Summerset's 14% sales rise lifts market

Meridian shares rose 2.8% yesterday to close at $1.81. Photo / Richard Robinson

Retirement operator has record 4th quarter as housing market firms, investors chase yield in power companies

New Zealand shares rose, led by Summerset Group Holdings after it lifted annual sales by 14 per cent. Meridian Energy and Mighty River Power paced gains as investors sought investments with high dividends. Trade Me Group fell after it said it bought a 15 per cent stake in Harmoney.

The NZX 50 Index rose 24.96 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 5609.8. Within the index, 22 stocks rose, 20 fell and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $77 million.

Summerset led the index higher, its stock up 5.2 per cent to $3.02, after the retirement village operator lifted sales to 458 units, and its fourth-quarter new sales rose 88 per cent to a record 113 units after opening four new villages in 2014's second half.

Investors link rest-home sales to the performance of the New Zealand housing market, which has picked up after a small lull in the lead-up to September's general election, as would-be unit buyers take longer or choose not to sell their homes in a weak market.

"It was very strong new sales, but not such strong resales, which can be influenced by availability of stock," said Matthew Goodson, managing director at Salt Funds Management.

"This sector is really being driven by sentiment around the housing market - the sector and the stock were quite weak late last year, but there are some signs the housing market is bouncing back again post-election.

"It does remain vulnerable to any housing market correction, given the extreme heights of house prices."

Rival retirement operators were mixed.

Metlifecare advanced 1.3 per cent to $4.72. Ryman Healthcare was unchanged at $8.48, while outside the benchmark index Arvida Group, the latest retirement village operator to list, was unchanged at 95c.

Yield stocks gained, as investors looked for income-paying investments in a globally low interest rate environment. Meridian, the state-controlled power company, advanced 2.8 per cent to $1.81. Fellow partially privatised energy generator Mighty River Power gained 1.9 per cent to $3.15, while Genesis Energy fell 1.4 per cent to $2.08.

"Particularly for Meridian and Mighty River Power there has been a continuation of buying interest from people chasing the yield," Goodson said.

Trade Me dropped 3 per cent to $3.62. The company announced it paid $7.7 million for a 15 per cent stake in Harmoney, the country's only licensed peer-to-peer lender.

"It appears to have valued that business at $51 million, which appears a relatively full valuation for an early-stage business.

"The key question for it, as always in New Zealand, is you can incur a lot of fixed costs running a business like this, and whether they can actually get the scale going to make it ultimately profitable," Goodson said.

Fletcher Building rose 2.2 per cent to $8.39. Spark New Zealand, formerly Telecom Corp, gained 0.3 per cent to $3.16.