Week in review

Friday 13th December 2002

Mediterranean Shipping Company will next month introduce a weekly shipping service to Europe via the Suez Canal from Port of Tauranga and an as-yet-undecided South Island Port. The service will compete with P&O Nedlloyd and Maersk but MSC is keeping its pricing quiet for now.

US company NetIQ is buying Auckland-based Marshal Software from a group of seven investors for $US23 million. Marshal is an award-winning anti-spam and enterprise content security software maker.

Auckland City Council sold half its 25.6% Auckland International Airport shareholding to local and offshore institutions for $190.8 million or $4.90 a share and pledged to use the proceeds to pay off the city's debt. The council will hold the remaining shares for at least two years.

Financial services group Tower is cutting 70 more jobs at its Australian operations after announcing 50 job cuts two months ago. It said the latest cuts would save $A17 million a year.

Telecom said it was in talks with Sky Television to pipe pay television down its copper wire network using digital subscriber line technology.

Carter Holt Harvey said strike action planned at its Kinleith mill by workers facing redundancies would put jobs at the loss-making mill in even more jeopardy. It said every day of strike action would cost $500,000.

ASB Bank unit ASB Capital raised $200 million from a public issue of preference shares at an interest rate 1.3% above one-year rates.

Restaurant Brands announced a 10% rise in sales for the quarter to December 2, to $68.9 million. Pizza Hut same-store sales were up 5.9% in New Zealand but down 14% in Victoria. KFC sales were down 4.4% while Starbucks sales fell 6.9%.

Air New Zealand and Pratt & Whitney are proceeding with an $80 million expansion of the Christchurch Engineering Centre, creating up to 120 new jobs. The centre will be capable of servicing new-generation V2500 jet engines.

Wakefield Hospital reported a 12% lift in September first half profit, to $466,000, despite the $206,000 cost associated with a Securities Commission inquiry.

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