Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auditors have issued business failure warnings for 15 percent of New Zealand’s listed companies, a new report says.

Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand (CA ANZ) released data that shows an increase in the number of companies where auditors have highlighted a material uncertainty related to a going concern.

It was up from 13 percent in 2021, and well up from about 8 percent in 2023.

The report examined auditor reports of NZX-listed companies that issued financial statement in 2025.

In Australia, 30 percent had a going concern warning.

CA ANZ reporting and assurance leader Amir Ghandar said it showed how difficult operating conditions had become, particularly for companies reliant on ongoing access to capital.

“Auditors are now flagging greater uncertainty than during the pandemic itself, which shows how sustained economic pressures around liquidity, refinancing and future profitability can be just as challenging for businesses as an acute shock.”

Ghandar said New Zealand was in a comparatively stronger position than Australia, but was not immune.

“Certain sectors are under sustained pressure. Going concern flags are most frequent in consumer staples, health care and information technology, sectors where business models are often capital intensive, dependent on future growth, or exposed to volatile input costs.

“In these sectors, access to funding, confidence in future earnings and the ability to absorb cost shocks really matter.”

Neil Paviour-Smith, managing director at Forsyth Barr, said an increase compared to 2021 was not surprising because it had been a relatively strong time for the economy.

“While the world was still grappling with the effects of Covid, in the aftermath, in a business sense, you had governments providing subsidies, you had zero interest rates, you had governments or reserve banks printing money.

“It was a pretty strong economic recovery… since then things have tailed off, we’ve had inflation, cost pressures and other factors… it’s a much more difficult environment now relative to 2021.”

He said auditors were pointing out the pressure was on, that there were challenges to the businesses’ ability to remain a going concern.

“It’s sort of accounting language for continuing to be viable as a business and meeting its obligations.”

He said businesses could still turn around.

“It can be hard slog to get there. In some instances it means deep restructuring, cost cutting, asset sales, changes in the way in which business is performing in order to salvage the business.

“That’s where boards and management are looking very hard at – do we have a viable business? Or it may well be that the market has so fundamentally change that you’re hanging on to the past rather than looking ahead.”

For some the environment might have changed too much to continue, he said.

“If you look at retail for example, there are certain brands, whether it’s fashion or whether it’s hospitality where certain bars and restaurants just aren’t supported by customers, they like going to other places… same with retail. If you’re in a sector that’s struggling, the strongest will prevail.”

He said the fuel price pressure would flow through to inflation and higher wage demands from staff.

“At a time when households and businesses are probably going to act somewhat cautiously in terms of their own spending, which will have a revenue consequence.

“I imagine it wouldn’t be surprising if you saw the number of companies with material uncertainties increasing again because of the environment we’re in.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

• Consumer debt arrears fall, but more in deeper distress
• Consumer credit demand softens a shade, but up on year ago
• Business credit demand subdued, but service and agriculture show strength
• Business liquidations in February highest in 17 years

Low interest rates and an improving economy helped to reduce household debt levels, while stoking an increase in credit demand.

Credit reporting agency Centrix’s latest report showed 473,000 people, about 12.1 percent of borrowers, were behind in their debt repayments, a drop of 18,000 on January and down more than 2 percent on a year ago.

Chief operating officer Monika Lacey said the report was before the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East, which would add uncertainty to the outlook.

“Consumer credit demand has softened in recent weeks, but remains above last year’s levels, while new household lending has lifted strongly. At the same time, overall arrears have improved, reflecting improved financial resilience for many households compared with a year ago.”

However, 97,000 were in arrears for 90 days or longer, the highest level since July 2023, which Lacey said showed pockets of deep financial distress.

Lower rates pushes credit demand

Overall credit demand was up more than 5 percent, led by new mortgage lending, up 15 percent on a year ago, with personal loan demand up 13 percent, while credit card demand fell.

Lacey said demand had softened in recent weeks and that might reflect caution among businesses and households.

