9 Sep 2011

Red ink warning issued

11:14 am on 9 September 2011

Pyne Gould Corporation warns that its books will fall sharply into the red, due to restructuring costs and weak trading.

The lender and fund manager made $22 million last year and expects to report an after-tax loss of $141.1 million in the year to the end of June.

That includes an accounting loss of $114.2 million, which came about after it split some of its assets off into the newly formed Heartland New Zealand.

The rest of the loss- $27 million - is due to lost trading and provisions for bad debts.

Pyne Gould chairman Bryan Mogridge says any loss is unacceptable, even if it's explainable. He will provide more detail when the company issues its annual accounts next week.