Market close: NZ shares finish flat as retail stocks flourish

The New Zealand sharemarket finished the week on a subdued note. Photo / NZME

The New Zealand sharemarket finished the week on a subdued note – but the leading retail stocks and Ryman Healthcare tried their best to add some spirit to the trading.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index finished flat for the second day running, slipping 9.64 points or 0.08 per cent to 12,066.27 with an intraday high of 12,087.51 and low of 12,032.27.

There were 74 gainers and 58 declines across the market on volume of 54.64 million share transactions worth $172.59 million.

Dan Stratful, investment adviser with Forsyth Barr, said United States Federal Reserve officials set the tone for the week in saying interest rates are going up. "It might be a 50 basis points rise for the Americans, as it might be here as well.

"Our market is looking towards the Reserve Bank monetary policy review next week and whether the official cash rate will increase 25 or 50 basis points. The market would prefer 25 basis points," he said.

Hallenstein Glasson was up 13c or 2.07 per cent to $6.40; Briscoe Group gained 9c to $5.89; and The Warehouse Group increased 5c to $3.12.

Stratful said the retailers look set to benefit from the relaxation in Covid restrictions, though they have experienced a surge in online sales which should become a larger part of their revenue mix.

Ryman Healthcare rose 26c or 2.87 per cent to $9.32. Fellow retirement village operator Arvida – unchanged at $1.73 – updated the market earlier in the week, saying sales for the six months ending March increased 26 per cent on the previous corresponding period, and gross sales value was up 33 per cent to $197 million, bringing the year's total to $325m.

Stratful said this growth bodes well for the sector, which has been under pressure.

QV said its House Price Index experienced the largest quarterly drop in more than a decade, with the national average home value falling in value by 0.6 per cent in the three months ending March, compared with a 2.3 per cent rise in the quarter ending February.

There were two sharp movements on corporate news.

Meal kit company My Food Bag Group surged 13c or 14.61 per cent to $1.02 after providing a preliminary report that its full-year operating earnings (ebitda) increased 17.9 per cent to $34.2m on revenue of $193.9m, up 1.7 per cent.

My Food Bag said revenue was up $7.5m on the prospectus forecast and ebitda and net profit (of $20.1m) were in line. The Omicron outbreak and inflation had taken a toll on its performance over the fourth quarter ending March.

EROAD, which developed the world's first GPS/cellular network road user charging system, plunged 63c or 14.89 per cent to $3.60 after telling the market its founder and chief executive Steven Newman has resigned. EROAD has more than 200,000 connected units across New Zealand, Australia and US.

Infratil increased 10c to $8.38 after telling the market its subsidiary QScan Group has bought Envision Medical Imaging, Perth's largest privately owned medical imaging clinic.

Amongst the energy stocks, Meridian was up 4.5c to $4.995; Trustpower gained 8c to $7.38; and Contact was down 6c to $7.85.

Transtasman health and animal care products supplier EBOS Group declined 68c to $42.20, a day after reaching a new high. The stock has increased 43 per cent over the past 12 months.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was down 10c to $23.95 on trade worth $33.31m; Auckland International Airport decreased 12c to $7.63; Synlait Milk shed 6c to $3.38; Accordant Group lost 5c or 2.44 per cent to $2; and Steel & Tube fell 10c or 6.41 per cent to $1.46.

Pacific Edge declined 4c or 4 per cent to 96c; Skellerup Holdings was down 15c or 2.54 per cent to $5.75; and Vital Healthcare Property Trust decreased 6c or 1.88 per cent to $3.13.

Air New Zealand ordinary shares were up 1c to 80c, and the rights down 0.009c to 50c with 13 million worth $6.5m being traded.

AFT Pharmaceuticals gained 4c to $3.60 after winning an Australian High Court appeal. The court dismissed the application appealing the judgment that AFT was justified in making a series of claims on the efficacy of its Maxigesic pain relief tablets.

Chorus, down 1c to $7.38, announced that director Mark Cross will become the new chairman when Dr Patrick Strange stands down at the October annual meeting.

Vital's chief executive, Andrew Miller, has left his role with the telecommunications firm saying it is focusing on its operational structure to implement cost savings capable of supporting a return to profitability. Vital's share price gained 1c or 3.57 per cent to 29c.