Air New Zealand posts 24% decline in 1H profit as competition mounts

Air New Zealand posts 24% decline in 1H profit as competition mounts
Rebecca Howard
(Updates to add detail throughout, broker comment, corrects operating revenue figure in 3rd paragraph) By Rebecca Howard Feb. 23 (BusinessDesk) - Air New Zealand posted a 24 percent fall in first-half pretax profit in the face of increasing competition both at home and abroad but fared better than analysts expected.  Pretax earnings fell to $349 million in the six months ended Dec. 31 from $457 million in the same period a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement.  Net profit in the first half fell 24 percent to...