Income up for motor finance team
Heartland Group Holdings Ltd has announced a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $3.6 million for the six months to the end of December last year, a drop of 90 per cent from $37.6m in the same period a year earlier.
The decrease for the half year was partly attributed to a higher impairment expense, due to the active derisking and repositioning of non-performing loans in its New Zealand bank, Heartland Bank.
Increased operating expenses for the business across New Zealand and Australia were also cited as a factor after these increased by $31.6m, or 47.5 per cent, to $98.1m.
As for the group’s New Zealand motor finance division, receivables of $1.6 billion as of December 31, 2024, were down $32m, or 3.9 per cent, from the end of June 2024.
Net operating income for the half year to December was $35.1m, up 11.2 per cent year-on-year.
Heartland notes motor finance growth through the bank’s direct channels was up 20.1 per cent over the same timeframe thanks to an increase in marketing activity and its partnership with Tesla.
Looking ahead, the group says trading conditions in New Zealand are expected to remain challenging in the second half, particularly within the forestry, transport, agriculture contractor and construction sectors.
During that period it plans to focus on implementation of enhanced collections, recoveries and write-off strategies for the motor finance portfolio.
Heartland expects underlying NPAT for the full 2025 financial year to be at least $45m.
MOVE confirms top role
MOVE Logistics Group Ltd has made Paul Millward its permanent chief executive officer after he initially held the role on an interim basis.
Millward, pictured, joined the transport and logistics company after previously being chief executive officer at 2 Cheap Cars.
Julia Raue, chair of MOVE, says: “In the past six months as interim CEO, Paul has demonstrated his passion for MOVE alongside strong leadership, and is making good progress on the transformation programme and the shift to a high performance culture.
“His appointment reflects the board’s confidence in his ability to lead the organisation in achieving transformational change and delivering value to stakeholders, as demonstrated by a significantly improved 1H25 result.”
Millward adds: “MOVE is an iconic New Zealand business and I’m privileged to be stepping into the CEO role on a permanent basis.
“While there is still work to be done, we are making good progress. I’m looking forward to leading MOVE through its next phase and unlocking sustainable value in our business for our team, our customers and our shareholders.”
The company’s half-year report, to the end of December 2024, shows improvements in earnings and margins despite weak market conditions that it says continue to impact customer demand and activity.
Total income of $150.7m was down five per cent compared to the prior comparative period but ahead of the second half of the 2024 financial year.
Normalised earnings before tax came in at a loss of $6.1m, described as a material improvement with the loss halved year on year.
Operating expenses fell by $16.8m, primarily driven by a reduction in people and transport costs, while gross margin expanded to 29 per cent.
Net loss after tax improved by $1.8m to minus $8.9m for the six months.
THL’s profits tumble
Tourism Holdings Ltd (THL) has reported its underlying profit for the half year to the end of December came in at $26.5m, a drop of $13.2m or 33 per cent from the prior corresponding period.
Statutory net profit after tax was $25.3m, down 36 per cent, while underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation slipped five per cent to $113.3m.
It notes continued recovery in international tourism underpinned rental fleet growth of 11 per cent and rental revenue growth of eight per cent.
However, ongoing challenges for vehicle sales led to a four per cent drop in sale of goods revenue and lower margins for ex-rental and retail RV sales.
Cathy Quinn, THL chair, says: “This has been a period marked by significant challenges, but also opportunities and improvements.
“By some measures, this has been the most difficult period for the RV sales industry in decades. We believe that THL has maintained its performance relatively well compared to many counterparts in the RV industry”.
THL says it has continued confidence it will deliver NPAT of at least $12m in the 2027 financial year.
