Ryman, Port of Tauranga lead shares higher

Stock price of market ‘ darling’ and other retirement village firms rise as NZX 50 Index hits record

New Zealand stocks rose, pushing the NZX 50 to a record, as retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare and Port of Tauranga charted new highs.

The NZX 50 rose 26.23 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 4435.77, the highest since the inception of the gross index in 2003.

Within the index, 27 stocks rose, 16 fell and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $ 122 million.

Ryman, a perennial market darling because of its unbroken profit growth, gained 1.8 per cent to $ 5.20 and has climbed 62 per cent in the past 12 months.

‘‘ More and more people like the growth story Ryman is bringing,’’ said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton Hindin Greene.

‘‘ The darling of the market just continues to gain traction.’’

The rival rest home company Summerset Group gained 0.7 per cent to $ 2.74 and Metlifecare rose 1.6 per cent to $ 3.22.

Port of Tauranga, the nation’s busiest export port, gained 2.1 per cent to $ 14.50, a record close.

‘‘ You can see what happens when you have the right management,’’ Williamson said. As a major export port, the high kiwi dollar may loom as a threat to volumes though that’s offset by high commodity prices, he said.

Bathurst Resources tumbled 19 per cent to 26c after the Forest & Bird Society and West Coast Environmental Network appealed against the mining company’s consent for its Escarpment open- cut mine.

Fletcher Building, the biggest company on the benchmark index, rose 0.7 per cent to $ 8.66. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which gets more than half of its sales in US dollars, rose 0.4 per cent to $ 2.43.

Contact Energy, the biggest power company on the bourse, gained 2.5 per cent to $ 5.81.

Williamson said interest in Contact has been heightened since offer documents for Mighty River Power’s share sale were released, showing the listed company ‘‘ compared quite favourably on multiples’’ with MRP.

Hallenstein Glasson Holdings, the clothing chain, fell 1.2 per cent to $ 5.66. Warehouse Group, the biggest retailer on the NZX 50, rose 0.8 per cent to $ 3.76.

Among manufacturers, Skellerup gained 4.4 per cent to $ 1.43 and Nuplex Industries gained 0.3 per cent to $ 3.25. Methven, the tapware maker, gained 2.6 per cent to $ 1.20.

SkyCity Entertainment Group gained 2.2 per cent to $ 4.26.