The takeover is worth $1.6 billion and settlement is expected by the end of May. Goodson said some of that money will be reinvested and be a supportive force for the New Zealand market.
A lot of shares, however, are held by overseas arbitrage funds that bought after the first takeover bid was made.
While the local market was flat, Goodson said there is underlying concern about the state of the economy and what it means for company earnings forecasts.
The market should learn more when companies take advantage of next week’s important Macquarie sharebroking conference in Australia to announce their latest outlooks.
Business confidence and expected own activity were all but unchanged in April, with falling inflation signals gaining traction, said ANZ. The bank’s latest survey showed firms’ views on their own selling prices in three months eased for every sector except manufacturing and services, and fell dramatically for retail.
Firms’ expected costs in three months were also in a general downtrend, and the economy-wide measure fell from 3.4 per cent to 3.1 per cent.
Auckland International Airport increased 4c to $8.82 and topped the individual trading list for the second day running, with trade worth $14.67m as speculation mounts over whether Auckland Council will sell all or some of its 18.08 per cent shareholding.
During the day the airport traded as high as $8.96 and breached its recent high of $8.94 set on March 23. Its all-time peak was $9.62 achieved on August 1, 2019.
Air New Zealand, unchanged at 77c, upgraded its full-year earnings guidance to $510m-$560m, from $450m-$530m, because of a fall in jet fuel prices and continued strong passenger demand (reaching 95 per cent of pre-Covid domestic capacity and 80 per cent international). Cargo revenue has softened.
The national airline carried 1.625 million passengers in March, well up on the 624,000 in the same month last year and just short of the 1.836 million in March 2019.
Goodson said the earnings upgrade and passenger numbers were not surprising and the market was already there in terms of Air New Zealand’s share price. “The question is whether the strength of the passenger numbers will be sustained because there’s a lot of deferred travel involved due to Covid.”
It was all quiet on the Synlait-a2 Milk front. Synlait was unchanged at $1.56 after falling 27 per cent the day before following a $20m downgrade in its full-year net profit guidance. A2 Milk was down 3c to $5.87.
Meridian gained 5c to $5.22; Manawa Energy increased 7c to $4.95; Skellerup Holdings was up 8c to $4.88; and Restaurant Brands added 12c to $7.30.
Move Logistics was up 3c or 3.53 per cent to 88c; Smartpay Holdings increased 3.5c or 2.51 per cent to $1.43; NZX improved 2c or 1.75 per cent to $1.16; and Carbon Fund collected 4c or 2.14 per cent to $1.91.
In the property sector, Kiwi gained 1.5c to 90c, and Argosy gained 2c or 1.8 per cent to $1.13.
In retail, Hallenstein Glasson increased 10c or 1.74 per cent to $5.84; KMD Brands was up 2c or 1.82 per cent to $1.12; and Briscoe Group declined 16c or 3.38 per cent to $4.58.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, down 27c to $27.24, has received Overseas Investment Office approval to buy a 105ha site in Karaka for $275m. Fisher & Paykel will build a second campus on the property over the next 30 to 40 years.
Chorus was down 6.5c to $8.65; Ryman Healthcare declined 5c to $5.23; Genesis Energy decreased 5.5c or 1.99 per cent to $2.71; and Scales Corp shed 6c or 1.88 per cent to $3.14.
Ventia Services decreased 5c to $2.87; AFT Pharmaceuticals was down 6c to $3.39; and Vista Group fell 6c or 4.58 per cent to $1.25.
South Port NZ was down 11c to $7.85. Chairman Rex Chapman is retiring at the end of October and will be replaced by current director Philip Cory-Wright.
Rua Bioscience, up 0.004c or 2.27 per cent to 18c, has launched a medicinal cannabis product in Germany, becoming the first New Zealand company to introduce branded medicine in Europe’s largest market.