“I think the Middle East crisis is already starting to put pressure on already stressed pockets, and consumer demand has softened and consumers are not out there actively applying for credit as they were a few weeks ago.”

She said it was too early to guess whether the conflict would materially add to business and household financial distress.

Business credit demand was subdued, being 2 percent below a year ago, with hospitality businesses to the fore but solid growth from agricultural firms as well.

Business liquidations highest in 15 years

Meanwhile, business liquidations for the month were the highest since 2009 led by construction and hospitality, with Inland Revenue’s aggressive enforcement of arrears a key factor.

Company liquidations rose to 2994 in the year ended February, up 14 percent on the year before, last year, with 70 percent of those liquidations stemming from Inland Revenue action on tax debt.

“There’s that long tail of tidy-up from the Covid era … which is important to do because those businesses arguably are trading in not a very good state and we want to tidy that up and make sure they’re not taking other businesses down with them.”

Lacey said construction was the leading contributor to business liquidations followed by hospitality.

She reiterated that households and businesses finding themselves under financial pressure should make contact with their lenders as soon as possible.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Employers are generally prepared for Wednesday’s KiwiSaver changes, business groups say.

From 1 April, the default rate for KiwiSaver contributions for employers and employees will lift to 3.5 percent, from 3 percent.

This would happen for all members who had not requested a temporary rate reduction.

Katherine Rich, chief executive of Business NZ, said most employers would be prepared for the change.

Those who used major software-based payroll systems would have assistance to make sure it happened.

At the Employers and Manufacturers Association, head of advocacy Alan McDonald said he thought most were aware of what they needed to do.

“We’ve had a slight increase in calls around KiwiSaver but they are mainly confirming the date it will kick in and how they do it when they are using the total remuneration approach. The increase is no more than we would get when there is any new bit of legislation coming in.

“The same applies to the new minimum wage kicking in – again a slight increase in calls mainly confirming the timing and how much of an increase.”

When someone was paid by total remuneration – where the employer set an amount the person was paid and both their employer and employee KiwiSaver contributions were taken from that – they would have to fund the combined 1 percent increase.

Deloitte tax partner Robyn Walker said there seemed to have been more reminders coming from Inland Revenue.

Commentators earlier said it was likely to mean that overall people received lower pay rises this year than might otherwise be the case.

“In the end, employers will pay a total level of remuneration in line with prevailing supply and demand trends in the market,” Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold told RNZ.

“Changing the allocation of what employees do with that remuneration is not likely to change that assessment. Having said this it will be impossible to know the counterfactual as we can only observe what employees are paid as opposed to what they might have been paid.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Business confidence has dived as firms continue to digest the implications of the war in Iran, mirroring last week’s consumer confidence survey.

The ANZ Bank’s monthly business survey shows confidence fell 26-points in March to a net 33 percent from 59 percent in February, while other indicators also plummeted.

Inflation indicators also rose, with a net 60 percent of firms expecting to raise prices in the next three months – an increase of 7 points.

ANZ said survey results gathered during the past week were weaker still, which did not bode well for April’s reading.

The net percent of firms expecting cost increases rose to a net 85 percent from 79 percent, which was the highest rate in about three years.

“It’s unsettling times for businesses,” ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said.

“Just as the economic recovery was starting to feel real, dark clouds have gathered. It’s not just anxiety about the future.

“Many firms are already reporting that their activity has taken a hit as people defer their decision-making in the face of uncertainty.”

In terms of impacts already being experienced, overall activity fell to net 18 percent from 23 percent of firms reporting stronger activity than a year ago.

The retail sector was down 20 points to 5 percent, with construction down 16 points to a negative 13 percent.

She said past activity, which was the best indicator of GDP, took a hit, particularly in the late-month data.

“The fall in the activity indicators as the month went on is understandable, as it has become increasingly clear that this is not a short-lived shock, but something more persistent.

“Firms are understandably in a mood to reduce their risk-taking, but the unfortunate truth is that one firm’s risk (a purchase, an investment, a hire) is someone else’s opportunity.”

