BNZ preserves margins on flat half-year
Bank of New Zealand's net interest margins were flat at 2.37% for the six months to March 31, with the New Zealand arm of the National Australia Bank showing significant home-lending growth compared to its peers.
That compared with 1.7% net interest margins (NIMs) in the Australian operation, mirroring Westpac's half-year result earlier this week in which NIMs in New Zealand were significantly higher than the bank was achieving in Australia.
The New Zealand unit reported a statutory net profit increase of 4.3% on the same period a year earlier, at $795 million.
The result included a $27m writeback of previously impaired loans, reflecting what BNZ chief executive Dan Huggins described as improving signs for the New Zealand economy.
'The economy appears to be at a turning point,' Huggins said in a statement.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Why travel with PMs is not for the faint of heart
Christopher Luxon was loathe to announce the replacement of the RNZAF's passenger jets until last month's budget. Photo / Getty Images New Zealander Bernard Lagan is the Australian correspondent for the Times, London It was a winter Sunday in 1983 above a seething Wellington sea when Robert Muldoon glanced up from The Economist magazine. 'Tell him to have another go,' the then prime minister told an RNZAF flight attendant as the old Andover aircraft's two propellers struggled to haul into the clouds. The pilot had abandoned a second landing attempt against a rollicking gale. Rain stung the trembling fuselage like buckshot. The ashen passengers, a mix of press and Muldoon's staff, looked queasily at each other. None dared countermand the PM. As the hapless flight attendant conveyed the prime minister's wish upfront, I imagine, the flight deck conversation went something like this: 'He wants you to have another run at it, sir.' 'God, really? Then we'll see how much the dear leader wants to keep his lunch down.' The Andover lurched around for a third attempt. With winds gusting ever higher, it see-sawed violently downward. An overhead baggage locker cracked open, spewing its contents. A fire extinguisher tore off a wall, careening onto the floor, the noise terrifying everybody. We landed crazily on one wheel and skewered down the sodden tarmac to a halt. Muldoon never looked up from his Economist. Leaders have conflicted relationships with their VIP aircraft – treating them as a personal fiefdom but fearing public opprobrium when the time comes to spend money on replacements. Like his predecessors, Christopher Luxon was loath to announce the replacement of the RNZAF's current large and embarrassingly unreliable Boeing 757 passenger jets – now well over 30 years old – until last month's Budget. After David Lange came to power in 1984, one of his first acts was to commandeer an air force Boeing 727 jet, bought second-hand from United Airlines and by then 16 years old, and storm across Africa to apologise for New Zealand's hosting in 1981 of the South African rugby team. The aircraft had a limited range, forcing a highly circuitous route to Africa to allow for refuelling. Things soon went spectacularly awry. After refuelling in Melbourne the travelling party –including your correspondent – stopped in Perth for more gas ahead of the 727's planned island hop across the Indian Ocean to Africa. In Perth, Lange learnt the US government, still seething over his anti-nuclear ships policy, had rescinded approval for his aircraft to refuel at its military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. The Africa tour was in early jeopardy until a compromise was reached – Lange's plane would be allowed to land but without journalists. The gaggle of Kiwi reporters – whisked non-stop from Perth to Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, in a new Qantas 747 – were delighted to be on hand, well lunched, for Lange's African arrival a day after their own. Their cockiness was short lived. Apparently alarmed by the burden the travelling press placed on the aircraft's alcohol supplies as Lange toured East Africa's capitals, the air force cut the booze. Other aerial dramas followed. Somewhere above Nigeria, the sight of three alarmed Nigerian air force pilots pounding the instrument cluster of the helicopter carrying the Lange party to a tea plantation preceded a rapid emergency landing. The lumbering old air freighter the Nigerians sent to retrieve us developed an inflight leak of the toilet system – sending a river of stored effluent backwards down the aisle. After arriving to work in Australia, I travelled on then prime minister Bob Hawke's equally ancient Boeing 707 – known to the rowdy travelling press as the 'zoo plane' where wine flowed while Hawke smoked cigars and played poker. Doubtless the shiny new VIP aircraft ordered by Luxon will prove far more reliable – but nowhere near the fun.
1News
13 hours ago
- 1News
Air New Zealand to operate from new Sydney international airport
Air New Zealand has confirmed it will operate flights from the new Western Sydney International Airport. Major construction at the site, 44km from Sydney's CBD, is now complete with the terminal unveiled on Wednesday. Western Sydney International chief executive Simon Hickey said the "24-hour international gateway" terminal would create "significant economic opportunities for all of Greater Sydney". New Zealand's national carrier planned to begin operations in 2027, contingent on aircraft availability and passenger demand. Qantas, Jetstar, and Singapore Airlines had already signalled their intent to operate from the new airport. ADVERTISEMENT At Sydney Airport in Mascot, more than 50 airlines fly in and out, the vast majority being overseas carriers. Inside the new terminal for Western Sydney. (Source: Supplied) Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran said the new airport represented an 'exciting step forward' for Australian aviation. "We're delighted to be the first trans-Tasman carrier to signal our intent to operate there as we continue to grow." He said the route signalled Air New Zealand's commitment to stronger connections between New Zealand and Australia. "We're looking forward to offering customers our world-class Air New Zealand service to and from a world-class new airport." Public transport delays ADVERTISEMENT The Western Sydney Airport Metro Line, linking the new aviation precinct to Sydney's public transport network, has been delayed with visitors unable to use the service until at least April 2027. "Major projects like these are inherently complex and this project has faced impacts due to industrial relations and supply chain disruption," a Sydney Metro spokesperson told ABC News. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also acknowledged the delay. "It is true that not everything will be operating on day one, but a lot of work has been done and considerable investment to ensure this airport is accessible."
