High-flyer Xero crashes to worst spot

Xero chief executive and founder Rod Drury. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The last year has been a rollercoaster ride for Xero's share price, which after hitting a record high in March was caught up in a global tech sell-off and finished the year as the NZX 50 gross index's worst performer.

The accounting software maker's shares peaked at $44.98, giving the company a value of almost $6 billion, but have shed about 65 per cent since then, closing at the end of the year at $16.15.

The shares declined by 50 per cent during last year - the biggest proportional drop on the NZX 50 gross index. But chief executive Rod Drury's focus on customer growth means this is unlikely to faze him.

The company said last month it had more than 400,000 small business customers, which it claimed as a "key milestone" before starting its selling season in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Xero listed in 2007 with shares at $1 each.

Outdoor and camping products retailer Kathmandu was the second-worst performer on the index, slipping 38.46 per cent during the year.

Much of this plunge came just before Christmas, when Kathmandu shares slipped to a near two-near low as the company blamed low consumer confidence for a subdued start to Christmas trading in Australia.

It said that because of reduced Australian sales, the total sales increase for the year had dropped from 18.6 per cent in November to 14.1 per cent last month.

While sales in New Zealand and the UK were up on last year, and there was potential for improved performance before the end of the first half of the reporting period, it was unlikely to make up for the drop in Australia.

Kathmandu shares closed down 20.9 per cent because of the news and have since slipped further, ending the year at $2.16.

Dunedin biotech company Pacific Edge was the index's third-worst performer.

Its non-invasive bladder cancer test is now used throughout New Zealand and the US.

The stock was caught in last year's global tech sell-off, dropping 15 per cent in April.

Pacific Edge shares fell 36.09 per cent last year.

• The top 10 best performers was published yesterday.

What the index shows
• A gross index indicates the return to shareholders including price movements and reinvested dividends (excluding imputation tax credits).

• The percentage change between gross index levels at two dates indicates the change in the total value of a portfolio of shares would have been for the period if all dividends were reinvested immediately in the portfolio.