By Rebecca Howard July 1 (BusinessDesk) - Smiths City narrowed its full-year loss as growth in same-store sales and a strong performance from its finance arm offset softer retail demand in the second half of the year.  The furniture and appliance retailer reported a net los...

By Rebecca Howard June 28 (BusinessDesk) - Consumer confidence ticked up in June, climbing back above the historic average.  The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan survey of consumer confidence rose 3.3 points in June to 122.6. The May figure had been a six-month low and the historical...

By Gavin Evans June 24 (BusinessDesk) - Meridian Energy’s Australian business has agreed to supply power and gas to a new energy service being started by online retailer Kogan.com. The multi-year agreement is expected to take effect before the end of 2019. Powershop will su...

By Rebecca Howard June 18 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand households remain downbeat with consumer confidence dipping in June and remaining at below average levels, the latest Westpac McDermott Miller survey shows. The consumer confidence index fell 0.3 points to 103.5 in the...

By Rebecca Howard June 17 (BusinessDesk) - The New Zealand dollar was trading lower after stronger than expected US retail data ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting this week.  The kiwi was trading at 64.91 US cents from 65.34 US cents at 5pm in Wellington Friday. The tra...

By Jenny Ruth June 14 (BusinessDesk) - Burger Fuel Worldwide says it posted a $1.2 million net profit for the year ended March, a turnaround from the previous year’s $463,000 net loss, as it transitions to a new business model. Sales fell 15 percent to $21 million, mostly r...

By Rebecca Howard June 14 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand food prices rose an annual 1.7 percent in May, boosted by more expensive groceries and restaurant and ready-to-eat food.  The annual rise in food prices followed a 1 percent annual rise in April. Restaurant meals and re...

By Rebecca Howard June 12 (BusinessDesk) - Consumers pulled back on credit and debit car spending in May after holidays in April fuelled a rise.  Seasonally-adjusted electronic card spending fell 0.5 percent in May after rising 0.6 percent in April. Core retail spending, ex...

By Jenny Ruth June 11 (BusinessDesk) - American multi-national discount store operator Costco Wholesale is planning to open its first New Zealand store at the Westgate shopping centre in Auckland’s north-west. The store will be about 14,000 square-metres, have more than 800...

By Rebecca Howard June 10 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's wholesale trade lifted in the March quarter after falling in December and may add to the view that first-quarter economic growth held up better than expected.  Seasonally adjusted sales rose 0.7 percent in the three m...

By Jenny Ruth June 6 (BusinessDesk) - Comvita's chief executive for the past four years, Scott Coulter, is stepping down in September and, while it searches for a replacement, former CEO Brett Hewlett is taking on a temporary executive role to review the company’s underperform...

By Paul McBeth June 5 (BusinessDesk) - New car registrations fell almost 14 percent in May from a year earlier, as the local vehicle market continues to slow after successive records in recent years.  Motor Industry Association figures show 12,259 new vehicles were register...

By Rebecca Howard May 31 (BusinessDesk) - Consumer confidence eased in May to a six-month low but continues to hover around the historical average.  The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan survey of consumer confidence fell 4 points in May to 119.3, but remained above the neutral 100-poi...

By Gavin Evans May 30 (BusinessDesk) - Brewer Moa Group reported a full-year loss of almost $3 million, with business acquisition expenses driving an 11 percent increase in costs. The firm, forecasting profit in the current year following its purchase of Savor Group, saw it...

By Paul McBeth May 29 (BusinessDesk) - Turners Automotive Group may sell its Oxford Finance and EC Credit debt collection units as it attempts to streamline the business. It has already ditched the Buy Right Cars brand at a cost of $4.3 million.  That brand write-off led to...

By Gavin Evans May 28 (BusinessDesk) - Todd Corporation is to acquire a 75 percent stake in solar provider Sunergise New Zealand as part of a strategy to expand the range of its Nova Energy business. The Todd Group has extensive natural gas interests, including stakes in th...

By Paul McBeth May 27 (BusinessDesk) - Motor Trade Finance reported a 2.6 percent decline in first-half profit as the auto lender wrote less business with Turners Automotive Group.  Net profit fell to $4.2 million in the six months ended March 31, from $4.3 million a year e...

By Jenny Ruth May 24 (BusinessDesk) - United States-based Intuit increased its online QuickBooks subscriptions to more than 4.2 million at the end of April, up 32 percent compared with the same quarter last year. That’s up from 3.9 million subscribers at Jan. 31. However...

(Updates share price and adds further detail and comment from 3rd par) By Jenny Ruth May 23 (BusinessDesk) - Metro Performance Glass blamed "significant challenges" in Australia for a 69 percent plunge in annual net profit and a slide in operating earnings consistent with t...

By Paul McBeth May 23 (BusinessDesk) - Zespri Group says annual profit rose 77 percent as the fruit export marketer benefited from growing global sales of kiwifruit and bigger fees from the licensing of the SunGold variety.  The firm, which markets kiwifruit on behalf of 2,...

By Rebecca Howard May 22 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's retail sales were slightly higher than expected in the first quarter amid increased spending at department stores and on hardware and building supplies. Retail sales volumes rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in th...

By Paul McBeth May 20 (BusinessDesk) - Medicinal cannabis firm Cannasouth is poised to become NZX's first initial public offering in two years and is touting its ability to secure licences and strong relationships with regulators as selling points.  The Waikato-based compan...