She said the weakness was broad-based.

Biggest problems

Zollner said competition was still the number one problem facing businesses, while non-wage costs were also starting to grow, along with concerns about the Middle East and government policy.

“By sector, retail is more concerned about the exchange rate than other sectors,” she said.

“Construction is particularly concerned about competition, and turnover remains a significant worry for retail, construction and manufacturing.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

One of New Zealand’s largest red meat companies is back in the black after a few years of financial losses.

But Silver Ferns Farms is also counting the costs of halting exports into its key Persian Gulf markets.

The firm with 14 meat processing plants across Aotearoa reported a profit after tax of $29.1 million for the 2025 financial year, up from a $21.8m loss the previous year, and a $24m loss in 2023.

The company has seven global outposts and attributed the nearly $51m turnaround to strong international red meat demand, tight cost controls and deferred investment into projects like factory automation.

Exports to Persian Gulf halted, for now

But its agility was being tested by war in the Persian Gulf, as for other primary sector exporters.

Twelve percent of Silver Fern Farm’s lamb and up to 5 percent of its beef went into Gulf states, that it entered via the embattled Strait of Hormuz, into key markets, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

When the conflict broke out in late February, it had 140 containers in-transit destined for the Middle East.

Silver Fern Farms chief executive Dan Boulton said most containers were able to be moved through other ports, though some still awaited documentation requirements on-port, and it diverted some product to other markets entirely.

He said it paused production into the Middle East, until it had clarity.

“As soon as the conflict started and we knew we were having issues, we made that decision to halt all production until we had transparency around what our options are.

“We’ll slowly resume production once we get certainty around supply chains back into that sector.”

Boulton said it was working with its supply chain partners like Kotahi to keep product moving into the important region.

He said it was looking at creative solutions to ensure it could continue to supply product into the region, including considering air freight options and diverting via the Mediterranean Sea and down through the Suez Canal.

“So it’s obviously a longer transit time. But what’s important is that we continue to service our customers.

“But that will come at additional costs, which we’re working with our customers on.”

Securing livestock supply when margins are tight

Boulton said 2025 was a hard-fought year for the company dealing with low livestock volumes.

“Though we’ve delivered a great result, there’ve still been quite tight margins,” he said.

The company tightened its purse strings these past few years, and cost control measures saw it cut full-time roles and seasonal lay-offs across its sites.

Boulton said tighter supply and high procurement costs put pressure on its ability to run the plants efficiently, on investment opportunities and its processing margins.

“We’ve had to fix capacity on and off, shift structures and longer seasonal layoffs,” he said.

“That’s been tough, but that’s what we’ve had to do to reduce our operating costs, in the light of the livestock numbers.”

Meanwhile, farmers were earning top dollar from processors for their stock, but Boulton said he expected farmgate prices to come off their highs.

“We’ll see as market conditions change that there’ll be a little bit more of that retained within processing, so we can invest in the processing sector and invest in the market.

“I don’t see farmgate prices easing dramatically too much based on long-term demand, I just see a little bit of the top coming out as capacity rebalances with supply.”

The company gained new commercial partnerships, and revenue jumped $409m on 2024 to more than $3 billion this year.

Livestock numbers were down 6 percent in 2025, and through the first quarter of this year, the cull was down 18 percent for beef and 12 percent for lamb, he said.

Boulton expected many livestock were being deferred making for a busy quarter two ahead.

Meanwhile, the Silver Fern Farms Co-operative earned $14.2m in financial year 2025, up from a $10.9m loss the year before.

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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 $24 billion technology sector has published a manifesto warning New Zealand’s future prosperity is being threatened by a lack of cohesive policies to support growth.

“Our productivity is lagging, our talent is departing, and our infrastructure deficit is growing,” Tech New Zealand chief executive Graeme Muller said.

He said there were some policy setting nuances which would ensure New Zealand’s fast-growing tech businesses would grow faster in New Zealand.

