Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

The outlook for the campervan tourism sector continues to improve with New Zealand set for further growth.

“The tourism sector here in New Zealand is in a really positive place. We’ve got some good actions that have been undertaken by the government over the last sort of 14 odd months,” Tourism Holdings (thl) chief executive Grant Webster said, following the release of a strong first half result.

Thl’s campervan rental business helped drive up its first net profit by 17 percent with revenue growth of 4 percent.

New vehicles add to costs

However, the costs associated with the recent expansion of thl’s new RV fleet was seen as a drag on underlying profits.

Forsyth Barr head of research Andy Bowley said thl saw a 46 percent drop in the first half gross profits of new RV sales, with gross margins down 6.5 percent and volumes down 13 percent.

He said the value of New Zealand’s rental growth had declined when currency exchange rates were taken into account, given the expansion of thl’s New Zealand fleet ahead of the peak season, as well as the higher costs of ownerhsip.

“Tourism Holdings reported a 1H26 result ahead of our expectations but with full year guidance that is unlikely to materially change current market expectations,” he said.

Vehicle sales lag behind rental growth

Webster says new vehicle sales had been difficult over the past couple of years.

“(It) has been our Achilles heel … and the growth in rentals hasn’t been able to outstrip that decline,” he said.

“What we are seeing is people are looking more at the used product. They’re trading down.

“We’re still looking for some recovery in that over the next sort of 12 to 18 months.

“But yes, the majority of our growth is definitely in the rentals business.”

Rental growth

Webster said demand for rental vehicles suited growth in a style of travel, seen around the world.

“People are looking more at what their discretionary spend can buy them,” he said.

“And that’s definitely a theme for further recovery, just stabilisation and consumer confidence, GDP, growth, getting through, you know, just like we’re feeling in New Zealand at the moment, we’re getting through that tough time.”

Global tourism demand

“We’re a country that people want to come and visit,” Webster said.

“So is Australia, and indeed, so is Canada. The USA, in terms of our markets, is the one that’s of concern, but we’ll put that to one side.”

Overseas visitor arrivals in New Zealand were 3.51 million in the year ended December 2025, which was an increase of 196,000 from the year earlier.

The biggest changes were in arrivals from:

• Australia (up 137,000 to 1.52 million)
• United States (up 15,000 to 385,000)
• China (up 13,000 to 262,000)
• United Kingdom (up 12,000 to 192,000).

“Without a doubt, tourism is still in a really good growth phase, and we’re benefiting from that,” he said.

Regional tourism

Webster said visitors were travelling into regional New Zealand.

“We’re not getting any of the sort of congestion issues that we’ve thought about in the past, and might be a little bit out of Queenstown, but put that to one side so people are enjoying what’s going on.

“There’s been a few weather blips and ferry blips and different things, but no, we’re getting a really positive response from our customers, the international visitors, love New Zealand, and it’s been a good time to travel.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Student Job Search says the number of students trying to find work is heartbreaking.

The government-funded employment organisation has seen thousands more applications than it has vacancies on offer.

In January, it had 4600 jobs listed and a whopping 38,000 applications for positions.

The nature of the work has also changed drastically, with very few permanent positions on offer.

University students in Auckland told RNZ the market is tough.

“I haven’t been able to get any jobs for two years now. Even your normal part-time ones like fast food, local cafes, [and] things in the mall,” one student said.

“It’s really tough. I have been applying since I was a young teenager and I still have not got a job. It’s really hard. You have to know someone,” another said.

“[I have applied for] Probably like 150… I was trying to find jobs for weeks and weeks and weeks, and then I finally got one, but it was only casual and I was wanting part-time,” a third said.

Student Job Search chief executive Louise Saviker told Checkpoint the market has completely changed.

“It is heartbreaking, but also so incredible the level of determination and resilience this group is showing. The amount of applications they are submitting and the fact they are just never giving up is just extraordinary,” she said.

