Top five columns of 2019: Duncan Bridgeman

Duncan Bridgeman, New Zealand Herald Business Editor. Photo / NZME

As we say goodbye to 2019 and welcome in 2020, it's a good time to catch up on the very best of the Herald columnists we enjoyed reading over the last 12 months. From politics to sport, from business to entertainment and lifestyle, these are the voices and views our audience loved the most. Today it's the top five from Business Editor Duncan Bridgeman.

Fonterra must axe absurd incentives as Spierings payout looms

In August, former Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings was in line for another payout under an historic incentive scheme - despite the co-operative racking up huge financial losses since his departure. Duncan Bridgeman wrote that this was another dollop of salt into the wound for shareholders, who had witnessed billions of dollars of their capital wasted over the past decade.

High-flyer Eric Watson out of parachutes as taxman bites

The High Court ruled in March that companies owned by rich-lister Eric Watson were liable for $51.5 million in back-taxes plus interest. According to Duncan Bridgeman, this would be extremely hard for the once high-flying businessman to come back from. There was also a big question mark over Watson's solvency.

Abano drills into uncomfortable territory with dental backtrack

In a major blow for shareholders, Abano Healthcare admitted in March that its Australian acquisition strategy had essentially been a failure. After halting its purchases of dental practises across the Tasman, share prices sank 30 per cent to less than $4.40 - wiping $35m of the company's market value.

Five companies to keep an eye on this year

In January, Bridgeman reported that the local share market has had a solid start to the year providing some welcome relief for investors after the sharp slide in global equity markets in late 2018. For many companies, 2019 would be a crucial year to expand, rebuild or consolidate - and these were the five to keep an eye on.

Spark leadership transition not so smooth

Looking at the market reaction to Simon Moutter's resignation from Spark, Bridgeman wrote that it was hard to see this as a smooth transition. Following the CEO's resignation in March, the company saw a 3.5 per cent fall in value. It was the timing of Moutter's resignation that seemed to unsettle the market.