NZ Herald The Business - 23rd February 2018

February 23, 2018

Golden years How does today rate against the 1950s-60s?

Feature, p10-11

Google buckles to tax critics p4

Airlines flying high p3

Why hotel prices are through the roof

Grant Bradley, Business Traveller, p7

AUCKLAND’S BEST OFFICE SPACE

OUT NOW

Discover Auckland’s best office premises available for lease and read the latest market insights all in one place.

It’s all in the 2018 issue of Auckland Office Workplace magazine.

Check it out today at bayleys.co.nz/aucklandworkplace LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

A view to a thrill

How America’s Cup 2021 will be another boost for Auckland’s already empowering economy and the opportunities that lie ahead for commercial businesses.

The missing link

The City Rail Link’s ability to bring thousands of extra workers into Auckland CBD will transform the office leasing market across the city centre.

FEATURING COMMERCIAL OFFICE PREMISES FOR LEASE IN AUCKLAND

2018

2 |The Business

Friday, February 23, 2018

News Inside

NZME makes plans for paywall P4 Michael Hill takes a ‘one-off blow’ P5 Auckland hotel room rates soar P7 Macpac sale could get rugged P8 After nearly 10 years of GDP growth, are we close to repeating NZ’s golden days?

Feature, P10-11

Regulars Business Traveller Stock Takes Media Economy Markets The Insider

P7 P8 P9 P12 P16-18 P19

The Business NEWS SECTION Editor: Hamish Fletcher News Editor: Owen Hembry Email: Hamish.fletcher@nzherald.co.nz Phone: (09) 379-5050 Write: The Editor, Business Herald, Private Bag 92189, Victoria St West, Auckland 1142

FEATURE SECTION Editor: Mark Fryer Email: mark.fryer@nzherald.co.nz Phone: (09) 379-5050 Write: Private Bag 92189, Victoria St West, Auckland 1142 ADVERTISING Neil Cording 027 405 3293 neil.cording@nzme.co.nz

$20.7m ‘transformation costs’ stun shareholders LIC chief says the business had to change Andrea Fox

S

hareholders of Livestock Improvement have been shocked to learn from the farm services company’s half-year result that it has spent $20.7 million on “transformation costs”.

Chief executive Wayne McNee said the costs were accrued in the past two years and were not related to a continuing proposal to restructure the co-operative’s share standard.

He would not say where the money went, but it is understood that consultant fees are involved.

“We can’t disclose that, we gave an agreement that we won’t disclose who payments were made to, although not all was made to one [party], there are some operating costs in the business and the like. But it’s transparent in the accounts that we had significant transformation costs.”

LIC is farmer-owned with farmer “investment” shares listed on the NZAX. It has a market capitalisation of $66m and is dominant in the country’s dairy genetics supply and herd testing sectors and provides information technology and farm advisory services.

Shareholder and Federated Farmers dairy chairman Chris Lewis said farmers would be “astounded” to learn about the amount of the costs.

He suspected many would not have read the half-year result.

“It’s a small company, farmers will be bewildered by that amount.”

Waikato dairy farmer shareholder Garry Reymer was not aware of the costs, which seemed “an awful lot of money”. But he said if shareholders lost interest in their co-operatives and did not pay attention, they lost control of them.

“I’m as guilty as anyone else. I don’t know what the costs are.”

Reymer said it was troubling if the $20.7m costs were just for running the business. If they were for assist-

ance rationalising the share standard as is being proposed now, consultant fees mounted very quickly.

But McNee told the Business Herald “none of the cost related to that [share restructure]”.

He said LIC had to transform the business after it posted its first ever loss in 2016 after the milk price slump which saw farmers close their wallets.

“The business needed to change significantly.”

The resulting cost savings and growth initiative benefits were evident in the half-year result for the six months to November 30, he said.

Revenue of $153m was up 16.6 per cent on the same previous period and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) was up 36.6 per cent at $57.5m, excluding the one-off transformation costs.

Net profit of $15.1m was 21.9 per

cent down due to the one-off transformation costs. There would be no more transformation costs, McNee said.

Asked what senior management of a medium-sized business were paid for if consultants had to be brought in to improve it, McNee said LIC had been through a difficult and unusual period.

“We needed to do things differently and we didn’t have all the ideas.

We did have some help but the benefits of that are really clear to see in the accounts.”

LIC’s last annual report suggests McNee’s salary is in a band of $850,000-$859,999.

LIC in its half-year report said underlying earnings for 2018/19 were expected to be in the range of $18m to $26m assuming no adverse weather event or milk price drop.

Bitcoin, blockchain and beyond PwC Herald Talks is back for 2018. Aaron McDonald, CEO and Co-founder of blockchain tech company Centrality, will share his knowledge and insights on cryptocurrencies and the prospect of a cashless society, as we look at The Future of Money.

The Future of Money

Tickets include barista coffee & a stand-up networking breakfast.

Book now at iticket.co.nz

Aaron McDonald CEO and Co-founder, Centrality

Wed 21 Mar, 7-9am, SKYCITY Theatre, Auckland | Thu 22 Mar, 7-9am, The Piano, Christchurch T H A N K S T O O U R PA R T N E R S

Livestock Improvement is a leader in dairy genetics supply and herd testing.

Friday, February 23, 2018

The Business | 3

Air NZ first half profit falls CEO defends handling of disruptions

Why Air NZ is flying to Taiwan

Grant Bradley

Air New Zealand says new non-stop flights between Auckland and Taipei will help boost tourism from Taiwan and provide more incentive for Kiwis to fly there. The airline will fly up to five times a week from November using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Direct flight time is about 11 hours and standard return economy fares on Air NZ’s website yesterday for that month are around $1530, although airlines usually launch new routes with promotional deals.

At present Taiwan’s China Airlines flies to Auckland and Christchurch but via Brisbane and Melbourne.

Air NZ’s chief executive Christopher Luxon said the new service was significantly quicker and more convenient than current indirect options.

About 36,000 visitors a year from Taiwan already come here and a direct link would mean more people would visit, Luxon believed.

A

ir New Zealand has thanked transtasman travellers for their patience after the mixed response to charter planes filling in for Dreamliners that need engine maintenance and repairs.

Chief executive Christopher Luxon also defended the airline’s handling of the Rolls-Royce engine problems which led to one being shut down after suffering damage from turbine blades soon after take-off to Japan late last year.

Luxon said the aircraft also suffered “superficial, not structural” damage but at no time was passenger safety compromised.

There was an accelerated maintenance programme under way, with engines flown to Singapore for checks and, where necessary, turbine blades replaced.

The issue has hit the worldwide Dreamliner fleet powered by RollsRoyce engines — about 300 planes — and Luxon said his airline’s maintenance and engineering expertise had helped it work through it better than others.

Because of disruption among its 11-strong Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner fleet, Air New Zealand contracted Portuguese charter operator Hi Fly to operate two aircraft — one between Auckland and Perth and the other between Auckland and Sydney.

While flights had to be cancelled

Liberty Square is one of the attractions in Taipei. and there were delays in the days after two Dreamliner engine incidents on successive days in early December, the schedule had recovered.

When the Hi Fly planes were first brought in it was thought they would be here just for the holiday period, but they could be here until midApril.

Air NZ had been hit with a high number of events beyond its control in the six-month period to December 31 and since.

Picture / Bloomberg

This included the Refining NZ pipeline crisis, the Dreamliner engine issues and, since the start of this year, extreme weather.

The airline had studied weather records for the past 20 years which showed one or two big weather events capable of throwing the network into chaos.

“What we’ve had in the last 45 days is four big weather events that make flying in this country incredibly difficult to do. It’s building a culture

— Grant Bradley

and resilience within [the company] so our people are thinking about those events and make that the new normal.”

In the six-months to December 31 the airline posted a 7.4 per cent fall in first-half pre-tax profit as rising fuel prices offset record-high passenger revenue.

Net profit in the first half fell 9.4 per cent to $232m or from $256m in the prior period. The firm’s shares yesterday closed up 3.5c at $3.

Qantas’ pre-tax earnings soar despite competition Grant Bradley Pre-tax profit at Qantas soared nearly 15 per cent during the last six months in spite of rising fuel costs, stronger competition on its home patch and international capacity growth.

Underlying pre-tax profit to December 31 reached a record A$976 million, ($1 billion) although net profit fell short of 2016’s record A$688m due to A$119m of costs including redun-

ST HLY E ER ONT T IN M ID PA

Alan Joyce

dancies and the introduction of the Dreamliner 787-9 aircraft.

Jetstar Group and Qantas Loyalty had record results.

The airline doesn’t break out the performance of its New Zealand operations, its Jetstar domestic flights here and Qantas aircraft across the Tasman.

Qantas announced Jetstar will take delivery of 18 new A321NEO aircraft from the middle of 2020.

These planes have the capability to fly between Melbourne and Sydney to Bali.

Chief financial officer Tino La Spina said the new planes would give the airline more flexibility.

The 18 new planes would allow it to retire 22 of its existing A320s or it could hold on to them as they were young aircraft.

“We can have the ability to grow and if we hit headwinds of course we

Earn

8-9% pa net

• Secured by first ranking mortgages over land and buildings • $50,000 min investment • 6-24 month terms • No deductions for costs or fees • Transparency, Security, Control

www.alphafirst.co.nz 0800 555 621 Available to eligible and wholesale investors only

could retire more. So flexibility I think is one of the key themes you’ll see that’s come through in the results,” he said.

Chief executive Alan Joyce outlined plans to set up the biggest pilot training academy in the Southern Hemisphere, capable of training 500 pilots a year.

Initially it would be limited to cadets who plan to join Qantas, about 100 pilots a year.

4 |The Business

Friday, February 23, 2018

News

Michael Boggs says a focus on controlling costs helped offset a tough third quarter last year.

Picture / Dean Purcell

NZME plans to put up paywall

Matt Nippert

Subscription for premium journalism due this year — CEO

N

ZME, owner of the New Zealand Herald, plans to put up a paywall around premium journalism on its website, says chief executive Michael Boggs.

Speaking to investors and analysts yesterday after NZME announced its latest financial results, Boggs said a subscription model for “premium content” would be in the market this year.

The company was focusing on improving premium journalism on nzherald.co.nz and nurturing audiences over the coming months.

User registration would then follow, with “monetisation” the last step in the process.

The company’s shares closed yesterday up a cent at 77c.

The result was ahead of market expectations, with the company revealing its radio revenue had returned to growth in quarter four and its combined radio, digital and print audience had grown to 3.2 million.

As well as the Herald, NZME owns Newstalk ZB and a suite of entertainment radio stations, including ZM and The Hits.

Google in major move over NZ tax payments

NZME said its net profit of $20.9 million, compared with the previous year’s net profit of $74.5m, was affected by the separation from Australian parent HT&E — formerly APN News & Media — and discontinued businesses.

We are pleased to see the decline in print advertising revenue slow a little.

Michael Boggs

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) came to $66.2m, down just 2 per cent from the previous year, and benefiting from a 5 per cent reduction in costs. Trading revenue declined 4 per cent to $387.7m.

NZME said its integrated media and entertainment business featured continued revenue growth from its digital business, a slowing rate of decline in print advertising revenue and an improvement in radio revenue trends over the year. A strong focus on cost control and business integration assisted earnings.

The company declared an imputed final dividend of 6c, bringing full year dividends to 9.5c.

NZME chairman Peter Cullinane said the company’s strategy and the ongoing benefits of integration continued to deliver value for shareholders in the 2017 financial year.

He said NZME’s print audience had been stable since 2015, and strong growth in digital audience continued with the monthly unique audience to nzherald.co.nz up 12 per cent.

Boggs said 2017 included a difficult third quarter, partly because of the national election, but a continued focus on cost management provided some offset.

“We are pleased to see the decline in print advertising revenue slow a little given stable print readership and the success of our integrated sales strategies,” he said.

NZME’s radio revenue returned to growth in the fourth quarter, supported by operational and content initiatives over the past 12 months.

NZME and Fairfax this month announced their intention to appeal the High Court’s declining of the NZME merger with Stuff (formerly Fairfax New Zealand). — staff reporter

Government moves to crack down on tax avoidance by multinational firms are already bearing fruit, with Google telling Parliament it will no longer funnel New Zealand revenues into low-tax jurisdictions such as Singapore.

Revenue minister Stuart Nash welcomed the move and said he hoped it was a harbinger of things to come.

“Any organisation that decides to change its behaviour as a result of this legislation should be welcomed,” he said.

“Let’s hope it sets a precedent for the large multinationals who aggressively arrange their tax affairs in an attempt to avoid paying their fair share of tax.”

Tax experts told the Business Herald the move was significant — part of a broader restructuring of affairs by Google and other internet companies — but would not by themselves resolve thorny issues in international taxation that have vexed world and business leaders.

Auckland University law professor Craig Elliffe described the announcement as “a real breakthrough”.

“This is very, very interesting, and very positive. I think you do have to see it in the international context — Google will be dealing with this issue all around the world,” he said.

Google’s move comes after online rival Facebook announced a similar move in December.

Alphabet — Google’s parent — like other internet companies, structured their affairs so contracts with customers in territories like New Zealand were settled in a low-tax jurisdiction such as Singapore or Ireland — meaning the customer’s government had no claim on any income tax revenue.

The practice saw Google’s New Zealand subsidiary provide only services as part of the sales process — paying just $356,000 in tax on only $12.2m in revenue. Estimates of Google’s sales revenue from New Zealand range in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Danone in $25m infant formula upgrade ***Distributors or Agents wanted*** For Pacific Island sourced products Pacific Trade Invest (PTI) is assisting Pacific Islands companies export to New Zealand.

As part of our Path to Market programme, PTI are looking for prospective agents or distributors.

PTI have 40 companies visiting New Zealand late in March who have products from a range of sectors.

Pacific products are typically of high quality and have real customer appeal.

For discussion please call Mr Ian Furlong at Pacific Trade Invest on 09 529 5165 or email ian.f@pacifictradeinvest.co.nz

French food group Danone will today unveil a $25 million upgrade and expansion of its Auckland infant formula blending, processing and packaging plant, effectively doubling its production capacity.

The upgrade cements New Zealand as a critical, strategic supply point for local and regional markets, Danone said.

Cyril Marniquet, New Zealand operations director for Danone Early Life Nutrition, said Australia continued to be the operation’s biggest export destination but that he was seeing growing demand for international products in other markets, including China.

“By doubling production capacity we’re better placed than ever before to

meet ongoing demand in key markets,” he said.

Danone now employs 450 people working in New Zealand processing operations, up from 300 in 2014.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said New Zealand’s ability to sustainably produce high-quality, nutritious food for a growing global population was crucial for the country’s economic future.

“That means moving New Zealand’s primary sector higher up the value chain so we continue to deliver what international consumers demand. But we must do so in way that is sustainable and leverages our competitive edge as quality food producers,” he said.

Danone has been granted approval

by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China to manufacture and export direct to China from the Auckland plant.

The company has also been granted with a Halal Licence from the New Zealand Islamic Development Trust.

“Both certifications are recognition of the stringent processes we undertake for food safety, quality, hygiene and manufacturing. Importantly, they open up exciting future trade opportunities,” the company said.

Since setting up in New Zealand four years ago, Danone has invested more than $85m in New Zealand, it said.

— Jamie Gray

Friday, February 23, 2018

The Business | 5

Jeweller hit by US exit Analyst sees positives despite plunge Aimee Shaw

M

ichael Hill International’s 66 per cent profit plunge in its first-half earnings is a one-off blow on the back of plans to exit the US, says a research analyst.

“The reported number looks pretty ugly, but when you back out the A$19 million of one-off costs, the profit was probably down about 17 per cent,” said Mohandeep Singh, senior research analyst for Craigs Investment Partners.

Michael Hill posted a 66 per cent drop in first-half profit, mainly reflecting A$19.8m ($21.1m) of provisions to reposition its Emma & Roe chain and to recognise costs of exiting the US market.

Total profit for the retailer dropped to A$8.7m in the six months ended December 31, from A$25.8m a year earlier.

