Rangatira, which bought a cornerstone stake in beer company Tuatara Brewing this year, reported a tenfold surge in first-half profit after selling its stake in engineering service firm Contract Resources and its direct holding in accounting software developer Xero.
Net profit jumped to $30.8 million in the six months ended Sept. 30 from $3 million a year earlier, the Wellington-based investment firm said in a statement. Of that, it reaped $29.7 million from asset sales. Operating earnings slumped 45 percent to $1.8 million after the exit from Contract Resources and an initial loss on from its Rainbow's End investment.
Chairman David Pilkington said operating earnings are expected to recover in the second half, due to the seasonal nature of several of Rangatira's investments, though they will likely be 20 percent to 30 percent lower than the $9.8 million reported in 2013, due to the Contract Resources exit.
"Apart from the reduction in operating earnings from Contract Resources, the earnings from the remainder of our contributing companies has been much in line with last year," he said in a statement. "We expect a good performance in the second half due to the seasonal nature of our unlisted investments, such as Hellers, Polynesian Spa, Ranbow's End, and Tuatara Brewing Company."
Rangatira took a 35 percent stake in Tuatara and a 12 percent share of magnetic resonance imaging and nuclear magnetic resonance device manufacturer Magritek this year, and still has at least $50 million for new investments in the coming year.