Market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was down 64c or 2.43 per cent to $25.66 as the NZ dollar continued to strengthen against the American greenback after the Budget and likelihood of higher interest rates.
The NZ dollar was trading at US62.75c, up from US61c last week, and reached an intraday high of US63.03c.
Sullivan said 95 per cent of Fisher and Paykel’s earnings come from overseas, a lot of it in the US, and a stronger NZ dollar is not good for exporters.
Mercury, whose supply is mainly North Island-based, declined 11c to $6.40 after Transpower warned about rolling power cuts during the winter.
National grid operator Transpower said it is working closely with the electricity sector to manage potentially tight supply during cold snaps this winter, and consumers may be asked to cut back on power use at peak times.
Other energy stocks Contact declined 4c to $8.02; Genesis was down 3c to $2.71; Manawa decreased 5c to $4.73; while Meridian was up 3c to $5.44.
Utilities investor Infratil increased 17.5c or 1.85 per cent to $9.63 after falling nearly 3 per cent the day before, and is now trading at all-time highs since listing in 1994. Its share price peak was $9.745 achieved on May 19. One broker has lifted its target price to $11.30.
Sullivan said investors had now digested Infratil’s update and the stock had done incredibly well. “Infratil has a nice diverse portfolio and there’s further upside with the US-based Longroad Energy which is expected to have a material uplift with its renewables.”
Mainfreight was down 50c to $71; Freightways declined 13c to $9.29; Skellerup Holdings shed 10c or 2.06 per cent to $4.75; Restaurant Brands decreased 10c to $6.90; and Hallenstein Glasson fell 20c or 3.21 per cent to $6.03.
Gentrack retreated 19c or 4.43 per cent to $4.10; KMD Brands declined 3c or 2.63 per cent to $1.11; and Smartpay Holdings was down 3c or 1.9 per cent to $1.55.
Eroad rose 5c or 9.43 per cent to 58c; Oceania Healthcare added 3c or 3.95 per cent to 79c; Pacific Edge increased 1.5c or 3.26 per cent to 47.5c; Sky TV gained 5c or 2 per cent to $2.55; Task Group collected 2.5c or 5.38 per cent to 49c; and Savor improved 1.5c or 4.23 per cent to 37c.
Turners Automotive was down 1c to $3.79 after reporting a 4 per cent increase in net profit to $32.56m on revenue of $3809.02m, up 13 per cent, for the year ending March. Turners is paying a final dividend of 7c a share.
Turners said record earnings in the Auto Retail, profit up 28 per cent, and insurance divisions offset finance headwinds, with “compression of net interest margin”. The company continues to achieve strong results in challenging conditions, but the interest rate cycle may affect the timing of its targeted $50m net profit in the 2025 financial year.
Tower, down 1c to 60c, has purchased $100m of reinsurance cover for a fourth catastrophe event up to $889m. Tower already has similar cover for a third catastrophe event, and told the market it has sufficient reinstatement cover for Cyclone Gabrielle insurance claims.
Me Today, up 0.002c or 25 per cent to 1c, told the market that the yield from its manuka honey harvest was down 50 per cent to 61 tonnes and quality dropped with the value being much less than expected, resulting in a $2.1m write-down.
Orders worth $1.6m for its Bee+ product have now been shipped and the second-half sales will be higher than the first six months of the financial year, and the operating loss will be lower, Me Today said.
NZ Oil & Gas was up a further 0.005c to 38.5c. It has risen from 36c on Friday since announcing the eighth well in the Indonesian Mahato PB field is producing 800 barrels of oil a day. Its subsidiary Cue Energy has a 12.5 per cent in the Mahato production sharing contract. The PB field is producing a total of 6300 barrels a day, a 33 per cent increase since the start of the 2023 financial year.
