Week in review

Friday 14th May 2004

Pacific Retail Group said it would sell of its Noel Leeming and Bond & Bond appliance retail store chains, together with Noel Leeming Furniture and the Big Byte computer store chain, in a public float in late June. The assets are estimated to be worth about $140 million.

BNZ's March first-half profit fell 7% to $264 million as an aggressive market share push bit into margins. Parent National Australia Bank's profit before one-offs fell 9% to $A1.85 billion ($NZ2.1 billion).

Revenue Minister Michael Cullen announced a long-expected change closing the loophole that allows New Zealand investors in Australian-based unit trusts to avoid tax. The government estimates $25 million to $30 million of additional annual revenue will result.

Telecom shares eased after the company reported a $232 million March-third-quarter profit, up from $197 million a year ago. The result beat market forecasts but the company warned its 2005 profit would be at the bottom of its $795-$880 million forecast range.

Resins maker Nuplex Industries said its June-year profit would be 40% above last year's $20.7 million. It had previously expected a 30% higher result.

ANZ Banking Group secured Reserve Bank consent to amalgamate its New Zealand operations with recently bought National Bank. The central bank extracted a number of undertakings, chiefly the "primacy" of the New Zealand board of directors, and confirmation the bank's systems would remain in New Zealand.

Fidelity Life bought the New Zealand policies of Lumley Life from Australia's PrefSure. The policies have a sum assured of $1.5 billion and generate $4.6 million of annual premiums.

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