South Island Index is holding its own

Listed South Island companies underperformed relative to the wider NZX-50 index over the past year but still did better than the US Dow or ASX All Ordinaries benchmarks.

What is more, the index bounced more robustly in the recent rally than the NZX-50.

The fifth Deloitte South Island Index released yesterday showed that over the 12 months to March 31, the index fell by 27 per cent with $1.05 billion value wiped off the initialtotal market capitalisation of $3.89 billion.

The NZX-50 index was down 25.4 per cent over the period while Australia's ASX All Ordinaries fell by 34.7 per cent and the US Dow Jones contracted by 38 per cent.

The index is compiled from information provided by market operators NZX and Unlisted on the market capitalisations of 32 South Island-based listed companies.

Deloitte said the index performed strongly in the first five months of the year but "consistent with the global downturn has been on a declining path since the end of August 2008".

The index, like most others, picked up last month. The South Island Index rose 8.6 per cent during the month against the NZX-50's 2.7 per cent increase.

Among the index's constituent companies, Ryman Healthcare maintained its position as top listing despite its capitalisation falling by $90 million. It still has twice the capitalisation of number two listing PGG Wrightson.

Plus SMS Holdings was the worst-performing stock in the index, losing more than 90 per cent of its market cap.