Scoop
15 hours ago
- Scoop
Decision Inc. Australia Helps Accelerate GenAI MVP Delivery For OFS, Enabling Real-Time Manufacturing Intelligence
Press Release – Decision Inc Manufacturing software provider fast-tracks generative AI capability with guidance from Decision Inc. Australia, unlocking new value and a future revenue stream. OFS (Operations Feedback Systems) is an Australian-headquartered software company that is helping manufactures in over 30 counties to produce more with less. Since 2006, its analytics platform has helped operators, supervisors, and senior leaders in manufacturing gain clear, real-time visibility into performance, enabling faster decisions and stronger outcomes on the production floor. With a customer base including Dulux, Asahi Beverages, Bega, nudie, AstraZeneca, Twinings, and Electrolux, OFS wanted to stay ahead of rising expectations around artificial intelligence by embedding generative AI directly into its product suite. To accelerate development and go to market faster, OFS engaged Decision Inc. Australia to help guide and define a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for its new GenAI feature, now known as Mayvn AI. The Challenge As manufacturers increasingly look to their software partners for AI capabilities, OFS recognised the need to rapidly build a GenAI experience that delivered practical, real-world value. While OFS already had an in-house engineering team, it turned to Decision Inc. for support in validating the concept, developing a secure architecture, and accelerating its roadmap to MVP. 'Manufacturers are under enormous pressure to do more with less, and they're asking smart questions about how AI can help,' said James Magee, CEO of OFS. 'Our goal was to build something meaningful, not gimmicky. We didn't want AI just for the sake of AI, we wanted it to solve real problems.' OFS needed a solution that would securely integrate with its existing architecture, scale into production, and provide early confidence that the AI feature could meet the performance and privacy standards its customers expect. At the same time, the OFS team wanted to build internal knowledge and capability as part of the process. The Solution With Decision Inc. Australia's support, OFS accelerated the development of Mayvn AI, a GenAI-powered operational intelligence tool designed to deliver actionable insights directly to factory leaders, engineers, and operators. The goal was to bridge the gap between factory data and leadership decision-making, turning real-time production feedback into meaningful conversations and faster resolutions. Decision Inc.'s AI Advisory services helped OFS quickly define a scalable MVP architecture that would sit securely within their existing software ecosystem. From architecture design to proof-of-concept prototyping, Decision Inc. played a hands-on role in helping OFS validate the feasibility of GenAI integration while upskilling their internal engineering team to take the solution to production. Mayvn AI functions as an intelligent co-pilot for manufacturing leadership, surfacing real-time insights from complex production data using simple prompts. By leveraging large language models (LLMs), Mayvn AI can instantly summarise plant performance, flag inefficiencies, identify recurring issues, and even recommend areas for capital investment based on real-world downtime or waste patterns. It is designed to operate securely, respecting data privacy boundaries across client environments. From generating daily shift reports to uncovering root causes of line stoppages and packaging faults, Mayvn AI is enabling factory teams to spend less time pulling data and more time acting on it. A notable early use case allows a CEO or site leader to ask, 'What should I know before walking into this site today?' and receive a concise, personalised briefing within seconds. 'Decision Inc. brought the technical clarity and early-stage confidence we needed to move quickly,' said Magee. 'They helped us de-risk the process and ensure we were building something scalable, secure, and aligned with the needs of our customers.' The Outcome Mayvn AI was launched in February 2025 and is already being used by more than 200 manufacturers worldwide. The feature acts as an embedded GenAI assistant within the OFS platform, enabling business leaders to simply ask questions, like 'What's been impacting our line efficiency this week?' or 'Where should we invest at this site?' and receive real-time, production-specific answers. By transforming unstructured manufacturing data into actionable insights, Mayvn AI bridges the gap between leadership and the factory floor. It's helping users surface previously hidden trends, reduce prep time for shift reports, and justify capital investments with data-backed recommendations. 'What we're seeing now is our clients using AI not just to analyse data, but to tell stories with it, to understand what's happening in their business and act with confidence,' said Magee. 'That's where Mayvn AI is making the biggest impact.' 'Mayvn AI is a perfect example of how GenAI can be deployed responsibly and pragmatically,' said Tony Butler, Managing Director, Decision Inc. Australia. 'By starting with a real problem and focusing on the user experience, they've built something powerful and future-ready. We were proud to play a role in accelerating that journey.' # # # About Decision Inc. Australia Decision Inc. is a global Advisory led Technology Consulting company helping clients in 20 markets use technology and data to improve their performance and drive sustainable growth. We help the world's most significant businesses transform their operating model and use technology to create a new future. Our Advisory teams help our clients develop the Strategies and Business Cases to support their continued investment in Innovation and Operational Improvement, and our specialist consulting and engineering teams build and manage the core platforms that run their business. As seen in The Australian Financial Review, The Weekend Australian and The Canberra Times we serve our community and industry and believe great data and analytics expertise will underpin economic recovery and prosperity. We are proudly carbon neutral and Great Place to Work certified.