US revenue fell 15 per cent to US$6m ($8.2m) for a loss of US$5.6m on an earnings before interest and tax (ebit) basis, including a provision for impairment and leases of US$3.5m.

Singh said the first-half result would not have come as “much of a

Garden Apartments from $2,245,000 2 Bedroom Apartments from $1,895,000 2 Bedroom Apartments + media from $2,245,000 3 Bedroom Apartments + media from $4,495,000

surprise” to the market as the retailer two weeks ago announced plans to exit the US market and reposition the Emma & Roe brand.

Earnings for Michael Hill New Zealand were down close to 5 per cent for the first-half, put down to higher marketing costs, he said. It recorded a 4.2 per cent gain in sales to about $70m while ebit fell 4.6 per cent to $15.8m. In its biggest market of Australia, the Brisbane-based company’s revenue rose 1.8 per cent to A$185m although ebit fell 3.2 per cent to A$32.6m.

The company said in Australia “challenging November trading period and increased marketing costs impacted bottom line results”.

2 Churton Street Parnell Auckland Ross Hawkins ross.hawkins@sothebysrealty.com +64 (0)27 472 0577 Jason Gaddes jason.gaddes@sothebysrealty.com +64 (0)21 994 921

Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated. Browns Real Estate Limited (licensed under the REAA 2008) MREINZ.

“The disappointing thing for the Australian business is that you can understand that they are investing more into the marketing side but that didn’t really translate into top line growth so first-half growth was flat in Australia,” Singh said.

“The New Zealand performance is a little bit disappointing, too.”

Singh said there were positives, including the strong performance of the Michael Hill brand in Canada.

“The other positives are the Canada business which is building some pretty good earnings growth, up 18 per cent in the first-half.”

Michael Hill’s share price has declined 11 per cent this year.

Michael Hill’s 2015 Superbowl ad didn’t save its US market but probably helped its Canadian stores.

— BusinessDesk.

Tourism Holdings’ profit leaps Tourism Holdings, the world's largest recreational vehicle rental business, doubled first-half profit as it benefited from the acquisition of US campervan rental and sales business El Monte, which performed better than expected, and tax changes in the United States.

Profit jumped to $22.8 million, or 18.1 cents per share, in the six months ended December 31, from $11.3m, or 9.4 cents, in the year-earlier period.

Earnings were boosted by a one-time gain of $1.8m due to US tax change regarding the way deferred tax is measured, while a drop in the US federal tax rate to 21 per cent from 35 per cent reduced tax in the period by $2.3m.

Revenue rose 43 per cent to $209m, including $29m in rental revenue and $15m in vehicle sale revenue from the El Monte business bought in January 2017.

Tourism Holdings expects fullyear profit of between $55m and $59m, including one-time items such as the gain from the way deferred tax is now measured in the US, and the expected gain from the creation of its RV services joint venture with US RV manufacturer Thor Industries.

Excluding the one-time items, it forecast profit of $36m to $40m. That compares with 2017 full-year profit of $30.2m.

— BusinessDesk

Redefining Apartment Living Edition brings together iconic architecture and superior design to each of it’s unique residences. Luxurious finishes and effortless style radiate throughout this premier apartment offering. Positioned at the heart of Auckland in the bustling neighbourhood of Parnell, Edition offers a chance to live in one of Auckland’s best homes.

Phone for a private viewing Register your interest at editionparnell.co.nz

6 |The Business

Friday, February 23, 2018

New Zealand – Australia’s other state Kiwi businesses attract multi-million dollar equity investment from across the Tasman.

N

ew Zealand’s strong economy has Australianbased private capital investors treating us like another state of Australia, an Auckland corporate finance expert says.

Simon Peacocke, a corporate finance partner with BDO the business advisory and accountancy firm, says Australian interests last year pumped more than $730m into mid- market New Zealand businesses, a figure nearly half the total 2017 private equity (PE) investment in this country of $1.6b.

“This is no bad thing,” he says.

“New Zealand is a very attractive place to invest because of our strong economy and Australian funds help fulfill a need faced by many local companies for liquidity or replacement capital.

“The idea that these people are just a ruthless bunch of Australians coming here and taking over is not right and is really a myth.”

Peacocke says although New Zealand has a good level of PE finance available from local firms (this accounted for 17 deals in 2017 at an average value of $18m), it is probably not enough for the number of companies here needing additional liquidity or capital.

“In Sydney,” he says, “PE investors see New Zealand like another state of Australia. In fact some areas of Australia, like the west and south, receive less PE investment from within Australia than we do here; they are attracted by the strong

economy and highly capable management teams.”

On top of the Australian investment, Kiwi businesses were bolstered by $573m from PE investors in the United States and Asia and $310m from those within New Zealand, according to a BDO analysis into 2017 investment activity.

Simon Peacocke, Corporate Finance Partner, BDO

It shows the average investment from Australia was $66m (across 11 deals) while overall 39 deals were completed in New Zealand last year at an average of $41m each.

Peacocke says mid-market PE investors mainly target established businesses (generally those worth $30m $80m) across multiple industry sectors including food and beverage, manufacturing, technology and tourism.

Tourism in particular has attracted interest, with Australian private capital

investors behind the planned $200m development of the Even Hotel in Auckland and a $60m Holiday Inn Express in Queenstown.

PE differs from venture capital investment (VC) - which focuses primarily on start-up or new businesses - and in most cases mid-market PE investors are looking to buy in at between 50 and 80 per cent.

“Owners of mid-market businesses who sell to PE investors are attracted to being able to retain an ownership stake as well as a partial exit, something not typically available from a trade sale,” says Peacocke.

Although he says it is important not to “sugar-coat” PE investments as always having good outcomes or endless growth, Peacocke says equally it is not correct to brand the practice as bad for the country.

“In many cases existing management and shareholders remain in place and ultimately benefit from the deal; in other cases the companies invested in are already owned by foreigners, so in this sense they are not buying out New Zealand companies or families.

“They will invest, accelerate the rate of growth and look to transform the business,” he says. “So yes, this is a good thing, they will generally help strengthen performance through a commitment to a fast growth strategy and is a good proposition for many companies.

“Most privately-owned businesses don’t look at buying out competitors, but often this is on the agenda for a PE investor, and can add a lot of strategic value.

“The idea that these people are just a ruthless bunch of Australians coming here and taking over is not right and is really a myth.”

Simon Peacocke

Peacocke says there are many flow-on benefits for the wider New Zealand economy: “All of these companies invest to accelerate their growth, they all have suppliers and employees here, so if the business grows, their suppliers and employees benefit.”

His analysis comes as New Zealand’s capital markets continue to struggle to maintain healthy levels of IPOs (initial public offerings) through the New Zealand stock exchange (NZX). These are usually offered by smaller, younger companies but last year was one of the worst ever, with just one IPO (for Oceania Healthcare) and eight delistings.

By contrast PE investment is growing and Peacocke expects this trend to continue in 2018. Last year’s $1.6b was up from 2016 when the rate of PE investment stood at $1.1b

according to figures produced by the New Zealand Private Equity and Venture Capital monitor.

PE funds worldwide have been described by some commentators as “full to the gunwhales with dry powder” (cash reserves) and New Zealand’s booming economy is considered a prime target.

In Australia alone a combined $7.69b of PE and venture capital cash reserves is available to be used in high-growth business according to the Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.

Chief executive Yasser ElAnsary says a total of $3.26b of PE funds were invested into Australian businesses in 2017, three-quarters of which came from domestic Australian sources.

He says Australian investors are also likely to up their participation in domestic PE, especially in growth and midmarket parts of the economy: “This helps to expand the ever increasing footprint of PE sponsored businesses in regional and metropolitan locations across the nation.”

Peacocke says the amount of funds available from New Zealand mid-market PE firms may be smaller than in Australia, but there is still more than $600m available to invest.

For more information on BDO’s corporate finance services, please go to www.bdo.nz/ corporatefinance

Friday, February 23, 2018

The Business | 7

Business traveller

Grant Bradley

grant.bradley@nzherald.co.nz

Hotel room rates soar

Busy February sends prices through the roof

A

uckland hotel prices are up to twice the usual rate as visitors pour into the city — and pressure on accommodation is set to continue as construction of new rooms trails demand.

An influx of visitors from China for Chinese New Year earlier this month, events including the Foo Fighters, Queen and a busy cruise ship season have resulted in the “No Vacancy” sign being hung out or high prices for remaining rooms, especially at the premium end.

February is also when there is more demand for rooms from travelling businesspeople.

Online travel agent Hotels.com has four- to five-star rooms listed for $365-$659 a night this weekend.

Lisa Li, of China Travel Service, said the Chinese market was close to its limit in tolerating room rates, but the charges were not a surprise.

“They’re about double the usual price,” she said. “They are quite high but according to my operators they are in line with expectations.”

Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development says it is closely monitoring hotel prices.

“We are very conscious of that and how we fare compared to Melbourne and Sydney,” said destination general manager Steve Armitage.

Figures for December last year showed average room rates were $218 a night, 6 per cent up on the year before. Armitage expected a similar percentage rise for February when the figures are finalised.

“It’s a perennial topic at this time of the year — supply and demand is such that room rates increase.”

Cordis Hotel says it is running at full occupancy.

The month was also when the corporate meetings and incentives

industry was at its peak, said the hotel’s managing director, Franz Mascarenhas.

Grant Gaskin, Swiss-Belhotel area general manager for NZ and Australia, said tourist and corporate bookings were heavy.

“Overall, Auckland is performing to a standard that encourages further investment in this market. Hotel rates in Auckland are currently in line with overseas rates, when comparing with similar city destinations, and we don’t imagine that to slow any time soon.”

Peter Hamilton, director hotels, valuation and advisory services from CBRE New Zealand, said there were between 1300 and 1400 rooms being built in Auckland but this extra capacity would quickly be absorbed.

February would continue to be busy. ”It’s a very strong month — without changing the structure of demand there is not much we can do.”

I don’t see this as the hotels being extortionate.

Stephen Hamilton, Horwath HTL

Stephen Hamilton, director of hotel, tourism and leisure consultants Horwath HTL, said the industry had a ”wobble” last year when tour groups baulked at high prices in Auckland and Queenstown, but that didn’t appear to be the case this year.

“I don’t see this as the hotels being extortionate, they’ve had years and years of not being able to fill the rooms and being at the mercy of group purchasers dictating prices.

The situation has turned right around and I don’t think you can blame the hotels for pricing at the price the market is prepared to pay.”

Hamilton said Auckland hotels should aspire to charges similar to Melbourne and Sydney, as long as their facilities and service matched what was offered across the Tasman.

%-$(+" .*!/. )-$ . &+",' #-"-) 3 3 3 3

6)++-.1 971,"/& 9+)$"*"+4555# %.:7) ,7/+: %0%$+1 (/=+)$+) "/%$7::+- 3 '/!%+- <2/"/& ;.$.) ;.=+)% 3 8!$-..) ,.2+) ,:!&

CALL US ON 0800 299 499 Saleyards Rd, VISIT US 22 Otahuhu Auckland

Fiji first with the latest 737

Fiji Airways is on track to be the first airline to including services to Christchurch, Wellington bring the new-generation Boeing 737 to New and Auckland.

Zealand.

During the past three years capacity was up The airline is refreshing and expanding its 32 per cent. However, its rivals have also international fleet and says the 737MAX 8 is the increased flights to Fiji and Air New Zealand was right plane for its shorthaul international network. putting bigger aircraft on flights to Nadi.

It plans to fly the plane on New Zealand routes “New Zealand has been a very good market later this year.

— yields unfortunately are off a bit in the last Fiji Airways’ chief executive, Andre Viljoen, two years as a result of a lot of competition and said the new planes would replace the five older capacity,” said Viljoen. model 737-800s this year and next year.

Other routes were performing strongly and “We believe they are the right the airline was on track to beat last aircraft for our requirements — we year’s record profit of F$84.5 million also got a [good] commercial ($56.6m). deal from Boeing.”

He warned that increasing The MAXs will be used on fuel prices could lead to higher its services to New Zealand fares.

Watch: and Australia and other “At this stage the airlines Inside Nadi’s new Pacific nations — Samoa, like us are absorbing it [more premium lounge Tonga and Hawaii. costly fuel] but if it continues nzherald.co.nz/business The airline is also adding along that trajectory we’ll have two new Airbus A330s to its to make some adjustments.” fleet of four to fly on its longhaul His airline had a commercial routes to Los Angeles, San deal with start-up Samoa Airways, Francisco, Hong Kong, Singapore which began flying last year. The two and, soon, Japan. airlines co-operate on the Nadi-Apia route and Viljoen was in New Zealand this week to Nadi-Honolulu. announce Fiji Airways had become the airline Late last year the airline opened its flagship partner for the Crusaders rugby team. The premium lounge in Nadi, which Viljoen said had company has 15 flights a week to New Zealand, been well received.

H

T Y ES THL R TE ON IN M ID PA

Earn

8-9% pa net

• Secured by first ranking mortgages over land and buildings • $50,000 min investment • 6-24 month terms • No deductions for costs or fees • Transparency, Security, Control

www.alphafirst.co.nz 0800 555 621 Available to eligible and wholesale investors only

8 |The Business

Friday, February 23, 2018

Stock Takes

Tamsyn Parker

tamsyn.parker@nzherald.co.nz

Macpac sale could get rugged Briscoe Group chief is bound to have watched with interest

Corporation had to terminate their contracts with Fonterra or establish new herds. Fonterra would not comment on the claims it had hampered development of the product at the time.

Angus Geddes from Australian research firm Fat Prophets also described the deal as “somewhat ironic” in a note this week given Fonterra had been dismissive of a2.

“Indeed, a former senior exec of Fonterra told our head of research, Greg Smith, a few years ago that he thought a2 was a hoax.”

Geddes said Fonterra also had the chance to buy a2 outright at much lower prices, and with that ship having sailed, now had to ‘settle’ for a strategic deal. Still Fonterra is unlikely to be complaining if a2’s growth continues apace.

T

his week’s sale of outdoor brand Macpac to the Super Retail Group for $144 million could have implications for Kathmandu.

ASX-listed Super Retail, which also owns the Super Cheap Auto business in New Zealand, paid more than twice the $68.7m paid by Australia’s Champ Private Equity in 2015 to buy Macpac.

Briscoe Group chief executive Rod Duke is bound to have watched the deal with interest given Briscoes’ stake in Kathmandu and its failed attempt to buy it out in 2015.

Briscoes still owns just under 20 per cent of Kathmandu.

The leisure market is seen as a growth area for retail and it will be interesting to see if Super Retail’s acquisition results in Macpac becoming a more aggressive player.

If it does that could put pressure on Kathmandu, opening up the door for another bid by Briscoes.

Duke is said to be a patient man and this could present the opportunity he has been waiting for.

Even without the takeover Briscoes has gained from the ownership.

It bought shares at around $1.80 and they have since risen more than 25 per cent to close at $2.27 yesterday.

MORE PRESSURE The Macpac deal could put pressure on Kathmandu, opening up the door for another bid by Briscoes.

Picture / File

SO FAR SO GOOD Apart from a few outliers, reporting season so far has been sound, according to Harbour Asset Management’s Shane Solly.

SkyCity’s result was better than expected while a2 Milk had a stellar boost to its share price after announcing a strong half-year profit and an alliance with Fonterra.

Solly said Auckland Airport’s result had been solid while the power

Explore your trading potential

SKY TV

Close=$2.80

3.00

KATHMANDU 2.60

$

$

2.80

2.40

2.60

2.20

2.40

Close=$2.27

Aug 24, 2017

Feb 22

Source: Bloomberg / Herald graphic

generators had been mixed.

Shareholders will have been pleased to see moves to increase some dividend payments.

The NZX increased its interim dividend for the first time in five years this week from 3c to 3.1c per share while Auckland Airport increased its interim dividend 7.5 per cent to 10.75c per share.

Solly said the increases seemed to be sensible and companies appeared to be aware they needed to protect their balance sheets.

Those at the bigger end of town who need to borrow internationally to fund their businesses will be wary about any potential rising costs in

2.00

Aug 24, 2017

Feb 22

Source: Bloomberg / Herald graphic

borrowing with interest rates on the rise.

