Vista Group slump leads shares lower
Stock takes hit after softening revenue growth outlook
New Zealand shares fell, led lower by Vista Group International, which was punished for dialling back its expectations for revenue growth. The S&P/NZX 50 index declined 46.10 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 10,580.07. Within the index, 24 stocks fell, 23 rose and three were unchanged. Turnover was $139.2 million, of which Vista accounted for $20.8m.
Vista slump to a seven-month low after scaling back its projections for revenue growth to 10-12 per cent and reporting a 23 per cent slide in firsthalf profit.
The stock led the market lower, down 29 per cent at $3.85 on a volume of 5.2 million shares, more than 15 times its 90-day average of 336,000. It was the most traded stock.
Meridian Energy fell 3 per cent
to $4.88. Sky Network Television dropped 2.7 to $1.10 and a2 Milk dipped 0.6 per cent to $14.02.
SkyCity Entertainment Group
was down 2.3 per cent, or 9c, at $3.82. It gave up rights to a 10c dividend yesterday. NZX was down 1.6 per cent, or 2c, at $1.26, having hit a five-year high earlier this week. It shed rights to a 3c dividend yesterday.
Of companies holding their annual meetings yesterday, Oceania Healthcare decreased 1 per cent to $1.01 and Stride Property Group was down 0.9 per cent at $2.32.
Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund
units rose 2.5 per cent to $3.23. Fonterra on Wednesday said milk collection was tracking 4.7 per cent higher in the season to July 31 than the year-earlier period. It was also yet to hit full swing.
The New Zealand dollar hit a fouryear low as a weak business confidence survey and tepid inflation expectations raised the spectre of more action by the Reserve Bank. Exporters benefit from a weaker currency and Scales Corp was up 2.4 per cent at $4.61. Kathmandu Holdings rose 1.6 per cent to $2.60, Fisher &
Paykel Healthcare advanced 1.4 per cent to $16.29 and Skellerup increased 1.4 per cent to $2.23.
Fletcher Building was unchanged at $4.32, Precinct Properties New Zealand rose 1.1 per cent
to $1.85, Spark New Zealand was down 0.2 per cent at $4.37, Goodman
Property Trust increased 0.5 per cent to $2.155, Auckland International Airport was down 1.4 per cent at $9.46 and Kiwi Property Group dipped 0.3 per cent to $1.61. Outside the benchmark index, Tilt
Renewables was unchanged at $2.65 after its board approved a $276m project to build a 31-turbine wind farm in south Taranaki. Cornerstone shareholders Infratil fell 1.1 per cent to $4.55 and Mercury NZ increased 0.9 per cent to $5.12.
The domestic company earnings season has largely wrapped up with all of the major firms having reported.
A clutch of smaller companies outside the benchmark index reported earnings yesterday.
NZ King Salmon rose 3.5 per cent to $2.06 after reporting an 8 per cent increase in annual revenue despite a dip in its harvest. Profit fell as the fish farmer deals with higher mortality rates, which has prompted an
increased investment programme. Marsden Maritime Holdings increased 0.9 per cent to $5.36 after lifting annual profit 3.1 per cent as gains on its investment property portfolio offset weaker earnings from its stake in NorthPort.
South Port New Zealand was unchanged at $7.25 after the Bluff port operator lifted annual profit 1 per cent to a record $9.8m.
Mercer Group was unchanged at 17c after reporting positive annual operating earnings on a 32 per cent increase in revenue. The stainless steel products fabricator narrowed its net loss to $707,000, which included a one-off $1 million cost to settle a claim by Fonterra over the collapse of a silo at the dairy processor’s Edendale plant in 2016. Wellington Drive Technologies
rose 5.1 per cent to 20.5c after reporting a 19 per cent increase in first-half revenue and a near doubling of operating earnings to $2.5 million.