Market close: Fisher and Paykel Healthcare drags sharemarket down

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare plunged $2.20 or 7.89 per cent to $25.70. Photo / Supplied

Heavyweight Fisher and Paykel Healthcare dragged the New Zealand sharemarket down, against the trend, as its stunning two years of sales growth in the Covid pandemic is slowing.

Fisher and Paykel, the biggest stock on market capitalisation and making up 12 per cent of top 50 index, plunged $2.20 or 7.89 per cent to $25.70 on trade worth $36 million after warning of a fall in revenue for the 2022 financial year ending March.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index was down 143.68 points or 1.18 per cent to 12,061, and the NZX top 10 fell 1.99 per cent.

There were 63 gainers and 66 decliners over the whole market on volume of 31.4 million share transactions worth $145.1m.

Fisher and Paykel's share price has now given up all the gains made over the past two years, after starting 2020 at $22.20 and reaching $25 plus in March the same year. It hit a high of $36.46 on April 29 last year.

Fisher & Paykel told the market it expects full-year operating revenue to be in the range of $1.675b - $1.7b – compared with a record $1.97b for the 2021 financial year, a decrease of 14 cent.

The medical devices manufacturer said hospital consumables revenue is tracking similar to the first half, with the Omicron variant requiring lower respiratory intervention.

Sales of OSA masks in the homecare product group are above the first half growth rate, despite supply constraints of treatment hardware. Freight rates remain elevated and are expected to impact the gross margin target of 65 per cent by about 250 basis points.

Mark Lister, head of private wealth research with Craigs Investment Partners, said the local market was the odd one out with others overseas increasing and providing positive leads.

"Fisher and Paykel is such a big company in the New Zealand market and when it has a bad day it's hard for the index to hold on. The rest of the market was okay.

"Fisher and Paykel still fits the bill as a blue-chip world-class company and there's no concerns about the business. Its product enjoyed soaring demand for Covid hospitalisation, and with everyone getting back to normal, that's not good news for the company," Lister said.

"A fall in short-term revenue and sales is something investors have to appreciate and it doesn't change the long-term story for Fisher and Paykel."

Wall Street had another rebound overnight, with the Nasdaq Composition rising 1.95 per cent to 14,108.82. And the Australian S&P.ASX 200 Index was up 0.58 per cent to 7383.4 points at 5.45pm NZ time.

There was chatter that the US Federal Reserve will hike its official cash rate by 50 basis points at each of its May and June meetings to combat inflation. The benchmark 10 Year US Treasury Note yield hit 2.392 per cent, its highest level since May 2019. The crude oil price was at US$110.5 a barrel.

At home, KMD Brands, formerly Kathmandu Holdings, reported a loss of $5.5m because of the store closures resulting from Covid on revenue of $407.3m, down 0.8 per cent, for the six months ending January 31. Operating earnings (ebitda) were $10.2, down from $48.2m.

The result was in line with its guidance, and the share price was unchanged at $1.33. KMD, which owns Kathmandu, Rip Curl surfwear and Oboz shoes, is paying an interim dividend of 3c a share on June 30. The Kathmandu stores in Australia and New Zealand had a 46.4 per cent rise in online sales.

Mainfreight rebounded 99c to $80; Mercury climbed 5c to $5.72; a2 Milk gained 3c to $5.80; and Winton Land rose 10c or 3.03 per cent to $3.40.

Sky Network Television increased 8c or 3 per cent to $2.75; NZME collected 3c or 2.07 per cent to $1.48; Property for Industry was up 4.5c to $2.75; Steel & Tube gained 3c or 2.11 per cent to $1.45; and Livestock Improvement Corporation rose 5c or 3.13 per cent to $1.65.

Retailers The Warehouse Group increased 10c or 3.24 per cent to $3.17; Hallenstein Glasson was up 13c or 2 per cent to $6.63; and Briscoe Group was down 7.5c to $5.76.

Auckland International Airport was down 7c to $7.66; EBOS Group decreased 30c to $39; Fletcher Building declined 11c to $6.38; Contact Energy shed 6c to $7.94; and Port of Tauranga went under $6 after falling 5c to $5.98.

T&G Global fell 11c or 3.82 per cent to $2.77; Vista Group was down 4c or 2.17 per cent to $1.80; Vulcan Steel shed 12c to $9.17; Move Logistics decreased 3c or 2.61 per cent to $1.12; and Solution Dynamics fell 5c or 1.82 per cent to $2.70.