Market close: Synlait continues its tumble; Freightways reveals cyclone hit

Freightways, which owns New Zealand Couriers, declined 17c or 1.82 per cent to $9.18.

The buyers, so prevalent the day before, disappeared and the New Zealand sharemarket lost ground. But the latest Australian consumer price index gave hope that central banks may be winning the battle against inflation.

After a sharp fall at the opening, the S&P/NZX 50 Index did have a recovery in the last half hour matching session and closed at 11,736.75, down 34.52 points or 0.29 per cent.

There were 54 gainers and 74 decliners on the main board with 81.76 million shares worth $124.73 million changing hands.

Inflation in Australia fell for the second successive month with the February consumer price index showing a lower-than-expected annual rate of 6.8 per cent, down from 7.4 per cent in January and 8.4 per cent in December. The analysts expected an inflation rate of 7.2 per cent.

Matt Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management, said the latest inflation number is still high but it’s encouraging that it was weaker than expected and it suggests the Reserve Bank of Australia may put interest rate rises on hold.

He said the inflation rate didn’t have much impact on the markets. “Locally, there were several buying portfolios in the market the day before, but today it gave back some of those gains.”

Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had gained 0.24 per cent to 7051.1 points at 6pm NZ time.

At home, leading stocks Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was down 42c to $25.95; Ebos Group declined 20c to $45; Mainfreight decreased 64c to $70.15; and Fletcher Building shed 5c to $4.34.

Freightways declined 17c or 1.82 per cent to $9.18 after providing a trading update with Express Package volumes remaining steady and the company being mindful of the risk of slower business and consumer activity in the short term. It has suspended its dividend reinvestment plan.

Freightways outlined one-off costs of $3.5m through loss of gross earnings for Express Package because of Cyclone Gabrielle ($2m) and dual listing and merger and acquisition activity ($1m). But these costs will be matched by the general rate increases from July 1.

Goodson said Freightways is a bellwether stock for the economy and though its update was not unexpected it was muted with slightly mixed comments.

Leading banks were down, with ANZ slipping 19c to $24.25, and Westpac declined 35c to $22.70.

For gentailers, Contact Energy was up 12c to $7.71, and Meridian gained 9c or 1.75 per cent to $5.23.

Skellerup Holdings rebounded 17c or 3.53 per cent to $4.98; Scales Corp rose 18c or 6.23 per cent to $3.07; SkyCity was up 4c to $2.42; Hallenstein Glasson added 12c or 2.21 per cent to $5.56; Bremworth improved 1.5c or 4.92 per cent to 32c; and Seeka increased 7c or 2.43 per cent to $2.95.

In the property sector, Vital Healthcare Trust gained 6c or 2.65 per cent to $2.32, Investore was up 2c to $1.41; Kiwi was down 2c or 2.22 per cent to 88c; Precinct decreased 2c to $1.255; and Argosy declined 1.5c to $1.115.

Sky TV was down 3c to $2.55 after outlining its company re-organisation, with 170 roles disestablished. The customer care division will be boosted 40 per cent with 200 jobs created in the Philippines dealing with straightforward queries and 100 roles retained in New Zealand handling more complex inquiries.

Sky TV is partnering with Tata Consulting Services and Probe CX Group to enhance its technology and content operations, as well as customer care.

The television network is delivering $6m in annual cost savings from the 2024 financial year and beyond. But there is a one-off cost of another $6m for the organisational changes.

Synlait Milk continued tumbling, down 13c or 5.96 per cent to a new low of $2.05; and a2 Milk declined 7c to $6.21.

Summerset Group shed 12c to $8.78; Arvida Group declined 3c or 3.13 per cent to 93c; Serko was down 4c or 1.78 per cent to $2.21; and Restaurant Brands fell 10c to $6.55.

Delegat Group declined 34c or 3.93 per cent to $8.32; Napier Port decreased 6c or 2.33 per cent to $2.51; Gentrack was down 5c or 1.82 per cent to $2.70, and Cannasouth shed 1c or 3.45 per cent to 28c.

Metro Performance Glass, up 0.002c to 16.5c, reaffirmed its full-year operating earnings (ebit) guidance of $11m-$12m compared with an actual $5.9m in the 2022 financial year. Net debt is expected to be less than $63m.

New Zealand King Salmon Investments, gaining 0.005c or 2.44 per cent to 21c, reported an improved result for the 12 months ending January, turning around a net loss of $73.2m in the previous year to a profit of $1.9m. Revenue was $167.13m, down 4 per cent.

Sales volume decreased 24 per cent to 5837 metric tonnes from 7672mt, and the result period covered two summers with the mortality expense reducing from $13.5m to $2m between December and March 22. King Salmon provided operating earnings (ebitda) guidance of $21m-$25m for the 2024 financial year.

Green Cross Health was up 3c or 2.22 per cent to $1.38. The company told the market that its chief operating officer Alison Van Wyk has resigned.