MORAL WIN A2 Milk’s alliance with Fonterra must seem like a moral win for the duallisted company after facing a rough ride from the co-op in the early days.

A2’s since deceased founder Dr Corran McLachlan told the Herald in 2003 that Fonterra had hampered its efforts to get the new milk to market using an “anti-competitive clause” in the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act of 2001 to prevent farmers from supplying patented milk to anyone else. Farmers supplying milk to a2

Spark’s move to offer access to the latest movies via its Lightbox streaming service is likely to put more pressure on Sky TV. Spark announced this week that it would launch a movie platform offering a pay per view service from April. That month has also typically been the time of year Sky TV announces its price changes.

The pay-TV operator is thought to be planning a new budget package which would be about half of the price of its current $50 basic offering.

The offer could help arrest declining subscriber numbers or it could cannibalise its revenue encouraging current subscribers to trade down.

Sky’s half-year result is due out on Tuesday. One market player said investors would be looking for a game-changer announcement from Sky to turn the tide in subscribers.

“One thing we haven’t seen for some time is growth in subs.

Investors will be looking for a go forward model.”

Sky’s shares have stayed steady in the last year dropping just 1c.

But that has been in a market where the index was up over 20 per cent last year. Yesterday they closed on $2.80.

Take advantage of our award-winning education programme Our materials are designed to support your trading knowledge.

With complimentary webinars, eBooks, videos and more – whatever your experience, we’ve got the tools to help you trade.

Find out more at cmcmarkets.co.nz Forex | Indices | Commodities | Shares

With derivative products you could lose more than your deposits. You do not own or have any interest in the underlying assets. Investing in derivative products carries significant risks. Seek independent advice and consider our PDS at cmcmarkets.co.nz when deciding whether to invest in CMC Markets products. CMC Markets NZ Limited (CN 1705324). *Highest client satisfaction rating for education materials/programs among CFD traders. Investment Trends 2017 Australia CFD Report, based on a survey of 12,556 traders and investors.

Friday, February 23, 2018

The Business | 9

Media

John Drinnan

jdrinnan@xtra.co.nz

Current affairs gets a new look Duncan Greive has developed a media niche with The Spinoff website.

Picture / Dean Purcell

T

hese are dizzying days for TV current affairs. There are many unknowns with this challenged genre — not least, whether RNZ is up to the task of running a new TV channel. But that channel will at least identify the need for public broadcasting, not just feed networks’ demands for subsidies.

A recent taxpayer handout illustrates the oddities of the situation. New Zealand on Air gave $700,000 for the video strand of the website The Spinoff, including a latenight TV show for Three.

Earlier, in 2015, NZ on Air partfunded the prime-time show 3D Investigates, until MediaWorks dropped out because it was not rating well enough.

NZ on Air has rushed in to fill the gap as free to air TV has abandoned current affairs.

The agency is charged with supporting purportedly noncommercial content in a dysfunctional, marketbased funding system in a struggling sector.

Having extended taxpayer largesse into

current affairs, NZ on Air is now going along with the networks’ redefinition of the genre.

The $700,000 will help The Spinoff expand its video offering, and create 16 “current affairs” episodes tipped for late Friday nights, starting June.

NZ on Air has scant knowledge of the new show, but its chief executive, Jane Wrightson, rejected my suggestion that The Spinoff is focused largely on opinion.

Spinoff owner Duncan Greive has been a smart businessman, building a commercial media niche for the young, urban liberal left. He says the Spinoff TV show’s tone will mirror the website — “a mix of reporting, opinion, analysis and jokes covering the same areas we currently canvass.

“Opinion will be very much a part of it.”

Will The Spinoff deliver the talented frontperson, or people, such a show needs? Is there a Kiwi Trevor Noah or Jon Stewart waiting to be discovered?

Maybe.

Commercially, it is worth a go. I’m just not sure why taxpayers are picking up the tab for a late night lefty opinion show, even if it is now classed as current affairs.

The answer is that NZ on Air is

obliged to follow the lead of the commercial networks, which are currently caught in a liberal milieu following the election. Encouragingly, Wrightson says a mainstream audience is still important to the funder — not just Labour and Green voters.

But I wonder if it is putting its money into the right places to reach mainstream NZ, and whether it should commission content itself, rather than reacting to media requests.

NZ on Air gave $165,000 to Lizzie Marvelly’s feminist website Villainesse, alongside RNZ’s youth website The Wireless, to support “The Real Sex Talk”, a series of web-based snippets aimed at 13-to-18-year-olds.

Talking to teens about sex seems a good idea, and the Villainesse — which came up with it — might do it brilliantly.

Wrightson was happy about The Wireless being the “distribution partner” and that other groups are backing “The Real Sex Talk”.

The Villainesse and The Wireless will draw an audience of thoughtful young people. But I can’t help but feel the key audience is mainstream New Zealand teenagers, and how many of them follow Marvelly or RNZ?

EARLY EDITION WITH KATE HAWKESBY | 5am – 6am weekdays

NEWSTALKZB.CO.NZ

AUCKLAND 89.4FM, GISBORNE 945AM, HAMILTON 97.0FM, ROTORUA 747AM, TAUPO 96.0FM, TAURANGA 90.2FM, TOKOROA 1413AM, WHANGAREI 1026AM, MID NORTH 1215AM, FAR NORTH 1026AM, MASTERTON/WAIRARAPA 846AM, MANAWATU 100.2FM, WANGANUI 1197AM, HAWKES BAY 90.3FM, KAPITI 89.5FM, NEW PLYMOUTH 96.4FM, WELLINGTON 89.3FM

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM 10 |The Business - Friday, February 23, 2018

Friday, February 23, 2018 - The Business | 11

It’s been almost a decade now of non-stop economic growth. Is NZ reliving the golden years of the past? asks Liam Dann

A

s New Zealand’s economy heads into its 10th year of expansion, how does this era rate compared to our other postwar booms? For that matter, is it even a boom?

The past few years have been great for homeowners and share investors, but have seen many wage earners struggling to keep up.

The current growth phase has been unusually shallow – in length, it is now running third-equal among growth periods since WWII, but it only ranks fifth in terms of its strength.

The numbers are based on a research paper produced by Reserve Bank head of economics John McDermott and Victoria University professor Viv Hall in 2014.

The Herald updated those numbers — with McDermott’s help — to get a sense of how good the current economy really is.

The most recent confirmed GDP figures are for the year to September 2017 — which means we now have 34 quarters of growth in the tank. In that time we’ve had a total rise in real GDP (adjusted for inflation) of 25.7 per cent.

New Zealand has been dubbed a rock star economy for its growth, compared with other major economies.

But that star pales in comparison with New Zealand’s golden era of postwar economic growth.

It’s fair to say that baby boomers’ fond memories of the 1950s and 60s are more than just nostalgia.

From 1952, the economy grew for 58

I think we should stop fixating on GDP growth

Economist Tim Hazledine

When the NZ economy boomed

This chart shows the boom periods in the NZ economy since WWII, as measured by GDP and after accounting for inflation.

For example, New Zealand’s strongest growth period was 1952-66. By 1966 the economy had grown by 86.46%.

Recovery after wool price crash

John McDermott, the Reserve Bank The data in the RBNZ paper records a recession from 1987 through 1988, followed by a brief expansion and then another recession in 1991.

But Hazledine argues that from a practical perspective (and based on unemployment numbers), the whole period felt like a contraction.

“Those two recessions were basically just one big five- or six-year bad period for us,” he says.

And despite the downturn being triggered by the 1987 stock market crash, he blames excessive political policies of deregulation and market

1980

1985

Spend & hope, borrowing & inflation

Deregulation, sharemarket boom

liberalisation for the depth of the slump.

“Then you get the bounce back — which a lot of the supporters of Rogernomics made a great deal of in the 1990s. But you were starting from a terrible trough.”

He accepts that the economy in the 1990s also benefited from strong trade and the boom in southeast Asia.

The decade outperformed the current cycle, with 26.11 per cent growth in real GDP across just 24 quarters.

But he argues that the era opened up an inequality gap that has

1990 Respite between recessions

1995 Tech revolution, SE Asian boom

2000

ity is an increasingly problematic issue in developed economies.

It has created puzzles for economics, particularly as globalisation and rapid technological change have shifted the dynamics of inflation and employment.

“If you look at the long stretch of history — and this massive acceleration of globalisation since about 1990 — inequality across the globe would actually be shrinking,” he says, alluding to the massive growth of the middle class through China, India and southeast Asia.

“Having said that, it’s created a lot of adjustment in advanced economies.

It’s given a premium to industries outside manufacturing.”

So job creation has favoured professional work which requires higher levels of education.

“These issues are not going to go away, they are going to accelerate,” he says.

“The advent of technology, robots, artificial intelligence, 3D printing — these forces are going ever faster.”

If you’re in the top 20 per cent of incomes, you’ve probably seen a good period of growth in this expansionary phase, he says.

“Below that, the incomes haven’t really increased and in fact there’s been increasing concerns about job security. So, countries have observed this increasing income inequality, although across the globe it’s been shrinking.

“Within the adjustment process there are winners and losers. And that seems to have accentuated and we’re all saying: wow, how do we address that?”

The global trade system creates benefit “on average”, he says.

“Economic theory doesn’t really tell you about that . . . it tells you that everybody on average is better off. That doesn’t help you if you are one of the ones struggling.”

25.7%

1975

There’s an old cliche about business cycles — they don’t die of old age

41.68%

1970

It is a more qualitative approach, but one that is more meaningful in reflecting real economic conditions – particularly where the two negative quarters are shallow and occur during an otherwise expansionary phase.

“What you need to do is search the data more intently,” he says. “In the US they actually have an official committee, they search lots of data and they add human judgment to that.”

Recessions are formally declared by the committee.

“We don’t do that in NZ but it turns out the algorithms we used here are very good at replicating what they do in the US.”

26.11%

Korean War, boom in wool prices

1965

A key part of analysing the depth and length of economic cycles is how we define recessions — the ugly bits between the growth.

“Intuitively, it’s an economy going backwards,” says Reserve Bank head of economics John McDermott.

“If you feel a large portion of people are losing their jobs or incomes are falling . . . that’s what you’d see.”

But the way economists define recession is another matter.

In his research, McDermott used a classical definition of recession, rather than relying on “technical recessions”, which are defined as any two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth.

2.44%

1960

ultimately diminished the value of GDP data in economics.

“Basically, the income gap with Australia widened from about 10 per cent to about 30 in the 1990s and has never come back,” he says.

“I think we should stop fixating on GDP growth . . . it used to mean something in the 1950s and 60s and through into the 70s — if it went up, the standard of living went up for everybody and especially the middle and lower income classes. So you could use that single number as a measure for widespread improvements.”

The risk now, he says, is that it creates a false sense of “aren’t we doing well” because we have 3 per cent GDP growth.

“But if three-quarters of that went to the top 10 per cent . . . well, that may be fine if that’s your political view but I don’t think the centrist parties in NZ — either National or Labour — would be happy with that.”

If pushed, Hazledine argues that a number like the median wage might offer a better guide to progress.

But he’s not convinced a single target is the answer.

“People who try and add things to GDP — happiness measures and so on — are still trying to get that magic number. I don’t think there is a magic number anymore,” he says.

“I think a more mature approach would be look at things that you know are important — like youth suicide rates, baby birth weights — and focus on those.

“The median wage would be a reasonable single-number target — if the median wage goes up, then it’s safe to say a lot of people have had their lives improved.”

McDermott agrees that inequal-

What about the bad times?

14.69%

Postwar recovery

1955

10.73%

1950

of the curve, recovering from the GFC sooner than most major economies, and could now cash in as global conditions improve.

Forecasts for the next 18 months suggest that — barring a major external shock — the current expansion is likely to leap up the rankings to rate as our second-longest and third-strongest.

Perhaps it could even start to feel a bit more like a boom.

Unfortunately, though, no matter how good the forecasts look, you can’t ignore the risk of some shock ending the party, McDermott says “There’s an old cliche about business cycles,” he says. “They don’t die of old age. There’s no natural death — something comes along to murder them.”

Falling wool prices in the 1960s, oil shocks in the 1970s, markets crashing in the 1980s, the Asian crisis of the late 1990s and the GFC — almost invariably, New Zealand’s growth phases are cut short by global turmoil.

“We are a very small economy and we specialise quite a lot,” McDermott says. “When times are good, we do quite well out of that — but in times of global shocks, oil shocks, Asian crisis, global financial crisis — that upsets the global trading system and we suffer disproportionately. The waves tend to hit us quite hard.”

Auckland University economics professor Tim Hazledine broadly agrees, but argues there were internal factors at play in the slump of the late 1980s.

In fact, he argues that the structural reforms of the 1980s not only exacerbated the downturn, but they have also undermined the value of GDP as a way of measuring national wealth and social progress.

37.41%

1945

25.85%

REAL GDP GROWTH

86.46%

How do other booms compare?

quarters in a row, and by 86.7 per cent, until a short, sharp crash in the wool market — which then accounted for 31 per cent of our exports — ended the golden run in 1967.

“I think we even called it the golden age,” says McDermott. “It was a rebuilding phase for the world. It took quite a few years for the rationing systems in Europe to be unwound and for the trade system to be rebuilt — the Americans stepped into Europe with the Marshall plan and they fostered an open environment for the world to expand.”

New Zealand, with its infrastructure and farming systems largely untroubled by the war, was ready and waiting to make the most of the new environment, with its exports of meat, dairy and wool.

“That was the recipe for a long and quite rapid growth period for New Zealand,” McDermott says.

By comparison, the current expansion hasn’t really felt like a boom.

“It has been a story of duration — not so much amplitude — it was a very slow start.

“It does seem that credit is being used to support this moderate enduring cycle rather than creating it into a boom scenario,” he says, referring to the artificially low interest rates and quantitative easing that central banks have maintained since the global financial crisis in 2008.

It is also the case — as the last Government’s critics pointed out through the past decade — that growth has been flattered by record levels of immigration.

But one thing we can say about the current boom is that it isn’t finished yet.

New Zealand was ahead

2005

China trade deal, dairy boom

2010

2015

2018

Property, tourism, immigration Source: RBNZ / Herald graphic

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM 10 |The Business - Friday, February 23, 2018

Friday, February 23, 2018 - The Business | 11

It’s been almost a decade now of non-stop economic growth. Is NZ reliving the golden years of the past? asks Liam Dann

A

s New Zealand’s economy heads into its 10th year of expansion, how does this era rate compared to our other postwar booms? For that matter, is it even a boom?

The past few years have been great for homeowners and share investors, but have seen many wage earners struggling to keep up.

The current growth phase has been unusually shallow – in length, it is now running third-equal among growth periods since WWII, but it only ranks fifth in terms of its strength.

The numbers are based on a research paper produced by Reserve Bank head of economics John McDermott and Victoria University professor Viv Hall in 2014.

The Herald updated those numbers — with McDermott’s help — to get a sense of how good the current economy really is.

The most recent confirmed GDP figures are for the year to September 2017 — which means we now have 34 quarters of growth in the tank. In that time we’ve had a total rise in real GDP (adjusted for inflation) of 25.7 per cent.

New Zealand has been dubbed a rock star economy for its growth, compared with other major economies.

But that star pales in comparison with New Zealand’s golden era of postwar economic growth.

It’s fair to say that baby boomers’ fond memories of the 1950s and 60s are more than just nostalgia.

From 1952, the economy grew for 58

I think we should stop fixating on GDP growth

Economist Tim Hazledine

When the NZ economy boomed

This chart shows the boom periods in the NZ economy since WWII, as measured by GDP and after accounting for inflation.

For example, New Zealand’s strongest growth period was 1952-66. By 1966 the economy had grown by 86.46%.

Recovery after wool price crash

John McDermott, the Reserve Bank The data in the RBNZ paper records a recession from 1987 through 1988, followed by a brief expansion and then another recession in 1991.

But Hazledine argues that from a practical perspective (and based on unemployment numbers), the whole period felt like a contraction.

“Those two recessions were basically just one big five- or six-year bad period for us,” he says.

