Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. reported a 28% fall in fiscal first-half net profit amid escalating charges for bad loans, The Wall Street Journal reported. The lender also warned Wednesday that the outlook for bad loans remains difficult extending into 2010, forcing it to concede full-year provisions will be higher than previously expected. Australia's fourth biggest bank by market value said net profit fell to A$1.42 billion (US$1 billion) in the six months ended March 31 from A$1.96 billion a year earlier.

One of New Zealand’s oldest brands is in the hands of receivers, The National Business Review reported. Clothing manufacturer Lane Walker Rudkin Industries is headquartered in Christchurch and employs hundreds of staff in New Zealand and Australia. It went into receivership this afternoon at the behest of its bankers Westpac, understood to be owed more than $50 million. BDO Spicers has been appointed as receiver. Lane Walker Rudkin was established in 1904, and supplied the All Blacks uniform for most of the 20th century through the Canterbury brand it founded.

One of Australia's most extraordinary business stories of the past few decades is the spectacular rise and equally spectacular fall of the ABC Learning Group, analysis by The New Zealand Herald found. ABC began with one centre in Brisbane in 1988. By 2007 it had used hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayers, shareholders and banks to grow into the world's second-biggest childcare operator with more than 2300 centres in Australia, the United States, Britain, and New Zealand. In 2007, it reported profits of more than $150 million.

Australian tourism group Stella, which owns the Harvey World Travel and United Travel brands in New Zealand, has rejected a report in an Australian newspaper claiming the company is close to collapse, The New Zealand Herald reported. The Australian yesterday said it understood accountants close to UBS, Stella's main banker, had recommended it place Stella into receivership or sell assets immediately to stem losses. UBS supported private equity player CVC Asia Pacific in buying two-thirds of the tourism business last year from the now-collapsed Gold Coast financier MFS.

Listed Propertyfinance Group's principal subsidiary Propertyfinance Securities (PFS) has applied for a High Court injunction to temporarily halt its trustee Covenant Trustee Company from being able to appoint receivers, The New Zealand Herald reported. The injunction is being sought until PFS can hold a previously announced special meeting of stockholders.

The savings of about 5000 customers of New Zealand hamper company Mrs Christmas are in limbo after the business went into liquidation this morning, The National Business Review reported. In a shock move, Mrs Christmas withdrew its opposition to an application for liquidation filed by courier company Post Haste. This cleared the way for Associate Judge David Robinson to place the company in the hands of liquidators Damien Grant and Steven Khov of Waterstone Insolvency. “The evidence establishes that the defendant is indeed insolvent,” he said this morning.

Bob Bangerter has been adjudicated bankrupt by a New Zealand court for the second time. Sir Robert Jones' company, Robt Jones Holding, had applied to bankrupt the Blue Chip co-founder because the company was owed $395,000 of unpaid rent for an Auckland office block where Blue Chip operated from. The 72-year-old Mr Bangerter had signed personal guarantees for the lease on the premise. Mr Bangerter was not represented in the High Court at Auckland today--his partner Maree Aitkenhead said he could not appear in court due to ill health.

Investors in the failed fund management group Babcock & Brown have experienced a "terrible destruction of value'' in the wake of its collapse, the company's joint administrator said today. David Lombe, who was appointed just over a week ago as administrator, said that his team from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu would seek to get as much back for the company's noteholders as possible following the first creditors' meeting held in Sydney today, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

New Zealand firm phil&teds has purchased defunct children’s buggy manufacturer Mountain Buggy, The National Business Review reported. Parent company Tritec Manufacturing--which makes the buggy--and Mountain Buggy New Zealand went into receivership at the end of January with an estimated debt of $22 million. No details on how much the company was bought for have been released. Receivers PricewaterhouseCooper have sold the business as a going concern. Chief executive Campbell Gower said “phil&teds will run the Mountain Buggy factory in New Zealand before making any decisions.

New Zealand investors have nixed Babcock & Brown’s hope of staying afloat, rejecting a restructure proposal and an 0.1% payout on their $225 million investment in Babcock subordinated notes, The National Business Review reported. Babcock is now in administration, as the vote that was to be held later today in Australia will no longer take place. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu have been appointed as administrators. They will ask creditors to nominate a committee of representatives at the first meeting to be held on March 25.