“They are an incredible group, they’re ready and available to work and really super keen to do so. So, for employers, we’d really ask that they would consider listing work and thinking about students and hiring a student because they really are highly educated, innovative and ready to go.”

Saviker said while job listings are back at pre-Covid levels, the jobs available are far less secure. Instead of having one part-time role, students are often juggling multiple roles, such as casual employment.

Another factor Saviker said was that some graduates can’t secure full-time permanent work, and so they are holding on to their part-time or “student-like” roles, putting increased pressure on student work. Saviker says some students are also studying further because they can’t get full-time work.

Saviker said once the market recovers, she expects student employment to be in a better position.

“The employment market is often the last to recover in an economy. We are seeing this, and we saw this after the GFC as well, and students tend to fare better or worse. So, the troughs tend to be bigger for the students, or worse for the students.”

It comes after the latest figures, from Stats NZ, have revealed unemployment has risen to its highest level in more than a decade – 5.4 percent – with more people chasing work than jobs being created.

A total of 165,000 people are now unemployed – that’s a rise of 4000 on the previous quarter and 10,000 on a year ago.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

• Retail sales volumes up 0.9 percent in December quarter on previous quarter, up 4.4 percent on year ago
• Strongest sales seen in electronics, DIY and garden supplies
• Twelve of 15 store types report higher sales, 12 of 16 regions have higher sales
• Lower interest rates feeding into spending, and lift growth prospects

Stronger than expected retail spending at the end of last year is fueling talk of a solid quarter of economic growth.

Stats NZ data showed a 0.9 percent rise in retail volumes – which exclude the effect of inflation – in the December quarter, to be 4.4 percent higher than a year ago.

“Spending on discretionary items helped drive an overall increase in retail activity,” economic indicators spokesperson Michelle Feyen said.

“Pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing, electrical and electronic goods, and hardware, building, and garden supplies saw the largest increases in activity this quarter.”

The quarterly rise was the fifth in a row, but weaker than the September quarter. Core retail spending, which excludes fuel and automotive spending, grew 1.5 percent and was the strongest in more than two years.

Falling interest rates, rising spending

Economists were enthused by the numbers, which they regarded as an indicator that lower interest rates were feeding into consumption, which would feed into economic recovery.

BNZ economist Matt Brunt said the strength of the past year had to be seen in the context of the battering the retail sector had taken from the downturn and recession in recent years.

“Retail sales volumes are still 5.1 percent below their peak in mid-2021. And merchants continue to report profitability challenges. But today’s figures are compelling evidence that genuine improvement is occurring.”

Even so Brunt said the BNZ was nudging up its growth forecast for the end of 2025 to 0.6 percent.

Infometrics economist Rob Heyes said the growth in spending was apparent in more parts of the country and through a wider range of store types.

“But with an increasing number of homeowners rolling onto lower fixed mortgage rates, the benefits of the recovery are being felt in spending growth across most regions.”

Strongest regional growth was in the South Island at 2.3 percent for the quarter compared to the North Island’s 1.5 percent, although the biggest quarterly increase was in Hawkes Bay followed by Canterbury and Otago.

ASB economist Yen Nguyen expected the retail rebound to continue through the year.

“The retail sector’s recovery is expected to continue gradually, with a more pronounced improvement anticipated in the second half of the year, driven by lower borrowing costs and a broadening economic recovery.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Commerce Commission is looking for borrowers who might have received illegal loans from a lender in South Auckland.

Ilaisaane Malupo, trading as Nane Easy Loan Finance Services, admitted providing personal loans illegally to members of the Tongan community.

Commerce Commission deputy chairperson Anne Callinan said the commission was now trying to contact affected borrowers who could be entitled to financial compensation, if there were available funds.

“Ms Malupo failed to keep accurate records, and destroyed others, meaning we do not have the details of all affected borrowers,” Callinan said.

“This is why the commission is taking the step of appealing to the public to get in contact with us if they, or someone they know, borrowed from Ms Malupo.

