Category: Public Media

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