Business

Site works will begin next month, with the first product due to come off the line in 2026. Photo: Dairy giant Fonterra will pump $75 million to expand its Studholme site in South Canterbury, as it plans to grow its high-value ingredients business. The site will become a "hub for high value proteins" designed for "premium" products such as medical and sports nutrition. Site works will begin next month, with the first product due to come off the line in 2026. "The expansion of our Studholme site will allow us to increase production of this high-value product and ultimately grow returns to farmers," chief executive Miles Hurrell said. Fonterra president for global markets ingredients Richard Allen said it saw global demand for its dairy ingredients. "We see significant opportunities in th...

Meridian's hydro catchments from May through to mid-August had been the lowest on record and the 2025 financial year currently looked to be far more challenging, Meridian said. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Meridian Energy's full year net profit is more than 4.5 times greater than the year earlier, reflecting operating strength prior to the onset of a drought in May. The energy company said the net profit for the year ended June also reflected net gains on hedge instruments of $249 million compared with a net loss of $351m on hedge instruments in the year earlier. Key numbers for the year ended June compared with a year ago: Net profit $429m vs $95m Underlying profit $909m vs $783m Revenue $4.86b vs $3.22b Full year dividend 21 cents per share vs 17.9 cps Chief executive Neil Barclay sai...

Kerikeri retirees John and Lyn Logie, of Kerikeri, study their latest power bill. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf The New Zealanders with the lowest incomes pay the nation's highest power prices - and the city with the highest average income has the cheapest electricity. That disparity - described as "wrong" and "unfair" by a Northland budget advisor - is revealed in a survey of domestic power prices released by MBIE and based on data from Powerswitch. It shows that consumers in the Far North, using Kerikeri as an example, pay 45.59 cents per kilowatt-hour for the priciest power in Aotearoa. Consumers in the Buller District, which includes Westport, pay 44.05 cents, while the rest of the top five is rounded out by Clutha District (43.60 cents), Grey District (41.97 cents) and Central Hawke'...

Inland Revenue says their staff have recently been visiting people and businesses who owe tax, but only if all other attempts to engage with them have failed. Photo: Supplied People with tax debt to Inland Revenue could get a knock on their doors if they ignore other communication. In recent months, the department has been making physical visits - something a spokesperson said it had previously not done in a long time. "Making a physical visit to a person's or business location who owes tax occurs only when other attempts to get engagement have failed," he said. "We don't have a specific threshold but typically would be in relation to larger amounts of tax debt. We recently ran a campaign where we sent targeted text reminders telling the recipients that there was a tax debt that needed ...

The best performing fund is Milford's KiwiSaver active growth fund. Photo: 123RF A dollar invested in the best performing KiwiSaver fund from the start would now be worth nearly $5, new data shows. Morningstar data shows the best performing funds since their inception. Top of the list is Milford's KiwiSaver active growth fund, which had annualised growth since inception of 11.65 percent a year, and cumulative growth of 385.67 percent. Morningstar data director Greg Bunkall said that would mean every $1 invested at the start of the fund would be worth $485.67 now. It was followed by the OneAnswer KiwiSaver Sustainable International Share Fund at 375.06 percent and QuayStreet's KiwiSaver NZ equity fund. On an annualised basis, Superlife's KiwiSaver US large growth fund was top of the list...

Inland Revenue says their staff have recently been visiting people and businesses who owe tax, but only if all other attempts to engage with them have failed. Photo: Supplied People with tax debt to Inland Revenue could get a knock on their doors if they ignore other communication. In recent months, the department has been making physical visits - something a spokesperson said it had previously not done in a long time. "Making a physical visit to a person's or business location who owes tax occurs only when other attempts to get engagement have failed," he said. "We don't have a specific threshold but typically would be in relation to larger amounts of tax debt. We recently ran a campaign where we sent targeted text reminders telling the recipients that there was a tax debt that needed ...

Photo: RNZ House prices are likely to stay flat through this year but increase 7 percent over 2025, BNZ says. In an update on Tuesday, chief economist Mike Jones said demand and housing activity would pick up from here as interest rates fell. But at first, that demand would just soak up some of the increased number of houses for sale and avoid further price falls. Real Estate Institute data shows there were almost a third more properties listed for sale in July than the same time a year earlier. But Jones said towards the end of the year, there would be a "modest upswing" in prices. Although the labour market might deteriorate for another year or so, he said, sharp falls in mortgage rates would probably boost the housing market as other economic activity improved. "Anecdotal evidence poi...

(File image). Photo: 123RF Building inflation was at pre-Covid-19 levels, rising 0.3 percent in the past three months Supply chain disruptions and shortages have eased Builders have cut margins to get jobs in a slow market Building cost inflation is back to pre-pandemic levels as some material costs falls, supply chains normalise, and builders cut margins to get work. The latest QV CostBuilder showed the costs of building a standard three bedroom house in the main centres rose 0.3 percent in the latest quarter, the same as the previous two quarters. Changes in data collection meant there was no annual rate, but in June it was 1.8 percent, and peaked at nearly 21 percent in 2022. QV CostBuilder spokesperson Simon Petersen said higher prices caused by supply chain disruptions have eased...

(File image). Photo: RNZ/Sally Round A Crown-owned investment vehicle is putting $78 million towards new solar, hoping to boost renewable electricity generation. The deal between government-owned New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF), and solar developer Far North Solar Farm, would connect five solar sites to the national grid. The five planned sites the NZGIF financing was available for would generate around 1.13 GW of new clean electricity, enough to power about 178,000 homes a year. NZGIF's chief executive Sarah Minhinnick said the deal reflected its mandate to accelerate investment that decarbonised the country's economy. "The Connection Facility Agreement is a tailored solution, designed by NZGIF, to introduce a new pool of capital to accelerate renewable energy generation i...

One of the Winstone Pulp International forestry products mills that is in danger of being shut down. Photo: Hundreds of people packed into Raetihi's community hall to voice their concerns over the closure of two mills. Winstone Pulp International was proposing to close both its mills in the central North Island because it could not afford the skyrocketing power prices, which would result in 230 jobs being lost. It was standing room only at the meeting as mill workers, their families and local community addressed the crowd, which included Winstone's chief financial officer Glenn Whiting, mayor Weston Kirton and MP Sue Redmayne. The crowd at the meeting discussing the closure of Winstone Pulp International at Raetihi's community hall on 27 August, 2024. Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook One ...