“While Ms Malupo’s financial position is currently unclear, we do need to hear from affected borrowers as they could be eligible for financial compensation if there are funds available for this purpose.”

One of the charges was brought under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act (FSPA), which required all consumer lenders must be registered to provide consumer credit.

Malupo did not obtain registration despite repeated prompts and guidance from the commission and continued to lend, knowingly in breach of the FSPA, Callinan said.

Her terms included interest rates of up to 15 percent per week.

“This amount would double if borrowers failed to repay their loans within 28 days. Late fees of up to $10 per day would also be charged,” Callinan said.

“This put some borrowers, who were already struggling financially, in an even more difficult position. Some would sell sentimental possessions or miss rent payments to keep up with repayments.”

In some cases, Malupo threatened that borrowers who fell behind on repayments would be publicly exposed on Facebook or other Tongan media sites.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Brimming hydro lakes and less use of coal and gas have powered Genesis Energy to a strong lift in half year profit, as it moved to raise $400m to finance new generation projects.

Key numbers for the half-year ended 31st December compared with a year ago:

• Net profit $95m vs $70m
• EBITDAF $303m vs $217m*
• Company to raise $400m in share sale, government to participate
• Interim dividend 7.3 cents per share vs 7.13 cps

*Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, fair value instruments – a measure of operating earnings.

Chief Executive Malcolm Johns said increased hydro-generation across the country allowed Genesis to buy cheaper electricity on the wholesale market, divert gas towards industrial customers, and reduce expensive coal and gas-fired generation at Huntly.

That resulted in the company posting record operating earnings.

“Among the factors influencing the result were improvements in how we trade our portfolio, improved fuels management systems and the

improved positioning of our customer books.”

“At the same time, we progressed our renewable generation pipeline for self-sufficiency in the future.”

The company said it would raise $400 million in a sale of new shares, with $100m to new investors and a $300m renounceable rights offer for existing shareholders.

The government confirmed it would invest up to $198m to maintain its 51 percent stake.

“Genesis’ proposed investments will directly contribute to enhancing energy security, including through enabling Genesis to bring more flexible capacity to the market which can be used to address dry-year risk,” Finance Minister Nicola Willis said.

Johns said the capital injection would speed up investment in renewable generation and “firming” capacity such as batteries and flexible thermal backup, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

“We can execute this plan in a five to six-year window, without that funding, we’re looking at 10 to 15 years,” he said.

“Acceleration of opportunities that meet Genesis’ capital allocation framework are expected to both enhance value for Genesis’ customers as well as shareholders by bringing forward earnings growth and strengthen Genesis’ ability to support New Zealand’s energy security.

Genesis’ maintained its full year earnings forecast between $490m-$520m.

Johns said wholesale power prices were expected to normalise as hydro conditions eased, meaning Genesis would likely run more gas-fired generation in the second half of the year.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Telecommunications company Chorus posted a modest half-year profit on the back of a lift in sales and connections to its fibre network, and lower costs.

Key numbers for the six months ended December 2025 compared with a year ago:

• Net profit $15m vs loss $5m
• Revenue $506m vs $500m
• Expenses $149m vs $154m
• Guidance full year operating earnings top end of $710m-$730m
• Interim dividend 24 cents per share vs 23 cps

Chief executive Mark Aue said the company had coped with the tougher economic times and restrained consumer spending, as it looked to become an all-fibre operation.

“We have a clear aspiration to become a simplified all fibre business with 80 percent uptake by 2030, and this result is a culmination of the work we’ve done over recent years to reshape Chorus … we are focused on growth, simplicity and efficiency.”

Chorus added about 31,000 new fibre connections taking its total to 1.13 million, about 72 percent of the households in the regions in which it operates.

At the same time it disconnected 60,000 copper phone lines and expected to clear the remaining 3000 in its territory by the middle of the year.