And despite the downturn being triggered by the 1987 stock market crash, he blames excessive political policies of deregulation and market

1980

1985

Spend & hope, borrowing & inflation

Deregulation, sharemarket boom

liberalisation for the depth of the slump.

“Then you get the bounce back — which a lot of the supporters of Rogernomics made a great deal of in the 1990s. But you were starting from a terrible trough.”

He accepts that the economy in the 1990s also benefited from strong trade and the boom in southeast Asia.

The decade outperformed the current cycle, with 26.11 per cent growth in real GDP across just 24 quarters.

But he argues that the era opened up an inequality gap that has

1990 Respite between recessions

1995 Tech revolution, SE Asian boom

2000

ity is an increasingly problematic issue in developed economies.

It has created puzzles for economics, particularly as globalisation and rapid technological change have shifted the dynamics of inflation and employment.

“If you look at the long stretch of history — and this massive acceleration of globalisation since about 1990 — inequality across the globe would actually be shrinking,” he says, alluding to the massive growth of the middle class through China, India and southeast Asia.

“Having said that, it’s created a lot of adjustment in advanced economies.

It’s given a premium to industries outside manufacturing.”

So job creation has favoured professional work which requires higher levels of education.

“These issues are not going to go away, they are going to accelerate,” he says.

“The advent of technology, robots, artificial intelligence, 3D printing — these forces are going ever faster.”

If you’re in the top 20 per cent of incomes, you’ve probably seen a good period of growth in this expansionary phase, he says.

“Below that, the incomes haven’t really increased and in fact there’s been increasing concerns about job security. So, countries have observed this increasing income inequality, although across the globe it’s been shrinking.

“Within the adjustment process there are winners and losers. And that seems to have accentuated and we’re all saying: wow, how do we address that?”

The global trade system creates benefit “on average”, he says.

“Economic theory doesn’t really tell you about that . . . it tells you that everybody on average is better off. That doesn’t help you if you are one of the ones struggling.”

25.7%

1975

There’s an old cliche about business cycles — they don’t die of old age

41.68%

1970

It is a more qualitative approach, but one that is more meaningful in reflecting real economic conditions – particularly where the two negative quarters are shallow and occur during an otherwise expansionary phase.

“What you need to do is search the data more intently,” he says. “In the US they actually have an official committee, they search lots of data and they add human judgment to that.”

Recessions are formally declared by the committee.

“We don’t do that in NZ but it turns out the algorithms we used here are very good at replicating what they do in the US.”

26.11%

Korean War, boom in wool prices

1965

A key part of analysing the depth and length of economic cycles is how we define recessions — the ugly bits between the growth.

“Intuitively, it’s an economy going backwards,” says Reserve Bank head of economics John McDermott.

“If you feel a large portion of people are losing their jobs or incomes are falling . . . that’s what you’d see.”

But the way economists define recession is another matter.

In his research, McDermott used a classical definition of recession, rather than relying on “technical recessions”, which are defined as any two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth.

2.44%

1960

ultimately diminished the value of GDP data in economics.

“Basically, the income gap with Australia widened from about 10 per cent to about 30 in the 1990s and has never come back,” he says.

“I think we should stop fixating on GDP growth . . . it used to mean something in the 1950s and 60s and through into the 70s — if it went up, the standard of living went up for everybody and especially the middle and lower income classes. So you could use that single number as a measure for widespread improvements.”

The risk now, he says, is that it creates a false sense of “aren’t we doing well” because we have 3 per cent GDP growth.

“But if three-quarters of that went to the top 10 per cent . . . well, that may be fine if that’s your political view but I don’t think the centrist parties in NZ — either National or Labour — would be happy with that.”

If pushed, Hazledine argues that a number like the median wage might offer a better guide to progress.

But he’s not convinced a single target is the answer.

“People who try and add things to GDP — happiness measures and so on — are still trying to get that magic number. I don’t think there is a magic number anymore,” he says.

“I think a more mature approach would be look at things that you know are important — like youth suicide rates, baby birth weights — and focus on those.

“The median wage would be a reasonable single-number target — if the median wage goes up, then it’s safe to say a lot of people have had their lives improved.”

McDermott agrees that inequal-

What about the bad times?

14.69%

Postwar recovery

1955

10.73%

1950

of the curve, recovering from the GFC sooner than most major economies, and could now cash in as global conditions improve.

Forecasts for the next 18 months suggest that — barring a major external shock — the current expansion is likely to leap up the rankings to rate as our second-longest and third-strongest.

Perhaps it could even start to feel a bit more like a boom.

Unfortunately, though, no matter how good the forecasts look, you can’t ignore the risk of some shock ending the party, McDermott says “There’s an old cliche about business cycles,” he says. “They don’t die of old age. There’s no natural death — something comes along to murder them.”

Falling wool prices in the 1960s, oil shocks in the 1970s, markets crashing in the 1980s, the Asian crisis of the late 1990s and the GFC — almost invariably, New Zealand’s growth phases are cut short by global turmoil.

“We are a very small economy and we specialise quite a lot,” McDermott says. “When times are good, we do quite well out of that — but in times of global shocks, oil shocks, Asian crisis, global financial crisis — that upsets the global trading system and we suffer disproportionately. The waves tend to hit us quite hard.”

Auckland University economics professor Tim Hazledine broadly agrees, but argues there were internal factors at play in the slump of the late 1980s.

In fact, he argues that the structural reforms of the 1980s not only exacerbated the downturn, but they have also undermined the value of GDP as a way of measuring national wealth and social progress.

37.41%

1945

25.85%

REAL GDP GROWTH

86.46%

How do other booms compare?

quarters in a row, and by 86.7 per cent, until a short, sharp crash in the wool market — which then accounted for 31 per cent of our exports — ended the golden run in 1967.

“I think we even called it the golden age,” says McDermott. “It was a rebuilding phase for the world. It took quite a few years for the rationing systems in Europe to be unwound and for the trade system to be rebuilt — the Americans stepped into Europe with the Marshall plan and they fostered an open environment for the world to expand.”

New Zealand, with its infrastructure and farming systems largely untroubled by the war, was ready and waiting to make the most of the new environment, with its exports of meat, dairy and wool.

“That was the recipe for a long and quite rapid growth period for New Zealand,” McDermott says.

By comparison, the current expansion hasn’t really felt like a boom.

“It has been a story of duration — not so much amplitude — it was a very slow start.

“It does seem that credit is being used to support this moderate enduring cycle rather than creating it into a boom scenario,” he says, referring to the artificially low interest rates and quantitative easing that central banks have maintained since the global financial crisis in 2008.

It is also the case — as the last Government’s critics pointed out through the past decade — that growth has been flattered by record levels of immigration.

But one thing we can say about the current boom is that it isn’t finished yet.

New Zealand was ahead

2005

China trade deal, dairy boom

2010

2015

2018

Property, tourism, immigration Source: RBNZ / Herald graphic

12 |The Business

Friday, February 23, 2018

Economy

Brian Fallow

brian.fallow@nzherald.co.nz

I

t is fundamental to our success as a species that we learn from each other. If we only knew what we had figured out for ourselves from scratch, well, there would not be 7 billion of us for a start.

Something of the sort is true of businesses as well. What economists call “absorptive capacity” — a firm’s ability to acquire, adapt and utilise knowledge from external sources — is crucial to lifting productivity.

The more cheerful productivity numbers from Statistics New Zealand yesterday — reflecting upward revision of the historical track for gross domestic product — do not change the overall picture that labour productivity in New Zealand wobbles around a trend level that is low by developed country standards.

As the Productivity Commission’s director, economics and research, Paul Conway, told a conference at Te Papa last week, “This is not just about data. Look across New Zealand firms and very few of them resemble the innovative, skills- and capitalintensive, globally connected firms that drive productivity growth internationally.”

When it comes to investment in knowledge-based assets, we don’t know that much about the New Zealand situation, Conway said. “But there are indications that it isn’t that flash. For example, R&D is low, and management quality may also be an issue.”

Suspecting that part of our productivity problem is inadequate diffusion of technology and know-how from the best firms in an industry to the middling ones, the commission commissioned some research by professor Richard Harris of Durham University and Trinh Le of the Wellington think tank Motu, looking into absorptive capacity at the firm level. They trawled through data from Statistics NZ’s business operations surveys, which every other year include a bunch of questions for the thousands of firms surveyed, about how they come by information or ideas for innovation.

It might be from other businesses, including suppliers or customers. It might be from new hires or professional advisers, industry organisations, universities, Crown research institutions or overseas sources. There are many possible channels.

Based on those responses, Harris and Le were able to compile summary measures of a firm’s absorptive capacity and then see how that related to characteristics which are proxies for healthy productivity — innovation, exporting (which implies international competitiveness) and inhouse research and development.

They conclude that “the results showed that absorptive capacity as measured here — net of the impact of, for example, foreign ownership and human capital — has a substantial influence on exporting, innovation and undertaking R&D and consequently on firm-level productivity.”

Importantly, when they divide up the firms by sector and look at the gap in absorptive capacity between the best and the median, it typically is wide. That is dispiriting as a starting point, but encouraging in what it says about the scope for improvement.

Many firms failing to catch the leader Learning new tricks often tough for companies domestic firms to learn from foreignowned multinationals.

Harris and Le found that larger firms tended to have higher absorptive capacity and were more likely to engage in innovation and R&D (and exporting in the case of manufacturers) but, a little paradoxically, that older firms are less likely to export, innovate or do R&D. But don’t larger firms tend to be older? “Often innovations are brought to market by new start-ups, so a firm that surfs one wave of technology is often not that well prepared for the next, which is why churn, creative destruction, is Paul Conway, the Productivity Commission important for the economy,” Conway said. ones. Purely domestic firms had the “Very few New Zealand firms lowest levels of absorptive capacity. operate at the global technological Conway said other research had frontier in their industry and there found it was hard to identify positive are long tails of very small and lowspillovers from foreign-owned to tech firms surviving in small, domestic firms in the same industry and yet such spillovers are one reason fragmented and insular domestic markets with weak competition. That we are supposed to like foreign direct is not exactly a recipe for productivity investment. growth.” So what is?

A possible explanation for that, he Harris and Le argue that firms’ suspects, is that in a small country absorptive capacity processes evolve markets can be highly concentrated over time and cannot be copied in any and less than ferociously competitive, simple fashion. reducing the incentive for small Looking at which firms have higher levels of absorptive capacity, they found that firms primarily engaged in manufacturing performed best, followed by those in the services sector, while the primary sector tended to have lower absorptive capacity.

International connectivity matters. New Zealand-based multinationals generally scored well for absorptive capacity. Next highest were partly foreign-owned companies, followed by wholly foreign-owned

A firm that surfs one wave of technology is often not that well prepared for the next

But in general terms they are processes for identifying technological opportunities in relation to customer needs, seizing those opportunities and capturing value from doing so, and continual renewal.

The implication for public policy is to pivot away from the approach embodied in the previous Government’s business growth agenda, with its focus on improving the environment in which businesses operate, to more direct assistance to individual firms.

Assistance that will help them learn how to learn.

There are some models of handson assistance already, in the way New Zealand Trade and Enterprise works with a limited number of exporters, and Callaghan Innovation’s R&D grants and access to specialised help in developing new products.

“So that kind of thing, but broader-based,” Le said.

Might there also be a role for business organisations and trade associations in this endeavour?

“There totally is,” Conway said.

“There is a strong role for business organisations to get out there and just talk to their members about what is happening at the frontier of firms in their industry, what kind of technology they are using and what impact it is having on their productivity, their profitability and the wages they are able to pay their workers.”

A study of firms has found big gaps between the best performers and the average.

Picture / 123RF

Friday, February 23, 2018

The Business | 13

Sponsored content by EECA

Ports of Auckland accessed government funding to show LED floodlights could work in a harsh environment

New funding for anti-emissions

M

any businesses want to invest in cutting edge technology to reduce climate change emissions — but are nervous about taking a risk on unfamiliar equipment or processes.

“We often talk to businesses aware of technology already commercialised overseas but not widely used here.

They want to know if it will work in our environment,” says Dinesh Chand, EECA’s funding manager.

Now funding is available through a government programme to overcome that hurdle. The Technology Demonstration programme, run by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), is turning its focus to climate-friendly technology in a bid to save carbon emissions as well as energy.

Applications are now open to the programme, which offers co-funding of up to 40 per cent of the project’s cost. New criteria encourages projects that tackle process heat – the typically fossil-fuelled steam, hot water and heating systems used in manufacturing and other processes.

“The new criteria reflect growing concern about climate change,” says Chand. Process heat accounts for nearly 40 per cent of New Zealand’s energy use, with 72 per cent of that from non-renewable sources such as coal.

Much of this could be replaced with renewable electricity, says Dr Martin Atkins, senior research fellow at University of Waikato’s Energy Research Centre: “Replacing coal, diesel and gas heating systems with high temperature industrial heat pumps is a promising area to explore.

They use renewable energy, which means less carbon emissions, and use electricity extremely efficiently.”

They’re suited to processes needing temperatures of 100-120 degrees Celsius.

“Lots of processes fit in this camp — most dairy, meat and food processing can be completely electrified.”

Adopting this technology in New Zealand is a significant investment for businesses, he says: “The demonstration fund derisks these projects, where a company doesn’t have a lot of experience. You work through the risks, the benefits - things that are hard to quantify until you actually do something.”

EECA Tech Demo fund •

• •

• •

Offers co-funding support to early adopters of new and under-utilised technologies delivering energy and/ or carbon emissions savings.

Up to a maximum of 40 per cent of the project cost.

Up to a maximum of $250,000 for process heat projects, and $100,000 for other projects.

Current funding round is open until 29 March.

See the Funding and Support page at www.eecabusiness.govt.nz

Qualifying projects must have replication potential, so the benefits are maximised.

“We have about 20-25 live projects on the go, adding about 10 or so every year, some running for two or three years before their implementation and monitoring is completed,” says Chand.

Not all meet expectations—but that’s still a useful outcome.

“If your target is commercial-ready technology, then a project may prove it’s

not economic in the New Zealand context – so that’s an important learning. Can it be scaled to 100 or 1000 small businesses or, say, 12,000 dairy farms? That’s why we have a wide variety of projects.”

One recent project demonstrated the commercial viability of a small-scale waste-to-energy unit at Whangarei District Council’s waste water treatment plant.

Methane gas previously flared off is now used to power a biogas generator; a side benefit is a heat recovery exhaust that takes load off the boiler, resulting in energy savings of some $300 per day.

The project demonstrated the technology can easily be scaled up or down to use the methane produced from waste streams such as dairy effluent ponds and small landfill sites.

In another project, Ports of Auckland accessed the EECA fund to switch floodlights on their city-side wharves to LED. The conversion had never been done in New Zealand ports because of the harsh salt, wind and corrosion environment, huge safety requirements and the challenges of generating working light at ground level from lights on poles 30m high (picture shows the lights with Andrew Caseley, EECA chief executive, Chris Thurston, EECA account manager and Tony Gibson, Ports of Auckland chief executive).

Matt Ball, head of communications for the port, says port engineers had been studying alternatives for a few years, so jumped at the chance to work with EECA to test new technology on one half of the wharves.

“EECA funding gave us the opportunity to report, measure and monitor for other ports around the country,” says Ball. “It was really helpful to have support for a more rigorous approach to monitoring, to prove LEDs’ effectiveness. We’ve measured a 50 per cent drop in lighting costs, the equivalent of 147 households’ use.”

In the interests of being energy efficient, we’ll keep this short. At EECA Business, we work with companies from different industry sectors all over New Zealand, businesses just like yours, helping them cut costs by reducing energy wastage – sometimes by up to 20 percent. Through energy audits, feasibility studies and workshops, we will identify opportunities to deliver efficiencies in energy use that, as well as being good for the economy, are good for your business, good for your stakeholders and most importantly, good for your bottom line. Get in touch with us and you’ll be joining many other leaders in New Zealand industry who have done the same.

www.eecabusiness.govt.nz

EEC4187 B

Scheme to take the heat out of environmental change hotting up.

14 |The Business

Friday, February 23, 2018

World

Electric cars won’t kill oil demand — BP T

he future is electric for BP, though it’s not giving up on oil just yet.

