came together for the "Catching the Knowledge Wave" Conference. Critics scoffed that it was just a "talk fest". The goal was certainly ambitious: Plan how New Zealand could transform its economy from one predominantly based on agricultural exports to one driven by technology and knowledge. A blueprint from the conference called for greater focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, research and development. That conference has lately been talked...

Contact Energy's Te Mihi power station (file photo). Photo: Contact Energy Two large power companies are proposing a near $2 billion merger. Contact Energy, a full power generator and retailer, said it reached an agreement to take over electricity generator Manawa Energy. Contact would pay a combination of cash and its own shares to the equivalent of $5.95 for each Manawa share, which last traded just over $4.00, valuing the deal at just under $1.9b. It would also pay off Manawa's debt which was reported as $81m in bank loans and $372.7m in bonds as at 31 March 2024. Contact's chief executive Mike Fuge said the merger would make Contact more resilient and diversify its generating portfolio. "Our hydro assets are complementary, with different seasonal generation profiles, which will help...

The Financial Markets Authority surveyed banks, financial advisors and insurance companies to find out how AI was being used. Photo: RNZ / 123rf The Financial Markets Authority will not set rules around the use of artificial intelligence by financial service providers just yet. The regulator surveyed banks, financial advisors and insurance companies to determine how AI is being used in the sector. It found AI is used to cut business costs, detect fraud and manage risk but firms are also working towards applying AI to customer communication such as online chat bots. Chief economist Stuart Johnson said technology was developing so quickly it was unclear how AI would be used in the future so it was important to keep talking with businesses. "What it's absolutely not time for is FMA guidanc...

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly has been looking at ways KiwiSaver funds could be better used to grow the economy. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER Fancy a slice of an infrastructure investment, or a business that isn't listed on a stockmarket, in your KiwiSaver scheme? The Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister would like to make it happen. Minister Andrew Bayly says he has been meeting KiwiSaver providers to understand the barriers they face when investing in unlisted New Zealand businesses and infrastructure projects. Before the election, National had campaigned on a number of proposed changes to the retirement savings scheme, including allowing people to have an account with more than one provider. Bayly said that work was still in the policy development stage. His main ...

ACC's motor vehicle fund, work fund, and earners' account are in line for levy rises. Photo: 123rf The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has revealed a nearly $1 billion hole in revenue will need to be covered when levies are raised next year. ACC says it will need to collect $4.7 billion in levies in the 2025/26 financial year, to fund support for about 930,000 claims on three levy schemes - the motor vehicle fund, the work fund, and the earners' account. In the 2022/23 financial year, ACC brought in just under $3.8 billion in levies from those accounts, and it didn't cover the claims being made. It has signalled levies will need to take a significant jump over coming years in order to cover increasing costs, likely by up to about 20 percent. Consultation is beginning on proposed...

Photo: RNZ / Michelle Tiang Ever wondered how your household income compares to what your parents had, when you were growing up? Inflation has pushed up the cost of many things over recent decades, and in many cases, wage growth has helped soften the blow - with the notable exception of housing. Here's how the numbers compare. If you had a household income of $80,000 in the 1990s, you would need to be earning more than $200,000 now to have the same sort of purchasing power. In 1994, 113,500 New Zealand households earned more than $76,500, so a household income of $80,000 would have been relatively high. Now, the top decile of household income earners is about $235,000. In 1994, that $80,000 household would have after-tax income per person of $29,579 if the income was evenly split, an ann...

SkyCity casino's have been forced to close their doors this week, after they failed to intervene to meet their host responsibilities to help a problem gambler avoid losing more than $1 million. Photo: RNZ/Nick Monro SkyCity casino has been shut down for five days for failing to help a problem gambler who lost more than a million dollars on the pokies, but the business' boss will not say if they have paid any back. The shutdown began at midnight Sunday and runs until Friday night. On one occasion the gambler spent up to 9 hours playing continuously. On 23 occasions between 2017 and 2021 they played for five hours or more without a break and no casino staff intervened. The five day gambling shut down is SkyCity's punishment for failing to meet its harm minimisation and host responsibility...

The national average value fell 2 percent in the three months ending August. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly National house values continue to fall, with plenty of stock available helping to keep prices down. The latest QV House Price Index shows the national average value fell 2 percent in the three months ended in August over the year earlier, but was up slightly from the previous three months ended July. The average home was valued at $905,357, which was little changed from the start of the calendar year. "This is reflective of a housing market that has been severely constricted by strong economic headwinds - including rising unemployment, credit constraints and, of course, high interest rates," QV operations manager James Wilson said. While interest rates were coming ...

Bruce Plested is the co-founder of Mainfreight and one of New Zealand's wealthiest people. He shares his philosophy on business, charity - and a little politics - as part of RNZ's new series, RICH: The meaning of wealth in Aotearoa. What's one sign of a bad workplace culture? For 82-year-old billionaire Bruce Plested, it's dirty toilets. Because a grubby loo isn't just poor hygiene, it's also a sign staff, no matter their role or status, are not taking pride in their workplace. Plested, the founder, largest shareholder and chairman of Mainfreight, puts great store in the state of his company's bathrooms. "Here, we clean the toilets in this big branch at lunch time so we're spick and span and you've got to have brushes and toilet paper and hooks to put your clothes on." It reflects the high...