Fibre broadband revenue was higher while Chorus reduced its operating costs.

Aue said the Chorus network was delivering faster connection speeds because of demand from businesses and households for cloud services, multi device use, and artificial intelligence.

However, he said it was also taking steps to cater for a large number of households who could not afford to connect.

“Nearly 400,000 households cannot afford a package of meaningful digital access – a challenge felt in every region and community across the country.”

He said Chorus was launching what it called “Equity Fibre”, which would be available to households meeting affordability and need-based criteria.

Aue also said fibre was proving its worth in bad weather events, with fewer faults and quicker repair times.

The company said it did not anticipate any significant change arising from the government’s decision to sell $643m worth of debt securities issued to finance Chorus’s roll out of the broadband network.

Forsyth Barr analyst Benjamin Crozier said the result was a “solid” one helped by stronger than expected cost controls.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Campervan operator Tourism Holdings (THL) says strong growth in its rental business has helped drive first-half net profit up 17 percent, with revenue growth of 4 percent.

“Our rentals business remains the engine of THL’s business model and continues to power our global revenue performance,” chief executive Grant Webster said.

“Globally, rental performance remained strong during H1 FY26, with 11 percent growth in sale of services revenue (primarily rentals) in the first half.

“As of today, we are seeing global forward rental revenue for future travel periods more than 15 percent higher than at the same point last year, despite the decline seen in the US market.”

Key numbers for the six months ended December compared with a year ago:

• Net profit $29.6m vs $25.3m
• Revenue $477.3m vs $458.4m
• Underlying net profit $29.5m vs $26.5m
• Interim 3 cents per share vs 2.5 CPS

“We remain confident in the outlook for global tourism. The industry is finally moving away from pre-Covid comparisons,” Webster said.

“Structural drivers, including growing global airline capacity and growing demand for our category of free independent travel, continue to support a positive outlook for RV rentals.

“Looking ahead, we expect continued momentum and growth through calendar year 2026 in New Zealand, Australia and Canada, with these markets seeing between 20 percent to 30 percent growth in forward rental revenue.

“The downside is that we are in an environment where the USA is ‘off the menu’ for many international travellers this year. While the 2025 high season still had the benefit of solid booking intakes before the Liberation Day tariffs were announced (subject to some cancellations), the entire 2026 booking window has been impacted.”

Progress on the strategic initiatives announced in August 2025

“We continue to view FY26 as a transition year as we implement transformational initiatives against a background of ongoing weakness in RV sales markets, broader macroeconomic challenges, and uncertainty regarding the timing of a recovery,” Webster said.

“Notwithstanding this, we are focused on our forecast for FY26.”

The company expected full-year underlying net profit to be in the range of $43m and $47m, including a $1m reduction associated with the timing of its UK divestment.

He said challenging vehicle sales conditions persisted, and the second half of FY26 was expected to largely reflect the trends seen in the first half, with any meaningful recovery unlikely within the current financial year.

Net debt was expected to be less than $400 million.

“Looking further ahead, the execution of our strategic initiatives, continued recovery in international tourism and rental demand, alongside ongoing cost-out actions, are expected to materially benefit FY27.

“We expect gross fleet capital expenditure in FY26 to be around $210 million, reflective of our fleet and capital management decisions.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has upped its full year revenue and profit guidance on the back of “good growth” in its full range of hospital products.

“We have continued to see good growth across the full range of our hospital products so far during our second half,” managing director Lewis Gradon said.

“While relative seasonal respiratory hospitalisations in the northern hemisphere winter may continue to impact the second half result, our performance to date suggests pleasing progress in our efforts to change clinical practice.

“Continuous improvement activities and other efficiency gains are also contributing to improvements in our gross margin and operating margin.”

23 February 2026 guidance* versus 29 November 2025

• Net profit $450m – $470m vs $410m – $460m
• Revenue $2.30b vs $2.17b – $2.27b
• Assumes US exchange rate of 60 US cents vs 57 US cents
• Does not incorporate any potential refund of US tariffs paid to date during the 2026 financial year.

