Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Travel software company Serko posted a bigger bottom-line half-year loss driven by one-offs, but its income surged, thanks to its partnership with US giant Booking.com.

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

• Net loss $9.5m vs $5.1m loss
• Revenue $61.8m vs $42.7m
• Operating expenses $65.1m vs $50.4m
• Adjusted earnings (EBITDAFI) $6.1m vs $1.2m
• Free cash flow $3.0 vs $1.3m
• No dividend

Serko said the increased loss was driven by foreign exchange losses and a non-cash accounting loss on the sale of its InterplX expense business.

It said momentum in its Booking.com for business drove the result, with completed room nights up 32 percent to 2.1 million, while active customers increased 40 percent from a year ago.

“Our performance reinforces Serko’s continued track record and ability to deliver high growth and cost discipline as we execute on our strategic focus areas,” chief executive Darrin Grafton said.

Grafton said the company was also looking at opportunities from artificial intelligence.

“Serko is well positioned to unlock the full value of AI as a core pillar of our strategy and product roadmap.”

The company was co-designing AI-powered capabilities with customers in the US, and said it had received positive engagement.

It said Australasian travel revenue was stable, with online bookings up 2 percent and improved margins.

Serko reaffirmed its full-year income guidance of $115-$123 million, compared to $90.5m in the year ended March 2024.

Forsyth Barr senior analyst James Lindsay said the result was “solid” with total income slightly ahead of expectations.

He noted Serko’s balance sheet remained strong with net cash of $65m.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Air New Zealand says it has been made aware by E tū union that staff have voted to take industrial action.

“We are aware that cabin crew represented by E tū union have voted to take industrial action,” Air New Zealand’s chief executive officer Nikhil Ravishankar said in a statement.

“However, no formal notice of a strike has been received.”

He said negotiations were scheduled to continue with the union later this week to “progress efforts to reach a fair and sustainable agreement that recognises the important work our crew do”.

More to come.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Seafood company Sanford has made a record full-year profit driven by the strong performance of its aquacultural business.

Net profit for the year ended September was $63.7 million, or more than three times the year earlier’s $19.7m.

However, overall revenue was little changed at $584.1m.

Cash flow was up 85 percent on the year earlier, helping the company cut net debt by nearly half to $92.1m.

Managing director David Mair said improved profitability, prudent capital management and conservative dividend levels played a part in the debt reduction.

“Sanford plans to reduce debt further in FY26 so that capital investment initiatives can be considered and funded within our balance sheet.”

While Sanford’s salmon and mussels aquacultural business exceeded expectations, the wild catch fell short of the year earlier.

“We are now focused on operating as a commodity player, where reducing costs and operating more efficiently are critical for our continued success,” Mair said.

“I have carried out an initial high-level review of our aquaculture businesses (salmon and mussels) with a clearer understanding of what is needed to build a platform for growth.

“Driving product costs down and lowering overheads will make us more competitive in any market. Whilst we have made improvements, there is a lot more that needs to be done.”

He said global demand for protein continued to increase, though market turbulence continued.

“This means we need to review the markets we operate in. Sanford has become concentrated in several large traditional markets, particularly China and the US. China is, and will continue to be, a key market for our company.

“The US will remain more challenging. We must create a broader market scope for our products, then develop, maintain and enhance our interactions with key customers in those markets.”

He said many factors were beyond Sanford’s control.

“While always striving for performance improvements, it should not be assumed that this year’s financial result will be repeated.”

The company will pay a full year dividend of 10 cents a share, which was the same as last year’s.

Sanford’s chairperson Sir Rob Mcleod also announced a plan to retire from the board in the next calendar year.

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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 cost of food continues to climb, with Stats NZ figures showing some of the sharpest increases in staples like cheese, eggs and milk.

But few items rose as sharply in price as instant coffee – up 25.5 percent on last year, to an average $7.88 per 100g.

“I think for the refills of the Moccona coffee it was like maybe $6 or $7 and now it’s like nearly $11,” one listener told Morning Report.

“It can range a lot, like at some places they might be $6.50, other places they’re closer to $10,” said another.