The British company has bumped up its forecast for electric vehicles by 80 per cent to 180 million by 2035, according to an energy outlook released this week. It expects a third of the kilometres driven in 2040 will be powered by electricity.

The company forecasts that overall oil demand will continue to grow at about 0.5 per cent per year. But that’s slower than the 0.7 per cent annual increase it forecast last year.

Consumption is expected to peak

at 110 million barrels per day in the mid-2030s, says BP’s chief economist, Spencer Dale. That’s earlier than the mid-2040s he predicted last year.

“The suggestion that rapid growth in electric cars will cause oil demand to collapse just isn’t supported by the basic numbers — even with really rapid growth,” Dale says. “It’s almost nothing. Oil used in the car market is essentially flat for the next 20 years.”

Demand from cars, the backbone of oil consumption growth in the past century, may drop after 2030 and be at about today’s level by 2040, BP says.

The change to cleaner energy is

going to be slow and BP won’t be left holding any oil assets it can’t produce from economically, chief executive Bob Dudley said in an interview this week. Cleaner burning natural gas will be an important fuel in that transition, he said.

Gas is expected to grow more quickly than oil, at about 1.6 per cent per year, as it increasingly becomes the fuel of choice for power producers, according to the outlook report.

BP expects clean-energy technologies will make up 40 per cent of the growth in energy supplies in the years ahead.

— Bloomberg

BP expects oil consumption to peak in the mid2030s. Picture / Bloomberg

Sweden — the country where hard cash is no longer king

Unlimited ways to better your business

99

$ Office Net Unlimited+.

Our lowest price fibre and calling bundle ever, for small businesses.

Fibre Install Managers You get a dedicated Fibre Install Manager to help make setting up your business with fibre, effortless.

Ready for tomorrow Vodafone gives you reliable internet and voice connectivity in one package. All on a network that’s here to stay, so you’re ready for opportunity.

85

per month

(24 month term)

Available to businesses with a maximum of 2 phone lines (second line is $20 p/m)

Business without limits Make the most of superfast fibre with real-time video conferencing, as well as quick uploading and downloading.

Plus get unlimited calls to standard NZ and Oz landlines and mobiles.

Ready?

See a Business Specialist in store or call 0508 117 117

Ready?

Available for customers on a Red+ Business Essentials, Red+ Business, Red+ Business Super or Business Black plan. $29 (excl GST) pricing per user on Red+ Business Lite and Red Share for Business plans. Vodafone One Business Mobile monthly charge is in addition to the cost of your Red Share for Business or Red+ Business plan. Money back guarantee only applies to the Vodafone One Business Mobile monthly charges (excl GST) for customers who claim within 3 months of purchase. See vodafone.co.nz/vodafone-one-business-mobile for terms.

8093/274X190/2

“No cash accepted” signs are becoming an increasingly common sight in shops and eateries across Sweden as payments go digital and mobile.

But the pace at which cash is vanishing has authorities worried. A broad review of central bank legislation is now taking a look at the situation, with an interim report due as early as the northern summer.

“If this development with cash disappearing happens too fast, it can be difficult to maintain the infrastructure” for handling cash, says Mats Dillen, the head of the parliamentary review.

Sweden is widely regarded as the most cashless society on the planet.

Most of the country’s bank branches have stopped handling cash; many shops, museums and restaurants now accept only plastic or mobile payments. But there’s a downside, since many people, in particular the elderly, don’t have access to the digital society.

“One may get into a negative spiral which can threaten the cash infrastructure,” Dillen says. “It’s those types of issues we are looking more closely at.”

Last year, the amount of cash in circulation in Sweden dropped to the lowest level since 1990 and is more than 40 per cent below its 2007 peak.

The declines in 2016 and 2017 were the biggest on record.

An annual survey by Insight Intelligence released last month found that only 25 per cent of Swedes paid in cash at least once a week last year, down from 63 per cent just four years ago. A full 36 per cent never use cash, or pay with it just once or twice a year.

In response, the central bank is considering whether there’s a need for an official form of digital currency, an e-krona. A final proposal isn’t expected until late next year, but the idea is that the e-krona would work as a complement to cash, not replace it completely.

Riksbank governor Stefan Ingves has said Sweden should consider forcing banks to provide cash to customers. In its annual report on Monday, the Riksbank said the question is what role it should play in a future with even fewer cash payments.

“The Riksbank is carefully analysing this development,” Ingves says.

— Bloomberg

Friday, February 23, 2018

The Business | 15

ADVERTISEMENT

T CORDIS AUCKLAND’S MULTI-MILLION REFURBISHMENT COMPLETE With its close proximity to the CBD and its many benefits for the busy traveller, Cordis Auckland is an ideal option for business people on the move

here’s a new player on the Auckland hotel scene, with a completely new lease of life for its reigning queen following a multi-million dollar refurbishment which includes free smartphone use for guests and many other exciting new features.

Cordis Auckland, is a new brand by Langham Hospitality Group, that has transformed its iconic predecessor The Langham Auckland on Symonds St, into a modern five-star deluxe hotel devoted to the needs of its guests and their wellbeing, while ensuring a sense of community is at its heart.

The extensive refurbishment, which includes a new-look lobby, an overhaul of all 411 rooms and suites, a refreshed contemporary-style Club Lounge on the 10th floor, and a new bar and restaurant called The Lobby Lounge, was completed on February 8 after six months of extensive work.

Cordis guests are the first hotel guests in Auckland to be offered a smartphone during their stay with free internet access, local calls and international calls to seven countries. That web access will come in handy when they are out discovering the vibrant inner city on the hotel’s free e-bikes or roaming its streets

on foot. There’s also a free Cordis shuttle to Downtown Auckland, handy for meetings and accessing some of the jewels in the city’s crown such as the waterfront and the Auckland Art Gallery, as well as its ferries, trains and buses.

After a day of meetings Cordis’ stylish new The Lobby Lounge beckons for a glass of Cordis Beer, created locally at Kingsland’s Urbanaut Brewery. The Lobby Lounge is also where guests can enjoy an a la carte breakfast, lunch and dinner menu and the signature High Tea by Cordis, complete with its own tea sommelier service.

Eight is one of the best hotel restaurants you’ll find anywhere. With eight interactive kitchens serving different styles of food, there is no chance you will walk away from Eight either hungry, dissatisfied or bored.

Think of it like a giant buffet manned by a talented team of chefs.

Guests who book an executive room or suite are immediately granted access to the exclusive Club Lounge retreat on the 10th floor which offers butler service, daily breakfast, evening drinks and canapes and free-flow coffee and snacks.

It’s hard to think of a better way to spend an afternoon than poolside at Cordis

Auckland’s stunning rooftop pool and jacuzzi on the loungers amongst the palms.

The pool is one of the city’s best kept secrets, and the fact that it’s heated at 27C means that you can use it all year round.

More widely known is Cordis Auckland’s acclaimed Chuan Spa, which guests from outside the hotel are also welcome to experience. Book in for a relaxing massage, facial or rejuvenating body scrub and make sure you leave time for an ice bath and session in the pool, jacuzzi, sauna or herbal steam room.

Guests can also make the most of the modern fitness studio on Level 2, open 24 hours a day. Here you’ll find top-of-the-range TechnoGym fitness equipment, with all cardio gear complete with LCD TV screens.

Cordis Auckland is the first Cordis hotel to open in the Pacific region and only the fourth world-wide, with the other premises in Beijing, Shanghai and China. Each Cordis hotel or resort is individual in style, architecture and design, which is informed by its location.

Cordis Auckland is at 83 Symonds St, Grafton. Visit Cordishotels.com/auckland

16 |The Business

Friday, February 23, 2018

Markets 0800 102 100

Personalised Investment Advice

8250

7000

8125

6000

8000

5000

Rises

78

Falls

79

Share name

Feb 18

Nov 17

Aug 17

Feb 2

+66.61

May 17

8000

Feb 22

8375

a2 Milk Fletcher Building Spark NZ Air NZ GenesisEgy NZME Ltd Meridian Energy PushpayHld SKYCITYEnt Promisia

Feb 16

9000

Feb 9

8500

Jan 26

Top 10 TURNOVER

8266.88

▲

Issues traded

Volume traded

Value traded ($)

198

62.21m

258.38m

s Official market statistics provided by the NZ Exchange. Closing data compiled at 5.30pm yesterday.

Fletcher recovers from 5-year low

N

>> The Dollar Trade Weighted Index

22 FEBRUARY: 75.29

Port of Tauranga fell 0.4 per cent to $4.99 ahead of its result today.

Picture / NZME

>> Interest rates

76 74 72

The NZ dollar (Trade Weighted Index): Yesterday 75.29 -0.01 Primary Exchange Rates on the NZD: Currency Close Move US Dollar 0.731 -0.002 AUS Dollar 0.937 +0.003 Euro 0.596 +0.001 Japan Yen 78.48 -0.49 UK Pound 0.525 +0.001 Buy/Sell Rates on the NZD Yesterday: Currency Buy Sell Australian Dollar 0.9558 0.9220 US Dollar 0.7478 0.7194 Euro 0.6105 0.5849 Pound Sterling 0.5367 0.5171 Japanese Yen 80.27 76.90 Canadian Dollar 0.9490 0.9127 Swiss Franc 0.7010 0.6731 Danish Krone 4.5413 4.3415 Fiji Dollar 1.5351 1.4400 Hong Kong Dollar 5.8352 5.6208 Indian Rupee 48.4499 46.2635 Sri Lanka Rupee 116.8159 110.1093

some of Wednesday’s selloff.

Air NZ rose 1.2 per cent to $3 after the national carrier lifted its interim dividend, despite posting a 7.4 per cent decline in first-half earnings over rising fuel costs.

Fletcher Building gained 1.7 per cent to $6.50, recovering from a fiveyear low after Wednesday’s earnings result portrayed a soggy outlook for the construction firm’s other units.

SkyCity, which is facing off with Fletcher over the escalating cost of building the Auckland international convention centre, fell 4 per cent to $3.87, the biggest decline on the benchmark index.

Tourism Holdings fell 2 per cent to $5.92, despite doubling first-half

Top 10 VALUE a2 Milk Fletcher Building Spark NZ Air NZ Ryman Health Fishr&Paykl Health Mainfreight EBOS Group GenesisEgy Meridian Energy

3 MONTHS

1400 1300

1.88

Cross Rates: Currency AUD/USD EUR/USD EUR/GBP JPY/USD Source: Reuters

Close 0.78 1.228 0.882 107.34

Norwegian Krone 5.9013 PNG Kina 2.4826 Philippine Peso 39.4420 Solomon Is Dollar 6.2318 Swedish Krona 6.0749 Singapore Dollar 0.9886 Thai Baht 23.7853 Vanuatu Vatu 82.46 Samoa Tala 1.8928 CFP Franc 72.44 South African Rand 8.7415 Tonga Pa’anga 1.6620 Source: ANZ

Move -0.005 -0.005 +0.001 -0.37

5.6414 2.1058 37.0705 5.0094 5.8225 0.9499 22.3796 74.13 1.7141 68.91 8.3545 1.4819

3 MONTHS

90-Day Bank Bills (%)

22 FEBRUARY: 1.96 NZ rates at close yesterday: Yield % 90 Day Bank Bill 1.96 180 Day Benchmark 2 2 Year Benchmark 1.8 5 Year Benchmark 2.445 10 Year Benchmark 3 US Prime Bank 3.75 World bank bill rates yesterday: Yield %

US 90 Day

1.647

US 10yr Bond

2.935

US 30yr Bond

3.205

Aus 10yr Bond

2.861

UK 20yr Gilt

1.929

Ger 10yr Bond

0.723

Japan 10yr Bond

0.059

Change -0.003 +0.037 +0.047 +0.011 -0.023 -0.011 -0.003

Yesterday 5pm ($US) Price Gold (ounce) 1,323.86 Silver (ounce) 16.49 Palladium (ounce) 1,020 Platinum (ounce) 987 Aluminium (tonne) 2,211.25 Aluminium Alloy (tonne) 1,850.5 Copper (tonne) 7,078 Lead (tonne) 2,547 Nickel (tonne) 13,590 Tin (tonne) 21,765 Zinc (tonne) 3,568

Change -5.56 +0.029 -13.60 -12.70 -4.75 +15.00 +30.25 -47.25 -60.00 +265.00 -0.75

9.78 4.16 3.38 2.02 1.72 1.72 1.69 1.52 1.50 1.46

Biggest 10 FALLS

Percentage

Pyne Gould Cavalier Corp SKYCITYEnt Chorus Pacific Edge Metro Perf Glass Precinct Prop OceaniaHlth Tourism Holdings Vista Group

5.35 4.00 3.97 2.57 2.50 2.35 2.31 2.00 1.98 1.96

Kiwi pares gains as Fed seen hawkish The New Zealand dollar pared early gains against the greenback as the market digested the minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.

The kiwi was at US73.08c at 5pm yesterday from US73.77c after the Fed minutes were released at about 8am, and from US73.34c late on Thursday.

The kiwi initially rose when the minutes of the Fed’s January 30-31 policy meeting showed committee members still favoured more gradual rate hikes but swiftly pared the gains as investors digested the fact that the economic outlook was more positive.

Three rate hikes are now almost fully priced in for this year, compared to two in December, Reuters reported.

“The dollar initially fell but then turned around as the market decided the minutes are probably mildly more upbeat,” said Ross Weston, a senior trader at Kiwibank. With little domestic data to push things around, the New Zealand dollar will remain at the mercy of US dollar moves, he said.

He noted, however, markets will be watching for the fourth quarter retail trade survey today. Investors are expecting a fairly strong number, which could help the New Zealand dollar, “but it’s not really about the kiwi right now, it all about the US dollar”, he said.

The kiwi rose to A93.72c from A93.31c on Thursday. The kiwi traded at 59.52 euro cents from ¤59.46c and gained to 52.54 British pence from 52.42p.

— BusinessDesk

FTSE-100

>> Frankfurt

DAX

21 FEBRUARY: 12,470.49 14000

7400

11250 8500

3 MONTHS

Metals

Percentage

Share name

7000

21 FEBRUARY: 1,323.86

Change +0.01 +0.01 0.00 +0.005 0.00 0.00

Share name

a2 Milk Moa Ord Shrs PGG Wrightson Scott Tech NPT Ltd Ord Shares Fletcher Building Barramundi Hallenstein Glasson Synlait Milk Ltd (NS) Delegat’s

7800

Gold ($US)

22/02

Biggest 10 RISES

21 FEBRUARY: 7,281.57

1200

3 MONTHS

80,729,030.75 36,380,614.54 12,236,697.17 8,644,015.41 7,835,316.79 7,591,628.06 6,790,650.93 5,849,149.18 5,403,750.85 5,005,867.75

>> London

)

1.92

Dollars

profit on its North American expansion and a lower US tax bill.

Chorus fell 2.6 per cent to $3.79 ahead of its Monday first-half report, which Forsyth Barr analysts predict will show declining earnings on connection losses. Spark has been migrating customers on to alternative wireless and fibre networks in an effort to reduce its wholesale costs. Spark shares rose 0.8 per cent to $3.345.

Among companies reporting today, Port of Tauranga fell 0.4 per cent to $4.99, Comvita was unchanged at $8.38, Steel & Tube fell 1.4 per cent to $2.06, Delegat Group gained 1.5 per cent to $7.62, and Summerset Group slipped 0.2 per cent to $5.81.

Outside the benchmark index, NZME increased 1.3 per cent to 77c after the Herald’s publisher and radio station owner reported a smaller decline in annual earnings than anticipated, maintaining its final dividend against expectations.

Dual-listed Michael Hill International was unchanged at $1.16 after reported a 66 per cent slump in firsthalf profit.

Allied Farmers was unchanged at 10.2c after the rural services firm reported a 71 per cent slide in firsthalf profit.

TeamTalk rose 1.1 per cent to 95c after lifting first-half profit 59 per cent after shedding its unprofitable Farmside rural broadband business.

Tegel Group fell 1 per cent after warning annual profit may fall by as much as $2 million from disruption at its New Plymouth plant from excyclone Gita.

