NZ shares rise as Synlait Milk leads the way

New Zealand shares rose, with heavy trading in Auckland International Airport and Air New Zealand after the airport operator lifted earnings and said it will cut airline landing fees.

The S&P/NZX 50 index increased 8.4 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 9309.21. Within the index, 20 stocks gained, 19 fell, and 11 were unchanged. Turnover was $160.1 million.

Auckland Airport rose 1 per cent to $7.42 on a volume of 2.7 million shares, more than twice its average. The airport operator lifted underlying first-half earnings almost 3 per cent to $136.9 million on increased aircraft movements and passenger numbers.

Air New Zealand rose 1.5 per cent to $2.65, with 5.8 million shares changing hands. Summerset Group increased 0.8 per cent to $6.33 on a volume of 151,000 shares, after reporting a 21 per cent increase in annual underlying earnings. Its net profit shrank as the housing market’s slowdown led to smaller gains in the value of its property portfolio.

Synlait Milk led the market higher, up

3.3 per cent at $10.33. About 387,000 shares changed hands, almost four times its threemonth average. Meridian Energy rose 2.2 per cent to $3.71 on a volume of 1.9 million, Mercury NZ rose 2.2 per cent to $3.71 on

249,000 shares, and Contact Energy was up 2.1 per cent at $6.44 on a volume of

393,000. Fletcher Building increased 1.6 per cent to $4.98 on a volume of 1.9 million.

Z Energy rose 0.2 per cent to $6.10 after announcing independent director Abby Foote will succeed Peter Griffiths as chair when he steps down in May. Spark New Zealand was the most traded stock with 7.5 million shares changing hands, compared with its usual 4 million. The shares fell 1.1 per cent to $3.71. Of other companies trading on volumes of more than a million shares, Trade Me decreased 0.2 per cent to $6.39, Precinct Properties New Zealand was unchanged at $1.48, and Sky Network Television fell 2.4 per cent to $1.60.

Refining NZ fell 4 per cent to $2.17, its lowest close since 2016. The operator of the Marsden Point oil refinery said it faces higher operating costs this year due to only partial hedge cover against currently high electricity prices, spending on a consent renewal for the site in 2022, and costs from the Government’s fuel security review and the Commerce Commission’s fuel market study.

A2 Milk fell from a record, down 1.5 per cent at $14.60.

Outside the benchmark index, Cavalier Corp fell 5.9 per cent, or 3c, to 48c. The company, which beat guidance with a normalised first-half net profit of $1.9 million, warned the second half would be more challenging given reduced consumer confidence and flooring sales in New Zealand and Australia.