“We would move from exporting $17 billion a year of technology, and move it up to $25 – $30 billion a year, and make it the largest exporter within a decade. Easily,” he said.

“With those growing companies, you’re attracting good talent, you’re keeping the money in the country. You’re creating products and services that can be deployed for New Zealand.”

He said the sector was calling on policymakers to put aside political differences and commit to a long-term, bipartisan strategy to secure the country’s economic future.

“New Zealanders deserve a clear, ambitious vision that captures opportunities while managing risk. That requires long-term thinking with genuine cross-party collaboration,” Muller said.

The Tech & Innovation Manifesto 2026 was developed in collaboration with 20 tech sector organisations, representing agritech, AI, biotech, blockchain, education, fintech and other industries.

The manifesto sets out four cornerstones for growth

• World-class local digital infrastructure
• Abundant and affordable clean energy
• A consistent, attractive investment and talent ecosystem
• Strong global connections and export excellence

“Smarter use of technology will lift productivity, drive sustainable growth and create high-value jobs,” Muller said.

Policy proposals to support growth

• Provide every adult New Zealander with access to free, globally-benchmarked training in practical AI skills like they do in the UK.
• Direct the NZ Super Fund to allocate more late-stage capital into local tech firms, helping them to retain head offices and staff in New Zealand as our biggest tech firms go global.
• Increase investment in cybersecurity to combat the $1.6b lost to cybercrime annually.
• Accelerate deployment of renewable energy and use this to attract energy-intensive industries – such as data centres, supercomputing and advanced food processing – powered by clean energy to drive low-carbon exports.
• Invest in digital inclusion initiatives to ensure all New Zealanders can access, adopt and benefit from public digital infrastructure.
• Establish a streamlined pathway for precision-bred, gene-edited plants and animals, distinct from existing genetically modified organism (GMO) rules to safely lift our primary sector exports.

“The benefit of tech is it’s an enabler, as well as an industry,” Muller said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Rising fuel prices are starting to push construction costs higher, according to property valuer Quotable Value (QV).

QV’s CostBuilder platform shows headline cost increases remained contained in March, rising just 0.4 percent.

But QV says rapidly rising diesel prices have begun flowing through into fuel-intensive parts of the sector.

Excavation costs jumped 7.8 percent, piling rose 1.4 percent, and demolition increased 1.3 percent – largely due to the surge in diesel prices.

Site preparation and substructure costs also rose by 2 percent and 1.8 percent respectively as fuel costs pushed higher.

QV CostBuilder quantity surveyor Martin Bisset said fuel was currently the key cost driver.

“The increase in the price of diesel has had an immediate impact on areas such as site preparation, excavation and substructure work, where fuel is a significant input for machinery used in these operations.”

Bisset said that while the recent fuel spike was significant, its full impact on overall building costs was not yet clear.

“New Zealand is particularly exposed to changes in fuel and shipping costs, so recent geopolitical events in the Middle East are relevant for the local construction sector, and they will inevitably have an effect.”

He said that although rising fuel prices had begun affecting individual stages of the building process, the full impact on total building costs would not become clear until next month, although the country was not facing the sharp and sustained cost escalation seen during the pandemic.

“We’re not seeing the widespread supply-chain disruption of recent years, but fuel and freight are certainly re-emerging as important cost drivers.”

Bisset said the current fuel price increases appeared to be a short-term spike, and that fuel prices were expected to eventually stabilise, easing some of the current pressure.

Across the wider construction sector, cost movements remain mixed: plasterboard and insulation rose in price, while copper and steel pipework declined.

Overall, Bisset said the market remained relatively balanced, though with a higher degree of uncertainty.

“The key takeaway is that cost growth is still relatively moderate, but volatility has increased,” he said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

• KMD Brands raises $65m in deeply discounted offer
• Posts $13.1m loss in six months to January
• Sales up but margins down
• Chair David Kirk to step down

Outdoor retail company KMD Brands is raising funds to help recapitalise the business as it reports a first half loss of $13.1 million.

