Shares rise as Pushpay scales heights

Kathmandu strong but property stocks lag the market

New Zealand shares rose, led by Pushpay Holdings, as the mobile payments app developer soared to new heights after signalling it was in for more growth.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index advanced 82.11 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 10,572.84. Within the index 24 stocks rose, 25 fell, and one was unchanged. Turnover was $142.5 million, of which Pushpay accounted for $20.8m.

Pushpay jumped 20.9 per cent to a record $5.50 after saying it expects its rapid pace of growth to continue, forecasting earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and foreign exchange movements of between US$48m ($79m) and US$52m in the March 2021 year. It reported ebitdaf of $25.1m with revenue up 33 per cent.

The company has been one to benefit from the Covid-19 outbreak, as restrictions on public gatherings have seen more American churchgoers turn to its digital platform to pay tithes and make donations to churches. Its share price has risen 36.8 per cent year-to-date, against a market down about 8 per cent during the same period.

“The Pushpay result was the highlight of the day. It came in at the low end of expectations but gave very strong forward guidance which will have excited a number of growth investors,” said Matthew Goodson, managing director at Salt Funds Management.

Kathmandu Holdings rose for a second day, up 9.6 per cent to 91 cents, continuing to bounce after highlighting strong online sales and announcing the reopening of Australian stores.

“That has had two strong days, investors are relieved there are positive signs for the business,” Goodson said. Kathmandu’s share price is up 16.8 per cent this week, although less than half the $2.30 it was at the start

of the year. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose 3.6 per cent to $28.80, coming back from a decline on Tuesday.

Tourism Holdings rose 0.7 per cent to $1.36. Goodson said while the prospect of a transtasman bubble may be encouraging for investors, the company’s market went beyond New Zealand and Australia.

Air New Zealand increased 0.4 per cent to $1.255 and Auckland

International Airport declined 0.5 per cent to $5.83.

Property stocks continued to lag behind the market. Goodson said investors are concerned about capitalisation rates — the ratio of operating income to property assets — as landlords face an uncertain rental outlook, particularly for retail properties. Kiwi Property Group dropped 2.1 per cent to 93 cents, Argosy Property fell 1.9 per cent to $1.04, and Goodman Property Trust declined 1.3 per cent to $2.23

Skellerup Holdings posted the biggest decline, down 2.5 per cent at $1.92. Outside the benchmark index, Smiths City Group fell 1.5 per cent to 12.9 cents after announcing a restructuring that will result in the closure of some stores and job losses. Cancer screening company TruScreen jumped 14.8 per cent to 7 cents after announcing it had expanded into four new hospitals in China and will add five more during May.