“The care parts of the business have been under immense pressure over the past 12 months or so and the funding would help improve sentiment for the sector,” he said.
Leading operators Ryman Healthcare rose 45c or 7.03 per cent to $6.85, and Summerset Group was up 33c or 3.78 per cent to $9.05. Oceania Healthcare and Arvida both gained 1c to 78c and $1.15 respectively. Green Cross Health increased 4c or 3.33 per cent to $1.24.
Radius Residential Care, up 0.005c to 30c, reported net profit of $1.72m, up 29.2 per cent, on increased revenue of $72.95m for the six months ending September. Total assets increased by $60.1m to $350.2m, with available beds up 81 to 1865 and retirement village units up 46 to 147.
Solly said the markets were also spurred by the Chinese banks’ pledge to provide financial support of 925 billion yuan ($206b) to property developers. This would stimulate some activity in the economy.
New Zealand retail sales were slightly weaker for the three months ending September, increasing 0.4 per cent instead of the expected 0.5 per cent. “That is what the Reserve Bank is looking for and maybe the economy is cooling a bit more,” Solly said.
Briscoe Group was down 12c or 2.35 per cent to $4.98, and KMD Brands declined 2c or 1.8 per cent to $1.09.
The Warehouse Group, however, gained 3c to $2.97 after telling shareholders at the annual meeting that total sales for the 13 weeks ending October rose 21.2 per cent to $764.7m compared with the same period last year and 12.3 per cent in 2020.
Foot traffic increased 61.4 per cent in the first quarter of the 2023 financial year as customers returned to the stores, and group online sales were $81.8m, down 56.6 per cent. The Warehouse stores had record first-quarter sales, up 39 per cent to $414.6m. Gross profit margin reduced slightly to 32.3 per cent.
Auckland International Airport was up 7.5c to $7.995, a2 Milk gained 8c to $6.72; Synlait added 4c to $2.89; Restaurant Brands rose 36c or 5.54 per cent to $6.86; AFT Pharmaceuticals rebounded 10c or 2.78 per cent to $3.70; and Genesis Energy collected 8c or 3.07 per cent to $2.69.
Sky TV rose 6c or 2.68 per cent to $2.30 after implementing its $70m capital return to shareholders.
Property companies Goodman Trust was up 6c or 3 per cent to $2.06, and Property for Industry declined 3.5c to $2.345.
Mainfreight was down $1 to $71.30; Seeka decreased 7c or 2.05 per cent to $3.34; Winton Land declined 5c or 2.38 per cent to $2.05; and Move Logistics gave up 2c or 1.89 per cent to $1.04.
Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund was down 3c to $3.06. The dairy co-operative told the market the new flexible shareholding capital structure will be implemented in late March.
Transport technology firm Eroad, down 2c to $1.18, reported a 78 per cent rise in revenue to $85.4m and net profit of $552,000 for the six months ending September. The half-year included a contribution from a recent purchase Coretex.
Annualised monthly recurring revenue increased 18 per cent to $158.3m, and Eroad said it was on track for full-year revenue of $154m-$164m, having narrowed the guidance from $150m-$170m, and is undertaking cost-cutting initiatives.
Burger Fuel, down 0.005c to 31.5c, reported half-year revenue of $11.33m, up 8.4 per cent, and net profit of $552,000, a 36.5 per cent rise. Burger Fuel has 75 franchised stores in New Zealand and the Middle East, having closed three in UAE and opened one in Cambridge.
NZX was down 2c to $1.21. NZX is buying the management rights of QuayStreet Asset Management from Craigs Investment Partners for $31.25m, made up of $22.5m in cash and $8.75m worth of NZX shares issued at $1.33 a share. QuayStreet has $1.6b under management, and the purchase is expected to contribute $3.3m-$3.6m in operating earnings for NZX’s 2023 financial year.
