NZX to wear $800k charge on sale of agri businesses to GlobalHQ

Tuesday 7th August 2018

NZX will recognise an $800,000 charge on the sale of its remaining agri businesses to GlobalHQ, which recently bought the Farmers Weekly publication from the stock market operator.

The Wellington-based company will close its Feilding office after selling the red meat and forestry components of AgriHQ to for an undisclosed sum, it said in a statement. GlobalHQ, owned by rural publishers Dean and Cushla Williamson, will take on 10 staff and nine casuals.

"Dairy was a key growth initiative identified in the exchange’s strategic review last year," the company said. "NZX will retain AgriHQ’s dairy data offering in order to support trading decisions and growth in its dairy derivatives market, which has been identified as a global opportunity for NZX."

Last week NZX said it sold its Australian grain data business to Rural Bank for an undisclosed sum, which would trigger a $2.1 million write-down of intangible assets.

The stock market operator has been divesting units it no longer deems to be part of its core business after a strategic review of its direction. NZX has refocused its attention on the core markets business and has been unveiling a number of initiatives to stoke activity on the bourse.

That also included placing a greater emphasis on the dairy component of its agricultural businesses, with the stock market operator's platform providing dairy derivatives trading.

NZX will report first-half earnings next week, and Forsyth Barr analyst Hayden Strickett expects the firm to report flat earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $14.5 million as growth in its funds management unit offsets softer listing fees.

The shares were unchanged at $1.08 and have declined 3.6 percent so far this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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