“I just grab it and put it in the trolley. It’s a necessity, right?” a third added.

Coffee Supreme chief executive Andrew Lowe said there were a range of factors at play.

“It’s gone up because of drought. It’s gone up because China is drinking a lot more coffee … It’s gone up because we buy coffee in US dollars and the New Zealand exchange rate has just dropped a little, and that just makes it a bit more of a pinch,” he told Morning Report.

“It’s gone up because freight gets hard with a few wars, and so instability in the supply chain and commodity traders see coffee as a great way to make money. We’re seeing a 300 percent increase in the cost of green beans compared to this time a year to a year-and-a-half ago. And that’s incredibly high.”

With instant coffee specifically, Lowe said global corporates like Nestle had two- to three-year contracts with growers which were being renewed amid such cost pressures, “which is why you’re seeing it spike so aggressively all at once”.

Lowe said for a long time farmers had been selling much of their product at below cost, offsetting that by working “with brands like Coffee Supreme at the specialty level to create a higher quality product and get a better margin as a mix”.

“But what they’re doing now, because of their confidence in the market over the last 12 months, is they’re planting trees, which is great, so… supply will go up.

“But it’s a crop – it takes two to three years to bear really great fruit. And so while we’re seeing good signs now, we won’t benefit from that for a year or so.”

Speciality coffee products tend to move around in price less, he said, while instant coffee “goes up and down on the commodity markets way more, so it’s more volatile”.

“We’re working really hard with farmers, with our factories and with our process to keep costs down where we can.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A mixed bag of more than 20 public companies are expected to report their financial results over the next 10 days, with investors keen to see any signs of an improving economy.

The balance of the reporting season with 30 September balance dates included companies with exposure to the domestic economy, such as property investors, aged care and retirement villages, alongside a few with a global focus including tech sector firms, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Serko and Rakon.

Milford Asset Management investment Jeremy Hutton said investors would be looking for some signs of the improving economy, particularly for companies with exposure to the retail sector and housing market, such as Ryman Healthcare.

“I think you’re seeing some pretty good evidence that there is a cyclical recovery underway, which has been much needed after two or three very hard years in New Zealand,” Hutton said.

While the Reserve Bank’s official cash rate had been falling in recent months, Hutton said it was important for investors to see how the change was flowing into bottom-line results.

“Seeing it in the hard data is really important, and seeing a little bit of, hopefully some growth in jobs and growth outlooks into 2026, would be really important.”

Hutton said an improvement in the volume of house sales could translate into a better outlook for retirement village operators, with more would-be residents willing to sell-up and move into a village.

A report by brokerage firm Forsyth Barr expects that fewer than half of the companies set to report would outperform the rest, including those with exposure to global markets, as well as domestic firms Oceania Healthcare, Stride Property and Tower Insurance.

“In contrast to last year, we expect a solid reporting season from the property sector,” the firm said.

“Portfolio occupancy and comments on tenant demand will be of interest given the emerging economic green shoots with retail the likely early cycle mover.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

As many as 30 percent of people who are making withdrawals from their KiwiSaver funds for hardship reasons are taking all of their available money.

Hardship withdrawals have increased substantially in recent years as cost-of-living pressure has gone on households.

It was raised as a concern by Retirement Commissioner Jane Werightson in her latest three-yearly review of retirement income policy.

In the year to June, 45,000 people accessed their KiwiSaver funds early because of financial hardship, compared to about 18,000 five years ago.

The average withdrawal was about $10,000.

Wrightson said it could have a lasting effect on a person’s retirement outcomes. “In some cases, the funds do not resolve the underlying financial problem, and hardship continues. Repeat withdrawals are becoming more common, with many members returning for additional funds after the initial 13-week relief period, sometimes depleting their entire balance.”

She said it could be a problem particularly for low-income earners who might already face barriers to contributing to KiwiSaver regularly.

Ana-Marie Lockyer, chief executive at Pie Funds, said it was not uncommon for people withdraw their full KiwiSaver balance.

