Market close: NZ stocks drift as company results fail to inspire

Advanced manufacturer Rakon fell 5c, or 7.25 per cent, to 64c after reporting a decline in revenue and net profit. Photo / Dean Purcell

The New Zealand sharemarket continued to drift on light trading as the latest earnings results failed to inspire investors.

In another topsy-turvy day, the S&P/NZX 50 Index had a late surge and closed at 11,187.52.5, up 17.72 points or 0.16 per cent, following an intraday low of 11,133.8.

There were 69 gainers and 60 decliners on the main board with 25.36 million shares worth $88.74 million changing hands.

In the United States, the major indices resumed their climb, with Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.53 per cent to 35,273.03 points; S&P 500 gained 0.41 per cent to 4556.62; and Nasdaq Composite increasing 0.46 per cent to 14,265.86 on the day before Thanksgiving holiday.

The Nasdaq has rallied 11 per cent in November, Dow Jones nearly 7 per cent, and S&P 500 is up more than 8 per cent as bond yields have fallen and optimism that the Federal Reserve will maintain a hold on interest rates.

Paul Robertshawe, chief investment officer with Octagon Asset Management, said the local market remained directionless and the latest financial results were nothing to write home about.

“Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, Ryman Healthcare and Arvida Group are reporting next week and they will be closely followed, especially whether the softer trend in the retirement village stocks continues,” he said.

Mercury Energy increased 9c to $6.16, Vector was up 6c to $3.74, Port of Tauranga gained 12c or 2.26 per cent to $5.43, Napier Port added 4c to $2.39 and Restaurant Brands rose 17c or 4.83 per cent to $3.69.

Retailers Briscoe Group was up 10c or 2.21 per cent to $4.62 and KMD Brands gained 2c or 2.53 per cent to 81c. Smartpay Holdings gained 6.5c or 4.55 per cent to $1.495.

Ebos Group declined 74c or 2.05 per cent to $35.41 and Infratil decreased 10c to $9.96.

AFT Pharmaceuticals gained 7c or 2.13 per cent to $3.35 on a strong half-year result with revenue increasing 27 per cent to $83.6m and net profit rising 17 per cent to $1.8m. AFT’s operating profit was down 6 per cent to $3.3m; it is expecting a full-year profit of $22m-$24m.

Goodman Property Trust was up 1.5c to $2.145 after increasing revenue 14.2 per cent to $119.5 for the six months ending September but it suffered a net loss of $163.2m, mainly because of a $226.5m reduction in the value of its $4.7 billion portfolio. Operating earnings were $61.3m, up 12.3 per cent and Goodman has a 100 per cent occupancy rate.

Advanced manufacturer Rakon fell 5c or 7.25 per cent to 64c after reporting a 30 per cent decline in revenue to $61.25m and 97 per cent decrease in net profit to $499,000 for the six months ending September and a full-year warning.

Revenue for Rakon’s biggest market, telecommunications, fell to $34.2m from $47.5m in the previous corresponding period as customers worked through their stockpile and mobile network operators deferred some 5G capital expenditure.

Pacific Edge, down 0.002c or 1.94 per cent to 10.1c, reported a 22 per cent increase in half-revenue to $16.6m despite the uncertainty of Medicare funding in the United States. There was a net loss of $15.1m, up from $10.2m.

Commercial Cxbladder test volumes rose 28 per cent in the US, and ordering clinicians there reached 1147, up 17.3 per cent from the end of the second quarter. Total laboratory throughput of the tests increased to 15,401.

Meal kit company My Food Bag, down 0.004c or 2.99 per cent to 13c, continues to founder, half-year revenue declining 11.2 per cent to $83.83m and net profit falling 57.4 per cent to $2.5m. My Food Bag customers total 61,600, up from 57,500 at the end of the 2023 financial year.

Insurer Tower, down 0.005c to 61.5c, told the market that gross written premiums were up 17 per cent to $527m for the year ending September, underlying profit was $7.6m from the previous $27.3m and the bottom line was a loss of $1.2m compared with a net profit of $18.9m last year.