The NZX and ASX-listed owner of Kathmandu, Rip Curl and Oboz footwear brands saw group sales grow 7.3 percent to just over $505m in the six months ended January.

However, gross margins fell while operating expenses were up 2.4 percent to $223.8m.

“We’re particularly encouraged by the improved performance of Kathmandu, which has delivered double-digit same store sales growth for the first time in over two years,” chief executive Brent Scrimshaw said.

In need of more capital to continue its brand turnaround strategy, the company launched a $65.3m equity raising, underwritten by Goldman Sachs and Forsyth Barr.

The new shares are being sold at six cents each, a 69.2 percent discount to KMD Brands’ last traded price of 19.5 cents a share. Institutional shareholders are being offered shareholder $6.8m worth of shares, with existing shareholders being offered the balance of $58.5m.

The capital raising is part of the deal the company has made to refinance debt, securing a $205m multi-year facility. KMD Brands had a net debt position of $94m at the end of the first half.

“The refinanced facility provides KMD with a stable, long-term capital structure that, in combination with the proceeds from the equity raising, is expected to provide sufficient liquidity to execute on the Next Level transformation and fund working capital requirements,” the company said in its market statement.

KMD Brands remained in a voluntary trading suspension after it delayed its results announcement last week and hinted at plans for the capital raising.

Chairman steps down

KMD Brands chairman and long-time board member David Kirk has announced he will step down in the coming months.

It was not clear from the company’s statement whether he will remain on the board.

“With the balance sheet now strengthened through the debt refinancing and the launch of the equity raise, KMD Brands is well positioned to continue executing its Next Level strategy,” he says.

“Having worked closely with the board and management through this critical phase, and been on the board for 13 years, I believe this is the right time to signal my intention to step down as chairman in the coming months.”

The board said it has begun the process of finding a successor.

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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 big telecommunication companies have completed the shutdown of the 3G mobile phone network, though some devices were still connected.

Spark said 1.41 percent of devices, including those operating on the Internet of Things, were still connected to the 3G network, when it was shut down this morning.

Spark customer director Greg Clark said the shutdown followed years of preparation to ensure customers could move to faster, more reliable 4G and 5G technologies.

“Our teams have been working for several years to prepare for this change.

“We’ve upgraded all 3G-only cell towers to 4G or 5G, built over 120 new towers since announcing our shutdown date in June last year, and sent more than 4 million notifications to customers.”

While some 3G devices may continue to work, many will no longer able to receive texts, calls or mobile data.

Spark said many 3G device users said they were waiting until after the shutdown to upgrade.

Those affected can find support on Spark’s website, visiting a store, or calling Spark’s dedicated 3G customer service.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Commerce Commission says fibre landlines account for only 0.36 percent of fibre connections.

The competition watchdog is recommending deregulating wholesale fibre landline services, saying they have had little uptake compared to other ways of making calls.

Telecommunications Commissioner Tristan Gilbertson said regulation was introduced in 2018 as the country moved away from copper connections.

He said landline use had declined in New Zealand by over 70 percent in the last 10 years.

“At the time landline services were still widely used, and regulation ensured there was a fibre-based option that could support that demand as Kiwis moved off copper.

“However, our analysis shows that very few Kiwis ended up using the regulated service, because demand shifted away from landline calling towards the use of mobile and internet-based alternatives.”

Gilbertson said the rapid shift towards alternative ways of making calls from home had reduced the need to regulate the fibre landline service.

“Regulation should remain in place only where it continues to benefit consumers, and that’s no longer the case here. With very low uptake, and strong competition from alternatives, it’s appropriate for regulation to step back.

“Deregulation does not mean landlines will disappear. Retail providers will continue to offer landline-style services over broadband to customers who want them. This recommendation simply recognises that the regulated wholesale input is no longer needed for this to happen.”

The Commission’s recommendation had been put to Minister for Media and Communications Paul Goldsmith for his approval.

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