She said this was the case for about 30 percent of withdrawals.

“This typically occurs when their assessed needs – such as 13 weeks of living expenses or essential one-off costs like a car needed to get to work – exceed the total balance in their account. In these situations, the total KiwiSaver balances involved are usually on the lower side.

“It’s important to note that KiwiSaver providers are not the decision-makers in hardship applications. The assessment is carried out independently by the scheme’s licensed supervisor, who applies strict legislative criteria. There is often a misconception among members that hardship automatically allows them to withdraw all of their savings, but that is not always the case. The supervisor determines the amount that can be withdrawn based solely on demonstrated financial need.”

At Generate, a spokesperson said because people could not withdraw the $1000 kickstart payment if they got it, or government contributions, there was never nothing left.

“We find even after a full withdrawal of all allowable funds, there are investment gains on the remaining balance so we have a handful of people who come back for those every few months.”

She said the amount withdrawn would be determined by Public Trust as the supervisor based on the evidence the member provided about their financial situation. “Public Trust will look at the evidence and decide on an amount that will allow the member to subsist for 13 weeks. If the members need more funds after that, they can reapply.”

At Koura, founder Rupert Calyon said most people would try to get it all.

“But most won’t get it all, they don’t understand that we can only pay out 13 weeks of bare minimum living costs. That is often when we get the second and third withdrawals as they keep coming back.”

ANZ said one in five people who withdrew money would make more than one request.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

IKEA has released details of some of the prices it will charge in New Zealand – but how much of a threat will it be to other local homeware retailers?

It says it will sell a watering can for $4.99, a two-door cabinet for $179, a side table for $59.99, a storage bench for $119 and a vase for $19.99.

A yellow table lamp will sell for $229 and a blue dining chair for $119. Children’s stools will sell for $19.99 and an armchair for $199.

“I think Kiwis will for sure love the IKEA experience, the different experience that we are offering when it comes to the home furnishing market,” said IKEA Sylvia Park marketing manager Johanna Cederlof.

“IKEA is not just selling furniture and home furnishing accessories. It is a true experience itself and you get an entire atmosphere and inspiration for your home and that’s maybe what Kiwis have been missing a bit here in New Zealand.”

She said it would be interesting to see whether New Zealanders also favoured the products that were big sellers internationally. She said bed linen was likely to sell well.

Retail consultant Chris Wilkinson said IKEA would ultimately benefit all New Zealand retailers.

“It will spark inspiration and some spending. Once upon a time people would buy most of their products within a category from one brand – that goes for homeware, clothing and other products – but today are much more likely to mix and blend products and price points – like having an expensive pair of designer jeans, then teaming that with a tee from Glassons.

“Same with the likes of furniture, so signature pieces – teamed with more affordable pieces. The difference though with IKEA is that typically our lower-cost homeware has not necessarily had the sustainability or durability before, so their entry into the market will add an additional dimension.”

He said most of IKEA’s early trade would come from growing the market. “But it will seriously challenge the less durable and short lifespan furnishing and homeware products.

“That would include some big-box stores as well as the plethora of direct-to-consumer wholesalers that bring in products typically from China.”

Bodo Lang, a marketing expert at Massey University said it would be a major threat to many furniture and home furnishing shops.

“IKEA’s impact will be particularly felt by retailers that are close to its Auckland store in Sylvia Park. Even consumers from further afield, say, Whangārei, Hamilton, or Tauranga will make the trip to IKEA due to the brand’s pulling power. Therefore, retailers in those areas may also see a slight sag in sales.

“Beyond that, even retailers in other parts of the country are likely to feel a slowing of sales because consumers can also shop at IKEA online, through the phone, or via the app. However, this impact is likely to be muted because furniture and home furnishings are ‘high touch’ products that consumers wish to try out in person.”

But he said it would bring people to the Sylvia Park area.

“Other retailers, particularly those who are not directly competing with IKEA, will benefit from the arrival of the global retail giant through increased foot traffic at Sylvia Park.”

