Crown Fibre Holdings has prioritised three regional deals in its short list for the government funded roll-out of an ultra-fast broadband network.

The battle to win $1.8b of government money now features in TV advertisements - although I imagine many watching them will be left scratching their heads.

State owned energy company Genesis Energy has reported a better than forecast net profit after tax for the year of $69 million.

Pike River Coal has reported an annual net loss of $39 million and will not be paying any dividend.

Meridian Energy's underlying earnings rose 29 per cent in the year to June 30 to $251.9 million, reflecting a 13 per cent increase in total energy generation.

Singer-songwriter Bjork is spearheading a push to put foreign energy takeovers to referendum if enough people oppose the deals.