— BusinessDesk

>> Metals & Oils

1.96

Shares

6,047,478 5,592,991 3,650,200 2,820,540 2,303,083 1,941,744 1,747,085 1,278,896 1,059,093 1,059,000

Share name

A2, Air NZ lead index up ew Zealand shares rose, led higher by another strong day for a2 Milk Co after signing a supply deal with Fonterra Cooperative Group, while Air New Zealand gained on a higher interim dividend. Tourism Holdings fell despite beating earnings expectations.

The S&P/NZX 50 index increased 66.61 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 8266.88.

Within the index, 17 stocks gained, 29 fell and four were unchanged. Turnover was $229 million.

A2 Milk led the benchmark index higher, rising 9.8 per cent to $12.90 as investors continued to rally behind the milk marketing firm after it stitched up a supply arrangement with Fonterra and reported stronger first-half earnings than anticipated.

The company’s market capitalisation rose above $10 billion during the day, placing a bigger value on it than Fonterra’s $9.77b, although at the end of trading a2 was worth $9.42b.

“At one stage we [the NZX 50] were nearer to 2 per cent — it shows how much of a swing it’s been,” said James Lindsay, a portfolio manager at Nikko Asset Management.

Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units rose 1.2 per cent to $6.10, while a2’s existing supplier, Synlait Milk, gained 1.5 per cent to $6.75, recovering

A disclosure statement is available on request and free of charge

Last TWELVE months

Feb 17

NZX50

Last FOUR weeks

www.spicers.co.nz

3 MONTHS

>> Paris

CAC 40

21 FEBRUARY: 5,302.17

>> New York

21 FEBRUARY: 24,797.78

5600

27000

4800

25000

4000

DOW JONES

23000

3 MONTHS

>> Hong Kong

3 MONTHS

Hang Seng

22 FEBRUARY: 31,108.5

>> Tokyo

Nikkei

22 FEBRUARY: 21,733.55

Oil ($US a barrel)

Price

Change

34000

25000

WTI Cushing WTI Sour Light Louisiana Brent Crude

61.71 59.83 63.88 65.13

-0.18 -0.08 -0.18 +0.05

27000

20500

20000

16000

3 MONTHS

3 MONTHS

Friday, February 23, 2018

The Business | 17

New Zealand 0800 102 100

Personalised Investment Advice Share Code

NZX Market Shares

Closing quotes Buy Sell

Last Sale

Move

1000s Sold

a2 Milk Abano AFTPharm Air NZ AlliedFarmrs AMP ANZ Aorere Argosy Arvida ASB No.2 Pref ASB Pref AsiaPacFund AuckAirport Augusta Cap Aus Fin Fund Aus Found Aus Mid Cap Fund Aus Res Fund AusTop 20 Fund AusDivFund AusPropFund AWFMadison Bankers Inv Barramundi Blackwell BLISTech Briscoe Grp Cavalier Corp CBLCorporation CDLInv Chorus City of Lond Inv Colonial Motor Comvita Contact Energy

1275 941 239 298 6.6 530 2990 .1 102 124 88.5 90 201.7 639 105.5 774 647 690.6 430.3 354.4 164 127.7 218 1628 58 .5 1.6 345 48 94 379 775 780 833 525

1301 1290 945 941 240 239 300 300 10 10.2 570 553 3020 3007 .2 .2 103 102.5 125 124 88.7 88.5 91 90 202.2 201.2 641 639 107 105.5 778.3 769.6 655 653 694.5 693.4 432.5 433 356.3 354.4 166.5 163.4 129.1 130.7 230 226 1665 1635 59 60 1 1 1.8 1.6 350 345 55 48 317 95 95 395 379 777 775 783 780 838 838 527 525

+115 -1 +3.5 -3 -13 -1 -1 +.2 -.5 -3 -4 -1.3 -1.1 -1.7 +5 +1 -.2 -2 -2 -10 -5 +1 -1

6047.478 513.474 2.4 2820.54 200 1.42 10.02 955.135 295.744 187.5 124 492.094 6 .904 .658 5.6 20 3.139 27.95 300 3.55 6.001 7.274 601.685 1.225 1.21 39.348 682.805

1462 1020 290 361 12.5 583 3585 .2 110 137.5 90.9 93.9 214.2 743 110 865 710 725 476 383.2 179 146.7 305 1756 64 1.1 4.6 455 65 380 96 477 845 798 921 585

233 808.6 216 218.5 6 500 2850 .1 96 115 74 77.9 177.1 602 99 753.4 588 598.7 330.1 333.3 159.6 126.5 220 1308 57 .5 1.5 312 27 275 78 376 711 720 515 480

46.03 29.17 .28 31.34 194.57 7.55 6.1 3.07 3.39 2.57 28.47 7.64 39.75 29.12 13.05 10.28 13.1 7.41 5.68 22.5 34.55 5.61 25.69 4.86 4.17 29.17 31.92 61.11 2.78 34.94

DGL EBO EMF MAD ERD EUF EVO FIN FPH FBU FCG FSF FCT FRE FMS

Delegat’s EBOS Group Emerg Markts Fund Energy Mad EROAD Ltd Europe Fund EvolveEduc Finzsoft Solutions Fishr&Paykl Health Fletcher Building Fonterra Fonterra Shrhlds Unts Foreign & Colonial Freightways Future Mobility

762 1735 131.7 .3 335 162.4 55 254 1290 645 608 605 1220 740 11

775 1745 132.2 1.7 340 162.9 56 1295 654 630 610 1230 746 12

762 1740 132.1 .3 340 162.8 56 250 1295 650 607 610 1223 746 11.9

+11 +5 +.3 -.2 +7 +11 +3 +7 +5 +6 -

4.225 337.035 5.014 10 28.34 9.599 219.818 2.87 586.964 5592.991 53.83 248.107 3.9 43.224 -

810 1890 140.3 2.8 399 173.9 111 271 1449 1000 668 666 1271 819 20

610 1655 109.9 .1 161 138 52 240 870 639 589 588 967 698 10.3

GNE GTK GBF GMT GXH HLG HBL HFL IKE IFT IPL JPG

GenesisEgy Gentrack Grp Glob Bnd Fnd Unt Goodman PropTst Green Cross Health Hallenstein Glasson Heartland Bank Hendrsn Far East ikeGPS Grp Infratil Investore JPMorg GlobGrth

234.5 625 313.7 132 175 467 183 700 37 308.5 139 610

235 629 313.9 132.5 176 469 184 704 38 309 140 625

235 627 313.7 132 175 465 184 708 38 308.5 139 615

+2 +1 +.3 -1 +7 -3 -.5 -1 -

2303.083 96.725 1.7 515.815 40.5 64.451 603.083 428.497 77.295 -

262 695 316.7 140 246 491 214 742 43 337 149 649

KMD KFL KPG MFT MLN MMH MWE MGL MCY MEL MVN MET MPG MHJ MCK MOA

Kathmandu Kingfish Kiwi Prop Mainfreight Marlin Global Marsden Mari MarWineEst Mercer Group Mercury NZ Meridian Energy Methven Metlifecare Metro Perf Glass Michael Hill Millennm&Copthrn Moa Ord Shrs

226 132 131 2440 84 525 39 322 284 105 605 83 117 291 48

230 134 132 2450 85 530 25 43 328.5 287 106 610 84 120 292 50

227 134 132 2440 85 525 25 46 322 284 106 610 83 116 291 50

-2 +1 +1 +20 +1 -3.5 -3 +1 +6 -2 -3 +2

359.431 80.875 593.259 282.625 41 8.58 1029.217 1747.085 21.805 108.14 179.425 14.55 39.811 4.079

NTL NPT NZB NZC DIV NZK MDZ NZO NPF NZR TNZ FNZ NWF NZM NZX ONL OCA OHE PEB PGW PLX POT PCT PIL

NewTalisman NPTLtd Ord Shares NZBond Fund NZCash Fund NZDiv Index Fund NZKing Salmn NZMid Cap Fund NZOil & Gas NZProp Fund NZRefining Co NZTop 10 Fund NZTop 50 Fund NZWindfarms NZME Ltd NZXLimited Oceania Nat OceaniaHlth Orion Health Pacific Edge PGGWrightson Plexure Group Port ofTauranga Precinct Prop Promisia

1.5 59 303.7 299.6 106.2 204 467 67.5 106.5 240 148.6 240.9 16.4 77 107 98 80 39 61 17 498 126.5 .8

1.6 1.5 60 59 303.9 303.9 299.8 299.5 106.5 106.7 206 204 469.9 470.3 69 67.5 106.9 107 242 240 149 148.8 242.1 243.1 16.7 16.7 80 77 108 108 142 100 98 84 80 39.5 39 62 61 17.5 17 500 499 127 126.5 .9 .8

+1 +.1 +.1 +1 +2.8 -.3 -1 +1.8 +3.3 +1 -2 -1 +2 +1 -2 -3 -

503.338 29 30.492 66.1 19.912 6.872 46.088 13.307 122.949 55.5 81.319 35.2 1941.744 40.756 257.034 65.916 344.465 661.897 28.15 521.052 952.081 1059

A-C

ATM ABA AFT AIR ALF AMP ANZ AOR ARG ARV ASBPB ASBPA APA AIA AUG ASF AFI MZY ASR OZY ASD ASP AWF BIT BRM BGI BLT BGP CAV CBL CDI CNU TCL CMO CVT CEN

D-F

G-J

K-M

N-P

52-week High Low

Dividend CPS t/c

Yld%

P/E Ratio

1.32 1.52 4.20 1.02 .74 1.42 3.22 12.91 1.46 1.45 3.54 .95 8.94 2.60 1.33 1.02 7.84 1.82 1.50 2.95 3.87 1.32 3.01 1.68 11.80 .60

4.89 9.72 2.72 5.67 6.47 7.36 4.92 3.47 3.77 1.28 4.46 7.24 5.17 4.46 1.88 2.37 3.70 4.53 4.35 9.96 2.11 9.36 7.45 1.53 4.39 7.70 4.12 7.83 .33 6.66

62.69 19.78 9.41 12.15 17.3 23.26 11.76 8.52 8.41 21.36 13.24 7.18 26.47 6.55 11.03 21.74 13.72 6.04 6.31 12.47 30.72 8.19 13.62 8.06 10.54 35.5 33.55

18.06 69.12 1.96 2.93 6.94 27.78 54.17 40 40 19.03 38.54 -

3.09 1.47 12.76 14.73 1.24 1.52 1.16 7.97 1.35 -

2.37 3.97 1.49 1.80 12.40 2.15 8.33 6.59 6.56 1.56 5.17 -

18.95 18.8 7.33 5.24 9.05 8.82 42.71 13.07 8.07 19.84 -

204 333 308.6 116.5 157 289 154.7 615 26 284 130 515

21.76 17.64 6.41 8.02 9.72 43.75 12.39 39.2 22.22 9.68 19.28

.66 1.19 1.26 2.18 1.84 .92 1.35 1.00 .99 1.88 6.46

9.26 2.81 2.04 6.07 5.56 9.41 6.74 5.54 7.20 6.96 3.14

21.42 41.52 53.76 9.11 13.6 16.05 15.23 17.98 19.54 9.63 4.94

262 136 145.9 2640 86 575 30 51 360 302 132 630 157 158 304 76

188 124 130 2114 75 390 25 30 302.5 261.5 99 523 83 110 265 40

18.06 12.35 8.68 59.72 7.6 20.83 27.22 23.71 7.95 8.05 10.56 5.44 6.94 -

1.45 .95 1.61 2.35 2.75 1.62 .68 .38 1.13 14.67 1.39 .81 8.18 -

7.95 9.22 6.58 2.45 8.94 3.97 8.45 8.35 7.50 1.32 12.72 4.69 2.39 -

12.02 12.64 12.08 24.11 4.37 21.57 24.11 39.99 13.37 5.16 7.85 26.21 7.12 -

3 64 304.4 300.2 116.3 245 497 77.5 113.2 279 151.1 249.7 17.2 100 124 142 111 201.5 59.8 62 28 520 139 6.1

.5 57 297.3 298.3 106.4 122 399.2 58.3 102 230 132.8 213.6 7.7 64 103 125 78 77 30.9 52 9 401 113.5 .4

4.22 11.91 8.46 7.31 6.94 18.28 5.56 5.71 16.67 6.71 10.61 1.18 13.19 8.33 2.1 5.21 22.5 6.29 -

.51 .57 .94 .82 3.30 5.25 1.89 .27 1.12 .92 3.50 1.61 .76 2.37 -

7.15 3.92 2.82 6.85 3.40 3.89 8.23 5.33 6.94 4.51 4.36 7.07 17.14 7.72 2.14 8.54 4.51 4.98 -

18.58 32.35 59.35 49.19 24.82 12.38 3.21 10.58 74.12 7.23 19.54 13.32 10.1 40.7 9.45 -

www.spicers.co.nz

Share Code

A disclosure statement is available on request and free of charge

NZX Market Shares

Closing quotes Buy Sell

Last Sale

Move

1000s Sold

52-week High Low

Dividend CPS t/c

Yld%

P/E Ratio

PFI Prop For Ind PPH PushpayHld PGC Pyne Gould

165 165.5 389 391 26.5 29

165 389 26.5

+1 -4 -1.5

333.961 1278.896 14.644

170 156.4 445 160 36 19

7.81 -

1.53 -

4.73 -

14.75 -

32.64 18.8 31.94 26.39 13.89 27.78 13.19 38.19 23.89 4.86 6.31 36.11 34.43 22.22 12.11 9 -

3.96 1.74 1.25 1.32 4.14 1.36 1.08 .40 .56 1.06 1.35 .90 1.38 1.66 9.30 -

4.56 1.77 4.16 5.93 3.95 4.67 7.06 13.64 6.17 8.24 6.38 5.91 10.29 10.79 7.17 1.55 -

14.24 19.18 18.74 26.58 7.18 14.5 9.39 48.23 11.76 30.12 20.52 17.35 14.88 9.31 10.43 6.94 30.56

8.33 10.49 33.63 14.6 3.77 2.27 27.22 25.69 6.24 47.22 20.14 4.25 3.32 22.22 4.87 8.81 22.22 212.43 42.08

1.26 1.05 1.58 1.51 18.01 1.65 1.28 4.04 1.06 1.76 30.85 16.38 1.06 8.76 6.08 .37 1.26 1.99

2.57 10.18 9.16 .99 1.99 1.10 4.60 5.88 2.21 9.21 6.90 .62 1.15 6.75 1.95 4.22 11.11 6.61 6.04

4.56 10.81 10.44 63.76 33.24 7.01 17.05 18.39 15.56 14.27 11.44 7.21 6.91 7.38 8.53 7.36 19.47 8.14 4.04 33.96 12.47 11.57

Dividend CPS t/c

Yld%

P/E Ratio

4.4 4.17 3 2.78 8.94 9.37 -

3.15 2.82 4.76 5.45 3.97 4.69 -

47.42 6.06 16.03 25.29 7.48 17.31 4.05 21.47 -

Yld%

P/E Ratio

-

-

Q-S QEX RAK RBD RBC RYM SAN SCL SCT SEA SEK SKO SKL SKT SKC SLI SPY SCY SRF SPN SPK STU SNC SPG SUM SML

QEX Rakon RestaurantBrands Rubicon Ryman Health Sanford Scales Corp ScottTech SeaDragon Seeka Kiwifruit Serko Ltd Skellerup Sky Network SKYCITYEnt SLI Systems Ltd Ords Smartpay Smiths City SnrTrst RetVill South Port NZ Spark NZ Steel &Tube Sthn Charter Stride Summrst Grp HldLtd Synlait Milk Ltd (NS)

59 20.5 712 20 1059 768 440 348 .5 595 190 186 275 386 20 14.1 59 100 620 334.5 206 .2 169 580 675

61 21 715 21.5 1061 790 447 352 .6 612 195 187 282 387 22 17 60 337 207 170 585 687

62 20.5 715 20 1060 768 445 352 .6 595 190 187 280 387 20 17.5 59 99 611 334.5 206 .5 169 581 675