IKEA will open at Sylvia Park on 4 December, with online sales to the rest of the country.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Business groups says a Supreme Court decision that Uber drivers are employees rather than contractors could collapse the gig economy.

It comes after the Supreme Court unanimously decided to shut down Uber’s appeal against an Employment Court ruling in 2022 that drivers using the app were employees of Uber.

BusinessNZ chief executive Katherine Rich said the decision had far reaching implications for businesses that hired contractors.

“These types of businesses have become a part of our work and leisure, and are founded on a contractor model. If the employment status of platform workers becomes too rigid, then the conveniences we’ve come to enjoy could cease to be,” she said.

“Likewise if you are contracting with platforms like rideshare or delivery gigs to supplement your primary income, or working across multiple platforms, then you may be forced to re-evaluate.”

Rich said BusinessNZ had urged the government to take decisive action to give businesses more certainty.

“It’s an issue we’ve raised with the government before and if it isn’t resolved soon, it has the potential to make not just platform work unviable in New Zealand, but puts contracting employment in general at risk,” she said.

The Employers and Manufacturers Association, which is closely affiliated with BusinessNZ, said the Supreme Court’s decision showed New Zealand’s employment law needed to be updated.

“It highlights how our current legislation, and legislation around the world, is a bit out of date in terms of how we manage platform working,” head of advocacy Alan McDonald said.

“The cases that are cited in the judgement, they’re quite old. I think at least one of them maybe predates the whole platform working thing, so that’s part of the issue… We’ve got legislation that doesn’t know how to deal with this, so we’ve jammed new style working practices into old school legislation.”

He said businesses were concerned about the blurred line between contractors and employees.

“Everyone was keeping an eye on the Uber decision, but also wanted some more clarity around how you actually define what a contractor is because it’s pretty grey at the moment,” he said.

McDonald was hopeful that the Employment Relations Amendment Bill spearheaded by Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden would provide that clarity.

“I think it will give the clarity employers want. You need definitions that are clear. At the moment if you start as a contractor and then, I’ll exaggerate for effect, a few weeks or a few months later you say ‘oh, I just want to be an employee’ and you kind of can,” he said.

“The new law would say if you sign up as a contractor and you sign the contract then you’re a contractor.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A New Zealand stone fabricator is calling on manufacturers and consumers to end the use of potentially deadly crystalline-silica engineered stone.

About 1000 workers are thought to have been been exposed to high concentrations of respirable crystalline-silica dust while working with engineered stone slabs during the past 15 years.

The product has been banned in Australia and while the New Zealand government considers tighter controls, AGB Stone – one of the country’s largest fabricators – has already made the switch to zero-silica engineered stone and is calling on others to do the same.

The company has been manufacturing bench tops for 18 years and has now opened the country’s first zero-crystalline-silica engineered stone fabrication factory in Tasman.

Co-owner Cam Paranthoiene said the business was no longer using high silica engineered stone after the ban in Australia.

“We went to investigate zero-silica [products] commercially because we lost a big contract, but once we found out the impact on the staff in Australia, we knew that we had to do the same thing for our staff here. We’ve proven that this product works, so why have that risk?” Paranthoiene said.

Zero-silica products now made up 60 percent of AGB’s orders and the plan was to convert the company’s six other factories to zero-crystalline-silica over time, he said.

“This is a milestone day for our industry, that we can run a zero silica engineered stone plant. So, where are the governance people? Where are the people that are trying to solve silicosis in New Zealand? Why aren’t they standing right here going ‘well done’?”

How many people have been affected by working with engineered stone?

Engineered stone used in benchtops and flooring has a high silica content. Those working with it may be exposed to respirable crystalline-silica (RCS) dust while cutting, grinding, sanding and polishing the stone. Exposure can lead to a progressive respiratory disease called accelerated silicosis.

An ACC spokesperson said since 2019 the Ministry of Health, WorkSafe and ACC had advised people who had worked with engineered stone for six months or more in the last ten years to have a health check at their GP or medical provider, who could refer them for tests to assess for accelerated silicosis.

An ACC claim could then be lodged on the basis of exposure, not diagnosis.