Update on US tariffs

The company updated its view on US tariffs following a US Supreme Court decision invalidating tariffs imposed by the US administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

“There are still a number of uncertainties regarding the implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling for companies that import into the United States,” it said.

“The company continues to work through the complexities associated with the US court rulings, refund processes and application of free trade agreements and the Nairobi Protocol to its products, and will provide an update on tariff impacts with its full year results at the end of May.”

The company continued to view the current and proposed tariff structures in the context of cost increases that will be mitigated over time by the company’s long-standing continuous improvement activities.

“As such, the company does not currently believe these matters have any material impact on the company’s long-term direction, strategy or sustainable profitable growth.”

F&P declined to comment further.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The last week of the corporate reporting season is underway with more than 20 companies yet to report their results to the December 31 balance date.

The past week saw reports from some of the biggest companies including Auckland Airport, Spark, Fletcher Building, SkyCity and A2 Milk, which met or beat market expectations, with positive outlooks.

Amova Asset Management head of equities Michael Sherrock said the sentiment was helped by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand holding the official cash rate at current levels and indicating it would hold steady for the rest of the year.

“We are reassured in the fact that things aren’t getting worse. The outlook is improving,” he said.

“And so I think there’s no sort of lush lawn growing. It’s just starting to sprout. And all of the bits and pieces are in place for a recovery as we move through the year ahead.

“We’re starting to see that come through the likes of Freightways.”

Contact Energy kicked off the reporting season last week with a positive outlook, with plans to raise more than half a billion dollars to invest in three large scale renewable energy projects.

Sherrock said the rest of the three big power companies Meridian, Mercury and Genesis, were also expected to report strong results this week, in line with Contact’s.

He said the market was also expecting to see strong results from the agricultural sector, following a positive update from apple exporter Scales, which lifted its full year underlying profit to between $61m and $62m.

He said Sky TV would be watched to see if it delivered on plans to pay a 30 cents a share dividend this year.

Other companies yet to report included tourism firms, Tourism Holdings, Air New Zealand, industrial and infrastructure services sector companies, Port of Tauranga, Channel Infrastructure and Chorus.

In addition to Scales, agri-sector firms PGG Wrightson and T&G Global will be reporting, along with manufacturing firms Vulcan Steel and Steel & Tube,

The market would also see results from property firms Property for Industry, Precinct Properties and Summerset Retirement Villages, and others representing a number of sectors including banks Heartland and KiwiBank, healthcare and petfood firm EBOS, media firm NZME, tech firm Vista Group and many others.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

As the world grapples with US President Donald Trump’s latest move raising global duty on imports into the United States to 15 percent, Trade Minister Todd McClay says how it will impact New Zealand businesses remains to be seen.

Over the weekend, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that after a thorough review of the Supreme Court’s ruling that emergency tariffs were illegal, the administration was hiking the import levies “to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15 percent level.”

But what will this mean for New Zealand businesses?

Trade Minister Todd McClay told Morning Report, exports to the US by value had increased recently, albeit not across the board.

He said now there would be a little bit of “wait and see” as to what would happen.

“Looking at other markets we’ve seen our exports to the EU going up.”

McClay said he was not presently speaking to the Trump administration about the tariff situation, but there had been ongoing conversations with them about the tariff rate.

“But ultimately, they haven’t come down below 15 percent for any country that has a surplus against them. There’s no evidence anywhere else in the world they’re dropping below that.”

So far for New Zealand exporters, the products that were sold to the US were still wanted and in demand despite tariffs, McClay said.

“What we’re doing is making sure they’ve got options elsewhere, which is part of why the India free trade agreement is so important for us.”

He said New Zealand also had agreements with other countries including the EU, Uk, China and Japan which were important.

“It’s not a plan B – you can sell to America and you can sell to the others if you want to.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand