Market commentary

WELLINGTON: Companies producing solid financial results are being rewarded, but the New Zealand sharemarket tumbled nearly 1% yesterday on interest rate worries.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell sharply in the morning and then steadied to close at 11,993, down 106.73 points or 0.88%.

There were 46 gainers and 83 decliners over the whole market with 35.77 million shares worth $130.2 million changing hands.

The Reserve Bank delivers its latest monetary policy statement tomorrow. It is expected there will be a 25 basis point increase in the official cash rate (OCR) to 5.5%.

Salt Funds Management managing director Matt Goodson said there was a slight fear the Reserve Bank may increase it by 50 basis points.

‘‘If they do 25 basis points, then this shouldn’t have much effect on the market.

‘‘But if it’s zero or 50 basis points, that’s when you’ll see the market move. Strangely, if it does go 50, then two to threeyear rates may fall because the economy will be seen to be slowing,’’ he said.

The local market was led down by heavyweights Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, falling 50c to $26.30, and Fletcher Building decreasing 18c to $4.85.

The retirement sector run stalled. Summerset Group was down 27c at $8.80; Ryman Healthcare decreased 13c to $5.93; and Arvida was down 2c at $1.17.

Port of Tauranga shed 10c to $6.38; Napier Port was down 6c at $2.40; Investore declined 4c to $1.41; and My Food Bag fell 1.7c to 19.3c.

Restaurant Brands was up 27c to $7, and Synlait Milk gained 5c to $1.57.

Gentrack, which provides software solutions for utilities and airports, soared 88c to $4.29 after increasing revenue 47.71% to $84.3 million. It turned around a previous loss of $5.8 million to a net profit of $7.88 million for the six months ending March.

Gentrack upgraded its fullyear revenue guidance to $157 million$160 million, up from $147 million$150 million.

It is expanding from its core markets of United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand to Europe, Middle East and Asia. AFT Pharmaceuticals rose 22c to $3.72 after reporting record annual revenue of $156.64 million, up 20%, and steady operating profit of $19.7 million for the year ending March.

Net profit was down 46% at $10.65 million. AFT is paying a maiden dividend of 1.1c a share on July 4.

Sanford increased 12c to $4.22 after producing a solid sixmonth result, a 2.46% increase in revenue to $277.57 million and an 81.51% rise in net profit to $11.1 million. Sanford is paying an interim dividend of 6c a share on June 90.

It told the market that labour shortages and cost pressures meant the seafood company had not yet returned to preCovid levels of profitability.

Utilities investor Infratil was down 29c at $9.455 after reporting a 11.9% increase in proportionate earnings (ebitdaf) to $531.5 million for the year ending March. It is paying a final dividend of 12.5c a share on June 13.

Infratil is forecasting proportionate earnings of $570 million$610 million for the 2024 financial year, and has access to $1.4 billion to fund growth.

Kiwi Property, unchanged at 90c, reported a 13.9% increase in net rental income to $203.7 million and gross operating profit of $129.6 million, up 11.3%, for the 12 months ending March. —