-1 -1 +1 +3 -7 +7 +5 -3 -16 +2.5 -3 +1 -1 +10

35 6.902 528.813 16.564 739.143 49.506 114.249 30.121 3 44.437 488.675 307.507 1059.093 25 3650.2 38.479 351.421 357.033 169.698

67 25.5 761 24.5 1130 850 492 381 .8 652 262 195 396 456 43 24 75 100 625 396.5 263 7.1 184 588 825

39 16.5 519 18 812 670 321 226 .4 475 25 148 243 366 18 17 52 94 520 332 199 .5 161 460 305

TGG TTK TGH TLS TEM TLL TLT TWF THL TWR TME TIL TRS TPW TRA USF USG USV USM USS VCT VIL VGL VHP WHS WDT WBC ZEL

T&G Global TeamTalk Tegel Grp Telstra Templeton TILLogist Tilt Renew TotalWorld Fund Tourism Holdings Tower Trade Me Group Ltd Trilogy TRS Investments TrustPower TurnersAuto US 500 Fund US Large Growth US LargeValue US Mid Cap Fund US Small Cap Fund Vector Veritas Inv Ltd Vista Group Vital Healthcare Warehouse Group Wellington Drive Westpac ZEnergy

324 94 103 366 1480 198 190 205.8 581 67 433 281 .2 512 292 680 394.7 290.6 424.3 402.1 327 4 246 208 201 15.2 3201 697

327 95 105 367 1490 208 193 206.2 592 68 437 283 .3 519 295 680.5 395.2 291.1 424.8 402.6 329 5.1 268 209 202 15.5 3320 700

324 95 103 367 1475 200 190 206.2 592 67 437 282 .1 513 292 680.7 394.4 289.2 424.9 397.4 329 4.5 250 209 200 15.5 3214 697

+1 -1 +1 -1 +.2 -12 -.5 -4 -2 -2 -1 -5 -.5 +.5 -17 -3

77.476 300.486 45.594 178.033 2.883 215.596 629.095 161.405 795.88 69.086 11.96 11.653 324.551 49.849 98.022 67.444 15 6.361 502.132

380 110 145 530 1592 584.7 227 218.5 610 112 559 286 .4 605 397 721.2 413 310.8 449.5 432.7 351 35 313 230 269 29.5 3865 804

302 67 103 366 1111 177.9 190 180.6 345 51.2 421 204 .1 442 292 603.5 333 263.5 386.3 360.3 311 4 248 201 199 14 3077 680

Closing quotes Buy Sell

Last Sale

Move

1000s Sold

T-Z

NZAX MARKET Share Code AFC BFW CRP CGL CGF CSM ENS FFW GEO GFL JWI LIC MYK SDL TRU WTL

NZX Market Shares

Aust Food BurgerFuelW’wide Chatham Rock Chow Group Cooks Glob Fds CSM Group Enprise Group FoleyFamWine GeoOP Ltd GFNZGrp Ltd Ord JustWater Livestck Imprvmnt Mykris Ltd Ord Solution Dynam TruScreen WindflowTech

.1 80 31 60 5 .2 100 140 13.5 63 48 225 2 16 .7

.2 90 35 73 12.5 .5 130 159 14.7 65 50 199 19 1.3

.1 85 33 60 12.5 1 140 148 15.5 63 51 225 5.5 200 18 1

-.5 -.5 -

Last Sale

Move

52-week High Low

5.174 3.628 15 173 -

.4 168 70 80 12.5 2 200 156 52 69 55 260 6 250 23 1.5

.1 85 25 57 4 1 126.4 120 13 42 22 210 2 184 12 1

1.98 1.95 2.81 1.47 8.63 1.38 -

NXT MARKET Share Code

NZX Market Shares

MWE MarWineEst ONL Oceania Nat SNK SnakkMedia

Closing quotes Buy Sell - 25 - 4 5.7

25 142 5.6

-

1000s Sold

52-week High Low -

Dividend CPS t/c

30 25 142 125 35.5 4

-

-

NZDX MARKET Share

22/02

NZX Market Bonds

Coupon rate %

ANZ

5.28

-

CEN020

Contact Energy

5.80

2019-05-15

-

ZEL030

ZEnergy Bonds

6.50

2019-11-15

4.00

ANBHA

Maturity date

Closing quotes Buy Sell

Last sale

1000s sold

Price/$100 face value

101.85

101.85

249

-

2.77

2.82

-

103.79

-

3.60

-

-

-

Disclaimer: All parties have endeavoured to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein is correct. Neither this newspaper nor AAP, related companies nor any of their respective employees or agents make any representation as to its accuracy or reliability nor will they, to the extent permitted by law, be liable for any loss arising in any way from, or in connection with, errors or omissions in any information provided (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence).

Please note: All products and services subject to change without notice.

18 |The Business

Friday, February 23, 2018

Australia 0800 102 100

Personalised Investment Advice

Rises

Falls

640

616

6000

5350

5900

4925

5800

4500

Feb 18

Share name

Nov 17

Aug 17

5775

May 17

6100

White Cliff Brookside En. South 32 FerrumCrescent A2 Milk Co. Gladiator Res Brookside En. EVE Invest Nine Entertainment Atlas Iron Ltd Feb 17

6200

Feb 22

6200

Feb 16

▲

Top 10 TURNOVER

Feb 9

+7.20

Last TWELVE months

Feb 2

5950.9

A disclosure statement is available on request and free of charge

Last FOUR weeks

Jan 26

ASX200

www.spicers.co.nz

Issues traded

Volume traded

Value traded (A$)

1,683

2.40b

$6.51b

s Official market statistics provided by ASX. Closing data compiled at 5.30pm yesterday (AEST).

Shares

89,304,054 79,174,542 42,920,991 37,865,000 34,045,790 33,867,993 33,159,740 31,921,842 30,623,356 27,988,439

Top 10 VALUE

Share name

A2 Milk Co. BHPBillitonLtd Rio Tinto Ltd Woodside Pet CBA Westpac Bank Wesfarmers Ltd CSL Limited South 32 IAG Ltd

A$

430,229,314 346,078,864 193,876,827 191,152,106 184,777,358 156,486,491 139,758,871 139,395,966 134,798,204 130,760,500

Biggest 10 RISES Share name

Nine Entertainment Webjet Ltd Flight Centre ARB Corp A2 Milk Co. Estia Health Qantas Airways Oz Minerals St Barbara Crown Resorts

Biggest 10 FALLS

Share name

Blackmores Myer Holdings Iress Ltd Dominos Pizza AGL Energy Ltd Genworth Mtg Asaleo Care GWA Group Ltd Skycity Ent JB Hi-Fi Ltd

INDUSTRIAL (A¢) Share Code RCL A2M AAC ABP ARI ABC AGL AIZ ALQ ALU AMC AMP ANN ANZ ANZPG APA ARG ARA ALL AHY ASX AIA AZJ AFI AST ASB API BOQ BEN BYI BBG BKL BSL BLD BXB BRG BKW BTT BWP CTX CAA CAR CBA CBAPF CBAPD CBAPC CLT CGF CHC CIM CWY CCL COH CLH CPU CTD CGC CYG CMW CWN CSL CSR CYB DVN

Last Sale

A2 Milk AAC Ltd Abacus ACN Ltd AdelBrtn AGLEgy Air NZ ALS Ltd Altium Amcor AMP Ansell ANZBank ANZBank APAGroup Argo Ariadne Aristocrt Asaleo ASXLtd AuckAirpt Aurizon AusFound AusNet Srvcs Austal AustPharm BankQld BenAdeBnk BeyondInt BillaBong Blackmore Bluescope Boral Brambles Breville Brickwork BTInvest BWPTrust Caltex Capral Carsales CBA CBA CBAopt CBAppt Cellnet Challenger CharterHG Cimic Cleanaway Coca-Cola Cochlear CollHouse Compshare CorpTrav Costa Grp Coventry Cromwell Crown Ltd CSLLtd CSRLtd CYBG Plc Devine

Percentage

1.97 12.01 55.26 20.77 12.10 3.39 5.58 9.39 4.02 13.05

16.22 16.04 10.37 9.89 7.08 5.94 5.88 5.39 5.24 4.40

Percentage

136.00 0.485 10.97 40.56 21.48 2.53 1.45 3.30 3.62 26.72

14.73 5.83 5.35 4.56 4.53 4.53 4.29 3.79 3.72 3.40

Thursday, Feb 22, 2018 Move

100s Sold

52-week High Low

38 +2 1906 40.5 22.5 1210 +80 340457 1135.5 215.5 112 -1.5 16452 198 112 341 -7 5592 426 292 2.2 2.4 2.2 686 +8 12100 680 499.5 2148 -102 29619 2847 2084 283 +7 830 343 198 695 -5 16252 850 572 1962 +64 12608 1978 701 1393 -13 45516 1678 1371 525 +2 53596 549 474 2509 +37 11272 2573 2030 2818 +6 41862 3295 2718.5 10680 -6 93 10820 10367.5 826 994 768 809 -2 1933 844 742 74.5 +.5 270 80 67.7 2447 -23 23252 2490 1554 145 -6.5 30758 193 133 5801 +28 5728 5789 4856 596 -6 990 705 543 461 42439 574.5 444 611 2270 644 564 163 -1.5 40952 195.5 156.5 175 -.5 412 202 149.5 153.5 +3 10929 238 132.7 1264 +27 16530 1345.8 1057.6 1131 +9 15168 1252 1028 68.5 105 60 96 -2 6881 130 48.7 13600 -2350 3476 17800 8627 1584 -14 16401 1625.5 1061 780 -7 46525 822 567 955 -2 55384 1071 889 1306 +2 1442 1417.5 830 1468 +1 1397 1584 1233 1053 -4 5338 1326 946 290 -3 6553 327 274 3398 +8 8493 3590 2755 15 2398 21.5 10.5 1405 -22 11640 1564 1083 7465 +32 24730 8774 7320 10326 +6 65 10448.5 10013 9807 -13 237 9960 9370 10236 -4 114 10419 10096 40.5 +1.5 27 47 23 1252 -2 17206 1442 1132 576 -8 17895 651 492 4590 +20 3470 5270 3541 154 +2 96698 166.5 109.5 896 +13 25997 1087 752 18031 +184 1336 18760 12600 124.5 -.5 686 147 115 1820 +19 25444 1809 1319 2513 +82 18059 2440 1702 604 -2 9209 697 346.5 124.5 129 58 98 37467 104.5 91.5 1305 +55 41263 1380 1056.8 15832 +147 8835 15721 11719 499 +1 24412 524 385 520 -18 126707 594 419 40.5 -1.5 9.62 45.5 35

Dividend CPS Yld% 9 3 8.5 54 9.9 8 13 26.17 14.5 25.88 80 112.11 21 15.5 2.5 20 4 107.2 10.0 14 10 4.63 2 3.5 46 35 2 140 5 12.5 14.5 16.5 34 26 8.78 60 1.25 20.5 200 97.87 78.88 96.14 1.25 17.5 15.6 75 1.1 26 140 3.9 19 15 7 2.5 2.0 30 100.4 13.5 1.7 -

5.10 2.95 4.62 6.96 2.29 1.32 3.98 5.54 2.26 5.69 5.33 3.88 2.70 1.38 6.60 3.59 3.25 4.97 3.93 5.49 2.28 4.65 6.14 6.15 2.92 1.69 .56 3.11 3.03 2.42 3.48 4.26 6.03 3.30 8.33 2.94 5.79 3.24 3.79 3.21 2.79 5.34 2.95 1.45 5.32 1.57 6.24 2.11 1.36 1.82 8.51 4.80 1.22 5.32 .32 -

P/E Ratio 58.9 9.5 24.7 17.7 8.5 148.6 58.6 20.2 17.8 5.5 12.7 48.9 25.8 1.8 31.7 13.5 25.0 21.6 27.1 21.1 39.8 14.0 13.6 11.8 46.5 12.7 29.9 24.9 30.0 11.7 19.2 7.4 15.8 5.9 28.1 12.9 7.6 18.4 9.5 21.1 33.0 14.7 45.9 9.7 27.4 40.3 33.5 6.2 4.6 35.2 13.7 18.1 -

Share Code DXS DJW DHG DMP DOW DLX EBO EVT FXJ FRM FPH FBU FLT GNE GMA GLB GMG GNC GOZ GUD HVN HSO HIL HTA IAG IEL IDT IPL IFM IOF IFL IRE IVV JHG JBH JHX LGD LLC LNK MAH MQA MQG MFG MRL MCP MPL MCY MEZ MTS MIG MLT MGR MYO NAB NABPB NVT NWS NWSLV NXT NHF NEC NUF OEC ORI

Last Move Sale

100s Sold

52-week High Low

Dexus 924 -13 22207 1084 898.5 DjerriInv 342 -1 516 387 332 Domain 311 +1 11141 398 273 Dominos 4056 -194 16008 6705 3950 DownerEDI 674 -6 32875 742 517 Dulux Grp 750 8692 828 609.5 Ebos Group 1585 -20 5.4 1794 1545 EventHos 1375 -13 76 1401 1195 Fairfax 72 +2.5 243517 81.7 55.3 FarmPride 95 -1 772 164 86 Fis&PayHc 1216 +12 1891 1310 812 FletchBld 608 -2 19812 957 599.5 FlightCtr 5526 +519 20246 5367 2769 GenesisEn 218 40 246 186 Genworth 253 -12 49726 332.9 255 GlobeInt 125 +13 880 126.5 85 GoodGrp 816 -10 49689 893 733 Graincorp 770 -6 7073 1055 717 GrowthPro 316 3784 363 307 GUD Hldgs 1215 -10 1841 1374 1030 Harvey 443 -1 29147 524 355 Healthscope 190.5 -1 43192 243 160.5 Hills Ltd 22.5 -2 781 34 15 Hutchison 5.3 -.7 3724 8.8 5.7 IAG 798 +12 164531 789 580 IDP Education 721 +21 2635 775 412 IDTAust 7.8 -.1 40 17 7 IncitecPV 377 +9 41884 408 319 Infomedia 79 -5.5 14193 89 67 Investa 419 -6 11945 489 418 IOOF 1053 +12 11266 1194 812 Iress Ltd 1097 -62 8755 1340 1074 iSharSP500 34714 -4 115 35800 30579 Jan-Hend 4480 -40 9691 5239 3500 JB Hi-Fi 2672 -94 7658 2947 2120 JHardie 2315 +1 17102 2385 1703 LegendCor 23 +.5 267 25 16.5 LendLease 1712 +12 31454 1873.5 1458 LinkAdm 870 +1 21395 901 698.8 Macmahon 24 5236 25.5 14.5 MacqAtlas 529 -18 19682 644 452.6 MacqGroup 10272 -23 5077 10554 8228 MagellanF 2474 +9 4262 2950 2264 MayurRes 87.5 110 40 McPherson 132 +2 1082 159 88 Medibank 327 +3 69677 339 266 MercuryNZ 300 -5 49 333.2 272.1 MeridianEn 280 +11 197 292.6 239.9 MetcashL 321 +1 29077 330 197 Migme Ltd 4.4 5.5 4.2 Milton 458 1548 480 427 MirvacGrp 209 -3 130549 254 200.5 MYOB Grp 328 -4 11352 385 311 NAB 2952 +14 44369 3409 2801 NAB 10131.2 -13.8 71 10325 9800 Navitas 496 -3 2687 564 401.5 NewsCorp 2085 +26 2324 2251 1566 NewsCorp 2055 +32 1350 2249 1617 Nextdc 608 -2 21978 636 308 NIBHoldin 707 +12 7248 704 496.5 NineEntrtnmnt 197 +27.5 306233 173.5 94 Nufarm 827 +6 11152 1020.2 774 Orbital 37 78 34 Orica Ltd 1889 -1 12250 2139 1691

Dividend CPS Yld% 23.7 10 4 58.1 13 13.5 21 1.1 8.0 17.3 94 7.5 12 5 13.75 15 11 24 12 3.2 2.1 14 8.5 4.9 1.2 10.15 27 16 136.1 40.3 86 10.5 .6 34 8 10 205 44.5 6 5.5 12.6 6 8.8 5 5.75 99 87.78 9.4 8.9 8.9 9 5 8 28

