Ryman, My Food Bag hit new lows but index edges up
Ryman Healthcare and My Food Bag both hit new lows on disappointing latest results but the New Zealand sharemarket shrugged this off and rose more than half a per cent.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index followed a similar pattern to the day before, weak in the morning and strong in the afternoon. It gained 86.09 points or 0.76 per cent to 11,380.61 after reaching an intraday low of 11,239.8.
There were 56 gainers and 65 decliners on the main board, with volume of 23.66 million share deals worth $105.57 million.
Greg Main, Jarden Wealth Management adviser, said the market was consolidating following the sharp rally at the end of the previous week — with plenty of inflation and company earnings information to digest.
The NZX index finished the week slightly ahead nearly 0.5 per cent and it is down more than 13 per cent for the year.
Ryman Healthcare fell 37c or 4.63 per cent to $7.62 after reporting a 31.1 per cent fall in net profit to $193.98m on operating revenue of $274.24m, up 10.6 per cent, for the six months ending September. The profit was affected by a lower revaluation gain on investment property, and it has 15 new retirement villages under construction.
Analysts were concerned that Ryman’s debt has reached $3.022 billion, up $405m from March 30 and representing a 45.2 per cent debt to equity ratio. Ryman is paying an interim dividend 8.8c a share on December 16, and its share price has fallen from a high of $15.95 in mid-March last year.
Meal kit company My Food Bag fell 9c or
15.52 per cent to 49c (it listed at $1.85) after reporting a 37.7 per cent decline in net profit to $5.87m on revenue of $94.41m, down 4.09 per cent, for the six months ended September. It is paying an interim dividend of 3c a share on December 15.
Investors were frustrated that they got few specifics in a2 Milk’s update at its annual meeting and its share price declined
14c or 2.11 per cent to $6.50. The global marketer said it expected continued growth in the 2023 financial year and full-year revenue is likely to be a low double-digit, rather than high single-digit, increase. It was on track to reach $2b in sales by 2026.
Director Pip Greenwood will take over as a2 chair when David Hearn steps down at the annual meeting in November next year.
Some of the leading stocks had strong days. Fisher and Paykel Healthcare rose a further 52c or 2.6 per cent to $20.50; Mainfreight collected 45c to $69.70; Auckland
International Airport added 10.5c to $7.915; Chorus was up 11c to $8.11; and Summerset Group improved 19c or 1.99 per cent to $9.74.
In a strong day for the energy sector, Contact was up 23c or 3.11 per cent to $7.62; Mercury increased 22.5c or 4.14 per cent to $5.66; and Genesis was down 5c or 1.81 per cent to $2.705. Meridian gained 10c or 2.17 per cent to $4.70 after reporting retail sales volumes in October rose 11 per cent compared with the same month last year.