Shares in Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rallied by just under 10 per cent after the company upgraded its earnings prospects on the back of a weaker Kiwi dollar and on increased demand for its respiratory products arising from the coronavirus outbreak.
F&P Healthcare - New Zealand's biggest listed company by market capitalisation - now expects a net profit for the March year to a range of $275m to $280m, up from a previous guidance of $260m to $270m.
The company said it was ramping up production to cope with demand brought on by Covid-19, which attacks sufferers' respiratory systems.
By early afternoon, the stock was up $2.47 or 9.8 per cent at $27.67 while the rest of the market was still reeling from the biggest decline on Wall Street since the 1987 crash.
![Fisher and Paykel Healthcare chief executive Lewis Gradon. Photo / NZ Herald](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/4TANESM63J3DRE6ON4WDG5DO7I.jpg?auth=d978c02065ffb393f1e47ea7b4edef1616319ce5769cf14b7f50a845bc2f034c&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)