A2 Milk and Synlait Milk pour it on

Within index, 27 stocks rise, with turnover $82m

New Zealand shares rose as A2 Milk and Synlait Milk were buoyed by a strong June quarter for infantformula maker Bubs Australia. Ebos Group led the market higher on a light volume.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index increased 43.75 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 10,851.36. Within the index, 27 stocks rose, 20 fell and three were unchanged. Turnover was $82.1 million,

with just four companies trading on volumes of more than a million shares.

A2 Milk hit a record $17.85, and ended the day up 2.7 per cent at $17.70 on a volume of 581, less than its 90-day average of 706,000. Dairy companies on both sides of the Tasman got a boost from Bubs’ June quarter update, which showed the formula maker more than doubled revenue to A$18.5 million. ASX-listed Bubs shares were up 5.6 per cent at A$1.42 in afternoon trading.

“The key things for A2 are broker upgrades — we’ve seen some of those — and confirmation of strong earnings growth, and we’ve had that as well,” said Craigs Investment Partners investment adviser Peter McIntyre.

Synlait Milk, which supplies A2 and often moves in lock-step with the milk marketing firm, advanced 1.1 per cent to $9.91. Both Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units and the farmerowned Fonterra Cooperative Group shares fell 0.5 per cent to $3.77.

Ebos led the market higher, up 3.2 per cent at $24.26 with just 43,000 shares changing hands, less than half its 114,000 average.

Exporters were among the day’s better performers, benefiting from a dip in the New Zealand dollar to a 19-day low against the greenback. Vista International Group rose 2.5 per cent to $6.20, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare increased 0.9 per cent to $16.48, and Sanford was up 0.6 per cent at $6.70.

Air New Zealand rose 0.7 per cent to $2.76 after its latest operating figures showed a 1.6 per cent increase in unit passenger revenue per available seat kilometre — known as RASK — in June from a year earlier.

“Their RASK numbers were reasonable and the share price has reflected that,” McIntyre said.

Vital Healthcare Property Trust was the most traded stock on a volume of 2.5 million units, more than 10 times its 221,000 average. It rose 1 per cent to $2.64. Chorus rose 1.5 per cent to $5.48 on a volume of 1.8 million shares, about four times its 447,000 average, while Spark New

Zealand increased 0.3 per cent to $3.90 on a volume of 1.3 million, less than half its 3.2 million average.

Fletcher Building rose 2 per cent to $5.10, with 1.1 million shares changing hands.

Heartland Group Holdings posted the day’s biggest decline, down 2.4 per cent at $1.63 on a volume of 352,000 shares, in line with its 319,000 average. Pushpay Holdings fell 2.4 per cent to $3.33 and Mercury NZ was down 2.3 per cent at $4.69.

Outside the benchmark index, NZ Windfarms dipped 0.7 per cent to 14.1 cents after it signed a 15-month hedge on all the production from its Te Rere Hau wind farm without disclosing the price or who the counter-party was. Seeka fell 1 per cent to $5.15. It is considering a sale and leaseback arrangement for some or all of its Australian orchards.