Data from ACC showed there had been 253 claims lodged as of 15 August for assessment of accelerated silicosis since the corporation’s assessment pathway came into effect in September 2020.

Of those, 30 were accepted for cover and most were for simple or complex silicosis, not accelerated silicosis.

But research published in March by the Public Health Communication Centre found in past 15 years about 1000 NZ workers had been exposed to high concentrations of RCS dust while working with engineered stone slabs.

It said, applying Australian data, 250 of the 1000 New Zealand workers who had fabricated engineered stone in the past 15 years would develop silica-related diseases.

What are we doing about it?

The government is reviewing options to control the health risks associated with engineered stone.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) consulted on various control measures – including a potential ban – while WorkSafe NZ lowered the workplace exposure standard for silica dust and updated guidance for businesses.

The Employers and Manufacturers’ Association, The Council of Trade Unions and MinEx – the national health and safety council for New Zealand’s extractive sector – had advocated for it to be banned.

MBIE sectoral health and safety policy manager Nita Zodgekar said it received 68 submissions from businesses and organisations during public consultation on options to control the risks from engineered stone and other sources of exposure to respirable crystalline silica.

It had now provided advice to Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden.

Zodgekar said any workers who came into contact with RCS were potentially at risk of developing health issues, with approximately 80,000 workers experiencing probable high levels of exposure.

That included a range of industries such as construction and demolition and activities like cutting and grinding concrete products.

It estimated between 600 and 900 workers in engineered stone fabrication were significantly exposed to an elevated risk of silica-related disease.

Van Velden said the government needed to used an evidence-based approach when making decisions around engineered stone.

Several initiatives had been established to encourage businesses to improve their risk management practices, she said.

WorkSafe had conducted inspections in workplaces fabricating engineered stone since 2019, published information for businesses and workers on RCS and silicosis, and reduced the workplace exposure standard for RCS in 2019 and again in 2023.

Inspectors reported businesses were now more aware of the risks of exposure to RCS and overall were managing those risks more effectively, van Velden said.

She was considering the advice from MBIE and would report back to cabinet on the proposed policy direction in due course.

Industry leading the change

Paranthoiene said major industry players should support the safer zero-silica product even though engineered stone products had not been banned in New Zealand.

AGB had spent the last 15 years instigating safer processes to manage the risks of silicosis.

It phased out high-crystalline silica products in 2023 and then introduced zero-crystalline silica engineered stone last year.

“If you’re a good fabricator with really good disciplined systems and controls, you’re okay, but not everyone is okay and that’s the problem,” he said.

“We have to look at this as being about the lowest common denominator in our industry. It’s not the best people, it’s the bottom end and generally the bottom end comes with the most vulnerable workers as well. So you get this double whammy of toxic product, poor systems and then poor application of those systems.”

AGB had worked with kitchen hardware supplier Archant to find zero-silica stone products after the ban across the ditch and sales director Sefton Clare said now that was all they sold.

“We’re just seeing the volumes of the zero-silica product increase going from strength to strength, it’s really a no brainer,” he said.

“When Australia banned engineered stone we just took the simple route and said that anything that’s banned over there, we’re over it, we’re not going to continue with it.”

New Zealand should also ban the product, Clare said.

“We obviously don’t know what the New Zealand government is going to do in this situation, but from a risk adverse perspective it just makes no sense at all to continue with products that they’ve got a cloud over them now, it’s a much safer, easier choice to go for zero.

“One person with silicosis is one too many.”

Nelson MP Rachel Boyack officially opened the new factory in Tasman on Monday and said it was good to see industry taking action where the government had not.

“We know that these products can cause silicosis for workers and that’s devastating for them, so to have a zero-silica engineered stone factory – the first of its kind in New Zealand – operating here in Nelson, sends a really strong signal to the market.”

New Zealand needed to do more to keep people safe at work, Boyack said.

“Likewise customers actually need to take some responsibility in terms of the products that they’re choosing to purchase. There has been publicity around these products so when you’re making your purchase you should be checking what is the silica quantity within the product and ideally choosing a zero silica product.”

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