Fletcher Building and retailers Michael Hill and Hallenstein Glasson Holdings could show signs of a consumption crunch this NZ earnings season. Here's the stocks investors will be watching this month & why.
Hollywood upheavals hit a local tech company, as the latest listed company results rolled in this morning.
Auckland-based Vista Group, which dominates the global market for cinema software, narrowed its first-half net loss to $8.7 million from the year-ago $17.8m.
Revenue rose 12 per cent to $69.7m for the sixmonths to June 30.
Looking to the second half, the firm said the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon had seen box office receipts for July at 105 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
However, it also flagged possible headwinds from the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike.
Vista guided to full-year revenue of $142 - $147m, and reiterated it was on track to be free cashflow positive by the fourth quarter of FY2024.
Vista said the 'Barbenheimer' phenomenon had seen box office receipts for July at 105 per cent of pre-Covid levels. The term refers to the Barbie and Oppenheimer movies, which both opened in New Zealand cinemas in July. Photo / Warner Bros Pictures, Universal Pictures via AP
Port of Tauranga lifted group net after tax profit by 5.2 per cent to $117.1 million in FY23.
Revenue was $420.9m, up 12.2 per cent on the previous year, despite a decline in total trade due to weather events and shrinking consumer demand for imports.
The final dividend is 8.8c per share, bringing total dividend for FY23 to 15.6 cents per share.
Lines company Vector said continuing operations delivered a $112.6 million net profit, exclusive of its metering business.
The company announced a special dividend of 5.5 cents per share, bringing the final dividend to 14.0 cents per share.
The sale of 50 per cent interest in Vector Metering delivered a one-off gain of $1.509b.
Adjusted ebitda was $523.3 million.
Team members from Tainui Group Holdings, Port of Tauranga, KiwiRail and Quality Marshalling greet the first trains at Ruakura Inland Port. Photo / Tainui Group Holdings
Stock exchange operator NZX said operating earnings gained in the six months to June, despite difficult trading conditions, while net profit fell due to increased amortisation charges.
NZX’s operating operating earnings (ebitda) of $20.0 million for the six months were up 15.0 per cent the previous comparable period.
Excluding acquisition, integration and integration costs, group operating earnings (ebitda) for the same period were $20.6m – up 16.8 per cent.
For the full year, NZX said it expected operating earnings to be towards the upper end of a $36.0m to $40.5m guidance range.
“The resilience and diversity of the NZX Group business and earnings base, and the breadth of offerings available for companies to access capital, are behind our strong financial result in the first half of 2023,” chief executive Mark Peterson said.
“This is despite the tight financial conditions and ongoing challenging environment for global markets,” he added.
The NZX electronic ticker on the New Zealand Capital Markets Centre building at 45 Queen Street, Auckland. Photo / Supplied
NZX produced an unaudited net profit of $7.0m for the half year – down 5.6 per cent.
The fall was largely the result of additional amortisation, along with higher funding costs on its increased debt.
NZX said its growth strategy was to expand its product range in capital markets and drive scale and operating leverage across its Smartshares and NZX Wealth Technologies businesses.
NZX declared a fully imputed interim dividend of 3.0 cents per share – unchanged.
Separately, the NZX board said it had extended Peterson’s employment term as CEO beyond April 2024.
New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) expects advertising revenue to recover in the year’s second half after post-tax profit fell by $6.5 million in the six months to June 30.
The media group recorded a post-tax profit of nearly $2m for the half-year, down from just under $8.5m in the first six months of 2022, as operating revenue fell by 6 per cent to $166m.
NZME owns the New Zealand Herald, BusinessDesk, Newstalk ZB, the OneRoof property website and a suite of entertainment radio stations including ZM, The Hits and Hauraki.
Advertising revenue dropped 7 per cent to $116m year-on-year, reflecting a “difficult” start to the year, chief executive Michael Boggs told BusinessDesk.
Despite the profit slump and advertising slowdown, NZME maintained its 3 cents per share dividend for the year.
New Zealand Rural Land Company reported a net profit after tax of $2.5 million for the six months ending June 2023.
The company owns 14,487ha of rural land in New Zealand, fully tenanted on long-term leases with regular CPI adjustments.
Wine output improves
Wine producer Delegat Group has shrugged off a stagnant international market and the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle to post an improved profit for the June financial year.
Reported net profit was $64.8 million, up 3 per cent on the previous year’s, as case sales climbed 9 per cent to 3.7m.
The company’s operating ebitda came to $120.4m, up 7 per cent, with total revenue up 15 per cent at $375.8m.
Emergency services and helpers rescue numerous people caught up in Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / NZME
The company maintained its final dividend at 20c a share. Delegat said its 2023 harvest yielded high quality fruit across all three of its wine regions - Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough and the Barossa Valley, Australia.
The group harvest of 45,340 tonnes was a 1 per cent increase on the 2022 harvest.
“Most notably, the vintage outcome for Hawke’s Bay demonstrates the hard work and dedication of our people to overcome the challenges posed by Cyclone Gabrielle,” managing director Steve Carden said.
Looking ahead, the company has forecast a 2024 operating profit in the range of $62m to $67m with an expected 4 per cent increase in case sales.
Chairman Graeme Lord noted the ongoing contribution of Jim and Rose Delegat toward the company’s vision and strategy. The pair were recognised with a Visionary Leaders award at the Deloitte Top 200 awards in late 2022.
