Market close: NZ shares' swift recovery after Russian Ukraine invasion

Port of Tauranga reported a 15.6 per cent increase in net profit to $56.34m on revenue of $186.03m, up 16.7 per cent, for the six months ending December. Photo / NZME

The New Zealand sharemarket made a swift recovery as investors pondered the economic impact of the Russian invasion in Ukraine and went looking for cheap buys.

The local market was open when the invasion began and plunged 3.31 per cent. But the leading United States indices made strong gains overnight – with the Nasdaq Composite rising 3.34 per cent – and the S&P/NZX 50 Index followed.

The index closed a tumultuous week at 11,923.38, up 190.82 points or 1.63 per cent, after reaching an intraday low of 11,733.76.

On another busy day with 11 companies reporting their latest financial results, there were 80 gainers and 61 decliners on volume of 77.72 million share transactions worth $185.22 million.

Matt Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management, said the market was sold off very hard and it managed to claw back more than half of the fall.

He said stagflation – slower growth and higher inflation – would be clearly evident for global economies from the invasion.

"It's not an enjoyable combination for investors and markets.

"Russia is a major exporter of oil and gas, and sanctions will push up commodity prices. Russian success in Ukraine will result in a new Cold War footing and the Baltic States and Poland will be re-arming. There will be more government spending on defence," Goodson said.

The crude oil price retreated from an eight-year high of more than US$100 a barrel to nearly US$95, and petrol prices are bound to go higher.

At home, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare increased 38c to $27.63; Auckland International Airport rose 24c or 3.49 per cent to $7.12; Freightways was up 24c or 2.03 per cent to $12.05; Infratil collected 23c or 3.01 per cent to $7.86; and Skellerup Holdings gained 22c or 3.86 per cent to $5.92.

Energy, retirement village and property stocks that were sold down heavily the day before rebounded strongly. Meridian rose 17c or 3.61 per cent to $4.88; Mercury was up 6c to $5.62; Ryman Healthcare climbed 54c or 6.01 per cent to $9.53; Summerset Group Holdings increased 34c or 2.96 per cent to $11.83; and Precinct Properties gained 7c or 4.7 per cent to $1.56.

Vector reported a 13.1 per cent increase in half-year net profit to $115.5m on revenue of $684.64m, up 5.7 per cent. Operating earnings (ebitda) were $263.6m, down 3.7 per cent, and the full year is forecast at $505m-$515m. It is paying an interim dividend of 8.25c a share on April 8. Its share price was unchanged at $3.69.

The country's biggest port at Tauranga reported a 15.6 per cent increase in net profit to $56.34m on revenue of $186.03m, up 16.7 per cent, for the six months ending December. It is paying an interim dividend of 6.5c a share on March 25.

Port of Tauranga's cargo volumes were steady at 13 million tonnes, but container numbers increased 1.5 per cent to 622,271 TEUs (20-foot equivalents). Its share price was unchanged at $6.15 after reaching an intraday high of $6.30.

Marsden Maritime Holdings, which operates Northport near Whangarei, was up 4c to $6.18. Net profit fell 11.67m to $4.58m on revenue of $8.19m, up 1.61 per cent. Bulk cargo was down 157,768 tonnes to $1.535 tonnes.

South Port New Zealand, which operates the port at Bluff, rose 48c or 5.67 per cent to $8.95.

Tourism Holdings, with a camper van fleet of 3430, increased 7c or 2.92 per cent to $2.47 after reporting an expected half-year loss of $4.36m on revenue of $174.87m, down 15 per cent.

Other gainers were Sky Network Television, up 6c or 2.41 per cent to $2.55; Heartland Group Holdings increasing 5c or 2.25 per cent to $2.27; and Vista Group rising 15c or 8.15 per cent to $1.99.

EROAD rose 21c or 5.72 per cent to $3.88; Winton Land was up 10c or 2.94 per cent to $3.50; and Ventia Services Group increased 10c or 4.26 per cent to $2.45.

Wine exporter Delegat Group, down 7c to $13.42, after achieving global sales of 3.419 million cases, an increase of 8 per cent. Its revenue was up 5 per cent to $175.9m but net profit fell 8 per cent to $39.5m for the six months ending December. Full-year profit guidance is still $57m-$61m.

Transtasman chemicals company DGL Group declined 4c to $2.91 after reporting a solid half-year result, with net profit rising 70 per cent to $8.5m on revenue of $143m, up 55 per cent.

Rua Bioscience, down 1c or 2.5 per cent to 39c, expects to have its first medicinal cannabis products available in late March/early April. It had a loss of $2.46m for six months ending December and it has investments of $12.29m.

Software firm Plexure Group has withdrawn its earnings guidance of $45m-$47m because of the uncertainty of receiving hardware and fulfilling existing customer orders. Its share price fell 2.5c or 6.85 per cent to 34c.