Shares fall on weak Oceania result
Argosy has biggest gain — up 3.3% — in mixed day’s trading for property stocks
New Zealand shares fell, led lower by Oceania Healthcare after it reported annual earnings significantly weaker due to Covid-19. The S&P/NZX 50 index declined 29.56 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 11,693.41. Within the index, 24 stocks rose, 19 fell and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $136.4 million.
Oceania reported a net loss of $13.6m in the year ended May after writing down the value of its property portfolio by $22.5m. It reported a $45.4 million profit in the prior year.
Its share price fell 3.9 per cent to 99c but had been steadily gaining in the run-up to the result.
“Oceania was going to have a flat 12 months anyway, but that revaluation headline spooked the market,” Brad Gordon, an investment adviser at Hobson Wealth said.
Other retirement stocks had a mixed response to the sector’s first earnings report post-Covid.
Arvida Group declined 1.2 per cent to $1.62 and Summerset Group Holdings fell 0.5 per cent to $7.85. Ryman Healthcare gained 0.4 per cent to $13.64 and Metlifecare held at $5.91.
Stuart Williams, head of equities at Nikko Asset Management, said that, even within sectors, various stocks in the benchmark had been moving in different directions.
“It is just normal investors’ interpretation of company specifics as opposed to some global overview,” he said.
Chorus dropped 2.6 per cent to $7.25 as the Commerce Commission began consulting on regulatory changes that will affect the company’s future return expectations.
Spark New Zealand fell 0.9 per cent to $4.865 after gaining almost 10 per cent this month. Gordon said this had been driven by steady demand for yield stocks.
“The catalyst has been people rolling off term deposits and looking for alternatives,” he said.
Vector, which is also considered a yield play, rose 2.9 per cent to $3.93, bringing its gain this month to more than 8 per cent.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
dropped 1.8 per cent to $35.35. The strong kiwi dollar is acting as a headwind for the exporter, which is trading at near its record high.
Auckland International Airport dropped 1.7 per cent to $6.31 while Air New Zealand rose 0.8 per cent to
$1.33.
Z Energy extended its rally after reporting better than expected firstquarter cost savings and improved market share. The stock rose 1.7 per cent to $2.94.
New Zealand Refining Company, in which Z Energy is a cornerstone shareholder, rose 1.5 per cent to 69c, extending Wednesday’s gains after it announced it had “detailed planning” under way to simplify the refinery.
Argosy Property rose 3.3 per cent to $1.27, posting the day’s biggest gain, but other property stocks were mixed.
Stride Property and Kiwi Property Group each dropped 0.5 per cent to $1.94 and $1.07 respectively.
Vital Healthcare Property Trust
gained 1.9 per cent at $2.66 and Goodman Property Trust rose 1.4 per cent to $2.22.
Sky Network Television opened stronger after Jarden upgraded the stock and said establishing a sustainable operating model was not an “insurmountable task”. However, the early gains faded, and the stock ended flat at 14c.
Outside the benchmark index,
Cavalier Corp leapt 22.7 per cent to 27c. The wool and carpet company yesterday said stock levels had decreased “significantly” to about $35m, on the back of “stronger than anticipated” trading through June, particularly in wool sales.
Oceania was going to have a flat 12 months anyway, but that revaluation headline spooked the market.
Brad Gordon, investment adviser, Hobson Wealth