NZ Refining first-half profit slides less than expected

NZ Refining first-half profit slides less than expected
Paul McBeth
By Paul McBeth Aug. 23 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand Refining posted an 82 percent slump in first-half profit and trimmed its interim dividend as a build-up in global oil stocks weighed on the Marsden Point refinery operator's margins.  Net profit dropped to $11.4 million, or 3.71 cents per share, in the six months ended June 30 from $65.2 million, or 20.91 cents, a year earlier when cheap oil fattened the Whangarei-based company's margins. Revenue fell 24 percent to $155.6 million, with gross refining margins shrinking to US$5.25 a barrel...