TOWER RECOVERY GAINS MOMENTUM

Trans-Tasman insurer Tower has reported six-month net profits to end-March of NZ$20.5m, turning around a year-earlier writedown-induced loss for the same period of NZ$154.4m. The upturn in the group’s fortunes partly reflected the improved performance of its Australian operations, which have benefited from the recovery in global equity markets. Chairman Olaf O’Duill also noted that Tower was 15 months into a planned two-year recovery programme and described the latest figures as “a report of work in progress”.