This episode takes you inside the NZ card game company making millions, chasing Hasbro’s US$1b Magic: The Gathering. Video / Cameron Pitney
Fletcher Building slumped nearly 7 per cent after a further $165 million blow-out in New Zealand International Convention Centre costs, but the local sharemarket remained resilient by finishing flat.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index had a sharp fall mid-way through the day following the Fletcher announcement but recovered to close at11,928.7, down 2.53 points or 0.02 per cent after reaching a low of 11,844.93.
There were 55 gainers and 82 decliners on the main board, with 18.16 million shares worth $79.24 million changing hands.
Matt Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management, said the local market did remarkably well despite strong falls in Australia and China. “It is continuing the trend of not slavishly following offshore leads.”
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had declined 1 per cent to 7622.5 points at 6pm NZ time, after last week reaching its all-time high.
The Shanghai Composite Index continued its poor run, down 1.82 per cent to 2680.47 points. The index fell 6.2 per cent last week, its biggest weekly loss since October 2018 and has declined more than 8 per cent since the start of the year.
Goodson said there were concerns about China’s economy, particularly the property sector, and officials may have to provide further support for the sharemarket.
At home, Fletcher Building fell 30c or 6.61 per cent to $4.24 after telling the market it is making an additional $165m provision for completing the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) by the end of the year. Add to that a $15m provision for remediation at the Wellington International Airport carpark.
Fletcher said actual and expected costs for the final stage of the NZICC project had increased, mainly in steel remediation, internal fit-out and installation of operating systems, with higher levels of subcontractor resource required.
The country’s largest construction company is still pursuing more than $100m under the NZICC Third Party Liability insurance policy, and no revenue under the claim will be included in the half-year financial statements. The Auckland Hobson Street Hotel is scheduled to be handed over to SkyCity this month.
New Zealand International Convention Centre under construction tour.
Glass panels that will cover 2,400sqm of the building were commissioned from artist Sara Hughes by SKYCITY Entertainment Group
01 July 2019 New Zealand Herald photograph by Michael Craig.
NZH 05Jul19 - Artist Sara Hughes' forest-inspired glass panels will cover much of the exterior. Photo / Michael Craig
Goodson said the provision – “a decent chunk of money for them” - represented 16c a share post-tax and Fletcher’s share price was down nearly double that on concern about its balance sheet.
“Fletcher has been taking one provision at a time, there was no update on the Iplex pipe situation in Australia, and it doesn’t fill the market with hope that there will be no more provisions,” he said.
Utilities software firm Gentrack, a favourite for Australian growth investors, rose 36c or 5.34 per cent to $7.10 and neared its all-time high of $7.15 achieved on September 1. 2018. Gentrack reached a low of $1.32 on September 27, 2022.
Ebos Group was down 41c to $36.59; Mainfreight shed $1.30 or 1.84 per cent to $69.21; Ryman Healthcare declined 7c to $5.68; Turners Automotive decreased 10c or 2.15 per cent to $4.56; and NZME gave up 3c or 2.91 per cent to $1.
Precinct Properties decreased 2.5c or 1.98 per cent to $1.24; Synlait Milk gave up 2c or 2.38 per cent to 82c; Ventia Services declined 8c or 2.27 per cent to $3.44; Smartpay was down 4c or 2.56 per cent to $1.525; and Bremworth shed 3c or 4.62 per cent to 62c.
In the energy sector, with bond yields increasing, Mercury was up 14.5c or 2.18 per cent to $6.795; Meridian gained 4c to $5.56; Contact was down 8c to $8.10; and Manawa declined 10c or 2.33 per cent to $4.20.
Chorus, down 2.5c to $7.94, confirmed plans to extend fibre broadband to another 10,000 premises at a cost of $40m, with a third of the investment occurring in the next regulatory period of January 2025 to December 2028.
Fisher and Paykel Healthcare gained 60c or 2.46 per cent to $24.95; Michael Hill rose 5c or 5.75 per cent to 92c; Scott Technology increased 4c to $3.20; Accordant Group was up 3c or 3 per cent to $1.03; and CDL Investments collected 2c or 2.56 per cent to 80c.
NZ King Salmon Investments gained a further 1.5c or 5.17 per cent to 30.5c, after climbing from 22c at the end of December.
Third Age Health rose 8c or 5.88 per cent to $1.44 after earlier reporting a 98.6 per cent increase in net profit to $525,000 for the third quarter compared with the previous corresponding period. Group revenue was up 18.4 per cent to $3.8m and Third Age is paying a third-quarter dividend of 3.31c a share.