5.07 5.83 2.42 3.68 3.53 3.19 3.75 4.46 1.56 5.85 2.78 6.79 9.06 7.14 3.26 3.87 6.93 4.00 5.86 3.50 4.33 2.00 2.55 3.43 4.79 5.19 3.80 1.47 6.22 4.77 1.74 5.33 3.94 1.61 3.66 4.71 3.72 6.15 3.78 4.38 4.45 3.28 4.10 4.95 3.46 6.74 3.47 3.91 .87 .89 2.81 5.60 1.58 2.72

P/E Ratio 6.0 22.6 33.7 44.3 20.1 19.1 18.7 40.8 6.2 44.1 21.9 21.1 8.4 9.1 19.4 14.1 5.6 330.1 11 33.3 17.9 36.6 19.4 21.9 6.5 36.9 34.1 8.5 27.0 15.0 30.9 13.2 12.5 38.4 4.9 14.3 26 19.2 23.9 36.7 16.4 23.3 7.0 34.5 15.0 34.4 73.0 26.0 21.2 18.4

Share Code ORG ORA PGH PPT PTM PMC PMP PPK PMV PRY PRT QAN QBE QUB RHC REA REH RWC RMD RIC SCG SEK SVW SIG SLX SGM SKC SHL SOL SKI SPK STW SPO SGR GAS SDF SUN SDG SUL SYD TAH TAG TLS TGG TWR TPM TCL TWE VAS VCX VRL VAH WES WFD WBC WBCPG WTC WOW WOR XRO ZEL

Last Sale

OriginEgy Orora Ltd PactGroup Perpetual Plat Mgmt PlatCaptl PMP Ltd PPKGroup Premier PrimaryH Prime MG QantasAir QBE Qube Hold Ramsay Rea Group ReeceAus RelianceW Resmed Ridley Scentre SeekComm SevenGrp SigmaH SilexSyst SimsMetal Skycity Ent SonicHlth Soul Pat Spark I.Grp Spark NZ SPDR200 Spotless StarEnter StateGas SteadfstGrp Suncorp Sunland SupaCheap SydAirprt Tabcorp TagPac TelstraCp Templeton Tower TPGTeleco Transurban TreasryWine VangrdASI VicinityCtr VillageRd VirginAus Wesfarmrs Westfield WestpacB WestpacB Wisetech Woolwrths WorleyPars Xero Ltd ZEnergy

Move

100s Sold

909 -23 345 +5 533 +10 5389 +102 782 +7 205 -1 34.5 21 1403 +3 393 +7 26.5 558 +31 1073 +17 243 -8 6808 -87 7873 -6 970 +15 413 +3 1195 +7 147 +5 381 -8 2033 +68 1837 -3 89 +2 33.5 -1 1689 +19 362 -14 2408 +4 1733 +11 234 313 +2 5577 +8 113.5 -1 547 +3 33 +1.5 253 +3 1323 +8 179 +4 711 -24 632 -20 471 8.5 343 138.5 -.5 62 -1.5 624 +7 1147 -22 1791 -9 7621 +19 249 -3 363 +13 25 +1 4188 -11 860 -2 3022 +5 10650 1070 -55 2764 +8 1537 +17 3160 660 -12

45534 33038 9069 2814 7077 2361 1000 1039 36376 19340 220457 70095 74264 5971 1410 147 12267 18649 729 90699 14165 17376 13056 2227 14954 25084 8360 1397 29053 13340 905 39 34582 1212 56594 42156 1115 22928 73177 70648 247665 1779 7334 9960 75060 20583 535 68645 598 6740 33297 50309 51849 48 27588 38545 15723 3911 1521

Last Move Sale

100s Sold

52-week High Low 978 342.5 734.3 5734 872 217 80 22 1538 395 50 653 1362 283 7618 8110 988 444 1281 162 457 2086.5 1938.5 133 74 1805 436 2497 1900 288 377 5737 117.5 639.5 46 302 1524 185.9 1100 779.5 573.5 11 488 145 104 702.5 1311 1807 7834 299 428 29.5 4560 977 3539 10836 1627 2778 1567 3549 760

621 272 483 4672 423 149 34 12.5 1201 300 25.5 345 965 225.4 6106 5463 790 272 893.5 120.5 370 1467 941 72.5 29.5 1127.5 331 2060.5 1573 218.5 305 5277 70.5 483 27 220 1243 159 678 593 390.5 4 334 122.5 49.4 485.5 1074.2 1171 7190 248 305 16 3952 728 2940 10405 506 2445 764.9 1683 601

Dividend P/E CPS Yld% Ratio 10 6 11.5 135 15 4 2.4 1.5 27 5.1 1.7 7 22 2.8 81.5 47 71 3 3.15 1.5 10.87 24 21 2.5 23 9.2 32 32 7.6 50.0 1.35 7.5 2.8 33 6 21.5 18 11 11 4.5 6.8 2 28 15 68.0 8.1 14 103 94 115.47 1.05 50 10 9.4

3.53 22.2 4.40 19.0 5.01 17.6 3.87 24.4 4.85 10.2 6.1 3.79 20.9 2.82 12.83 2.6 2.66 11.4 5.21 11.5 2.19 46.4 1.95 29.1 1.24 224.4 2.09 22.4 1.46 32.8 1.06 31.5 2.99 17.9 5.59 4.9 2.29 19.1 2.28 248.3 6.32 15 2.57 15.4 4.84 54.4 3.24 21.9 3.14 12.3 6.35 50.2 6.44 14.8 4.17 7.3 1.18 2.94 28.9 2.88 27.9 5.55 17.0 4.57 7.8 6.33 14.5 5.29 41.9 4.99 6.71 10.7 3.24 86.8 1.62 12.8 4.66 51.5 1.56 41.2 3.53 4294.9 6.63 6.9 5.0 5.31 31.5 3.78 8.9 6.23 12.6 4.37 .20 99.5 3.05 23.0 .66 101.3 4.21 12.2

MINING (A¢) Share Code AWC AGG AZZ ARM ASL AWE BPT BHP BOC CAA CUE EMP ERA EVN FMG GXY GOR HLX HIG

Last Move Sale

Alumina Anglogold Antares AuroraMin Ausdrill AWE Ltd BeachEngy BHP Billiton Bougainvl Capral CueEnergy Emperor EnergyRes Evolution Fortescue Galaxy Gold Road HelixRes Highlands

231 265 50 3.4 266 96 135 3020 19.5 15 6.8 .4 70.5 281 510 345 78.5 3.9 7.4

+1 +4 +2 +39 -.5 +.1 -1 -1 +8 -.5 +.1 -.2

100s Sold 172826 1979 25475 65989 114980 50 2398 2200 741 66912 119772 13816 10627 204 13055

52-week High Low

Dividend CPS Yld%

P/E Ratio

260 349 50 7 281 100 143 3216 42 21.5 8.4 .5 98 294 727 454 84.5 6.3 12

5.2 2.2 2 5 1 69.4 1.25 3.5 11 -

52.6 26.2 6.7 20.7 5.9 23.4 8.3 29.2 2.9 5.7

166.5 234 25 3.4 126 40 55.1 2206 17 10.5 4.5 .2 45 189 452 152 50.5 2.2 5.5

4.05 .84 1.53 1.50 4.11 8.33 2.31 7.05 -

Share Code ILU IGO INM KDR KCN LEG LYC MIN NHC NCM NST OGC OSH OMH ORE OZL PLS RRL RSG

Iluka Res Ind Group IronMt Kidman Res Kingsgate LegendMin LynasCorp MineralRe New Hope Newcrest NthStar OceanaGol OilSearch OmHold Orocobre OzMineral Pilbara Regis Resolute

Last Move Sale

100s Sold

52-week High Low

Dividend CPS Yld%

965 +3 493 +13 4055 -50 187.5 41 -1 2.4 202 +3.5 1933 -16 223 +3 2167 -28 607 +5 322 +5 751 -7 139 +10.5 666 +6 939 +48 83.5 +3 413 +3 108 -.5

7034 18339 1808 22453 6362 416 87408 5545 2782 24704 26810 2594 35956 14350 19937 22830 98082 16948 61429

1052 523 5483 223 54 3 240 2214 264 2533 630 488 813 130 744 1005 125 446 191.2

6 1 51.8 5 25 6 9.5 4.5 .9 6.9 6 8 2

650 284 3952 33.5 19 .9 75 915 144.5 1926 374 309 636 10 260.9 631 31.2 298 94.5

.62 .42 2.98 4.55 .86 1.74 .62 1.47 2.24 3.90 1.84

P/E Ratio 163.8 13.2 16.2 13.0 62.8 19.0 11.9 29.8 26.3 54.8 16.8 12.5 5.7

Share Code RIO SFR STO SAR SGM S32 SBM SYR TAP TAW WSA WHC WPL YAL

RioTinto Sandfire Santos Saracen SimsMetal South 32 StBarbara SyrahRes TapOil Tawana WestAreas WhiteHave Woodside Yancoal

8012 717 513 151 1689 314 402 348 5.3 44.5 312 444 2845 16

-14 +11 -1 +19 +1 +20 +8 -.1 -1 +6 +4 -97 +.5

24171 13265 76753 29213 14954 429209 76725 45803 9470 12811 18699 43144 67050 22413

52-week High Low 8273 760 567 179.2 1805 402.5 395 495 8.9 58 353 498 3459.2 43.5

5672 525 287 87 1127.5 239.5 220 220.9 5.1 13.5 187.2 234.1 2784.7 9.8

Dividend P/E CPS Yld% Ratio 228.53 8 5 23 9.2 4 2 13 61.8 -

4.56 2.93 2.57 4.29 2.62 .65 4.32 4.21 -

12.7 11.1 20.7 15.4 11.4 10.6 37.4 8.5 18.8 -

Disclaimer: All parties have endeavoured to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein is correct.

Neither this newspaper nor AAP, related companies nor any of their respective employees or agents make any representation as to its accuracy or reliability nor will they, to the extent permitted by law, be liable for any loss arising in any way from, or in connection with, errors or omissions in any information provided (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence). Please note: All products and services subject to change without notice.

Friday, February 23, 2018

The Business | 19

The Insider

All at sea

been illegal since the definition was changed in 2015 and no one remembered to include staff. No one is demanding anyone pay back the money and the spending will be quietly declared legal.

The spectacle of politicians, bureaucrats and Team New Zealand batting around the location for the America's Cup bases in Auckland has got very messy. The latest leg saw Environment Minister David Parker say “bugger it” — metaphorically, anyway — and announce agreement between the Government and Auckland Council on the so-called “hybrid” option. Not only did it catch America's Cup supremo Grant Dalton by surprise, it also left Mayor Phil Goff's office scrambling to organise a response the following day. What's more, Council chief executive Stephen Town, who has chaired a joint Council-Government taskforce preparing the plans, has imposed a Council-wide blackout to avoid any slip-ups. The next move is anyone's guess.

Still the boss

Winston Peters is one leader who doesn’t get undermined by his MPs — not much, anyway. The NZ First MPs held their regular confirmation of Peters’ position, which was carried with “acclaim”. Next week’s vote for his deputy might not be so straightforward: some in the party still wonder what would happen if Peters was to fall under the proverbial bus, or finally tire of the game, and a few dream of leading NZ First into the future.

Novel law, #1

Backbench MPs get the chance to have their bills drawn from a ballot and — if they can get enough MPs to agree — can eventually make a law.

This has has been used for serious matters and for very trivial ones. And sometimes, for matters that are just a little odd. One in that category is the bill to make English an official language, from NZ First’s Clayton Mitchell, which seeks to declare English an official language, just like Maori and Sign Language. But if English isn’t an official language, how can a bill written in English be official in the first place?

Danger in division

The corridors around the offices of National MPs are full of gossip and number crunching ahead of the election of a new leader. The greatest fear of longer-serving members of the party hierarchy is that it all spins out of control and National becomes as divided and backstabbing as it was through most of the 2000s. Those with longer memories know it is just a few small steps from slightly grubby politicking to serious and damaging rifts, so some senior members are pushing hard for a “civilised” deal.

Labour MPs are watching with amusement, having only recently escaped the cycle themselves.

Bill’s goodbye

Bill English’s swansong from Parliament takes place on March 1, with many people seeking invitations to various farewell bashes. Appropriately, the final function is being billed as “The Last Supper”.

Off the track

Novel law, #2

propriated spending, as it paid for work to fix roads and rail links following the Kaikoura earthquakes.

There was nothing criminal or particularly bad about the spending, but it was still unlawful.

Unhappy travels

Another amusing example of unlawful spending is $2.5m for ministerial staff travel. Apparently, spending money on staff travelling with ministers has

Dilbert

The Ministry of Transport is one agency being particularly badmouthed by ministers and their staff, for failing to come to grips with the new Government’s priorities. It may not be totally fair, as the officials involved have been caught up in a never-ending series of reorganisations and “reorientations”.

Those distractions might explain why it has been pinged for $100 million in unap-

Another bill introduced by another NZ First MP, Jenny Marcroft (left), has the noble intent of lifting the status of teachers by making it illegal for anyone who is not properly qualified to call themselves a teacher.

A proper qualification would be a three-year Bachelor of Education (Teaching) degree or its equivalent.

The problem, as Attorney-General David Parker says, is that it’s a breach of free speech rights. Many people quite rightly call themselves teachers — for example, people who teach music, ballet or yoga might be highly trained and good at teaching their subject, but would no longer be able to describe themselves as a teacher. Parker says — in highly legal language — that it’s a solution looking for a problem: there hasn’t been a huge groundswell of outrage at people passing themselves off as teachers.

Fund helping women find their voice M

alin DeVoue had just been fired from a Philadelphia hotel last month after complaining about being sexually harassed, when she turned on her TV. She saw Oprah Winfrey delivering a rousing speech at the Golden Globes, calling on women to speak up about abusive men. DeVoue said she felt Winfrey was talking to her.

The 27-year-old cook went online and submitted her story to the TIME’S UP Legal Defence Fund, an initiative created by Hollywood stars and activists to help victims of sexual harassment at work, especially those in low-wage jobs. She’s one of 1569 people who have sought help from the

Working life fund since it launched on January 1st, programme officials say.

The fund has already raised US$20 million ($27.2m) to help victims without the means to pay for lawyers and public relations help.

Shonda Rhimes, the TV producer and screenwriter who is a founder of TIME’S UP and a major donor to the legal fund, says she can feel the momentum building to “create real change for the long haul”.

In the US, the fund has recruited hundreds of lawyers to join its network, help with initial free

consultations and determine what, if any, legal action should be taken. In select cases, the fund will defray the legal and public relations costs of pursuing harassment complaints and defending against related retaliation.

It is too early to tell how many of the cases will result in lawsuits, since the alleged misconduct often did not occur recently. The statute of limitations in many states to file workplace harassment complaints is relatively short — as little as 180 days in some places.

Many of the women who have contacted the fund do not want their cases to be public. Rather, they want to end the culture of silence and, quite

often, they simply want someone to believe them, say lawyers familiar with the cases.

Tina Tchen, former chief of staff for first lady Michelle Obama and a founder of the fund, says that before it existed, many women didn’t know where to go to get help.

“The basic thing we are trying to accomplish is to fill that void and connect people to resources,” Tchen says.

“The phones are ringing off the hook.”

Thirty men have also contacted the fund to report workplace harassment.

— The Washington Post.

20 |The Business

Friday, February 23, 2018

NEW ZEALANDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PREMIER C-SUITE SUMMITS Imperatives for the future-focused CFO 15 MARCH 2018, CORDIS AUCKLAND JONATHON PORRITT Founder Director Forum for the Future (UK)

cfosummit.co.nz Leading change, culture and strategy to thrive in the digital era 8 MAY 2018, CORDIS AUCKLAND

SUMMIT

TONI BRENDISH Chief Executive Officer Westland Milk

2018

ceosummit.co.nz Leading digital and technology driven disruption 13-14 JUNE 2018, SKYCITY AUCKLAND LOIC TALLON Chief Digital Officer Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA)

ciosummit.co.nz

REGISTER ONLINE NOW