Market close: Vulcan Steel has wings clipped; Cyclone Gabrielle hits stocks

Apple exporter Scales was down 18c or 4.79 per cent to $3.58 as flooding hit the Hawke's Bay region. Photo / Supplied

The New Zealand sharemarket had a late plunge after heavyweights Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Ebos put in such good work. And transtasman operator Vulcan Steel had its wings clipped by more than 10 per cent.

Fisher & Paykel and Ebos pushed the S&P/NZX 50 Index to an intraday high of 12,117.86 points. But during the last half-hour matching session trading turned around and the index finished flat at 12,074.47, down 0.71 points or 0.01 per cent.

There were 54 gainers and 70 decliners on the main board, with 35.23 million shares worth $125.21 million changing hands.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 35c to $25.60; and Ebos Group, soon to be added to the MSCI World Large Cap Index, gained $1 or 2.3 per cent to $44.50.

Vulcan Steel, one of the more consistent market performers since listing in early November 2021, plunged $1.01 or 10.56 per cent to $8.55 after providing a soft outlook in conjunction with its steady half-year result.

Vulcan, the company of the year in the Deloitte Top 200 awards, listed at $7.50 and went as high as $11 in early January last year.

Matt Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management, said Vulcan’s result didn’t appear to be too bad, though a tad weak in terms of margin.

“But the market took a view on what lays ahead for them and Vulcan may be past the best of its cycle. They may be the first of more disappointments to come resulting from the recent weather events,” he said.

Vulcan narrowed its full-year operating earnings (ebitda) guidance to $215m-$230m, from $215m-$235m, and net profit to $95m-$109m, from $93m-$107m. Vulcan said the demand is not expected to materially improve in the second half and the weather events in the upper North Island may cause ongoing disruption to trading activity in the short term.

Vulcan Steel reported a 22 per cent fall in net profit to $54.4m on revenue of $638m, up 38 per cent for the six months ending December. Its operating earnings (ebitda) were $115.1m, down 3 per cent, and it is paying an interim dividend of 24.5c a share.

Vulcan said the addition of five months’ trading of the newly acquired Ullrich aluminium business partially offset weaker volumes in existing businesses, increasing operating cost pressures and higher financing charges.

Wall Street had a strong day as investors waited for the United States January consumer price index and they were punting that annual inflation would fall from 6.5 per cent to 6.2 per cent, thus easing the pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep increasing interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.11 per cent to 34,245.93; S&P 500 increased 1.14 per cent to 4137.29; and Nasdaq Composite rose 1.48 per cent to 11,891.79.

At home, KMD Brands increased 2c or 1.87 per cent to $1.09 after reporting record sales for the half year ending January. In a trading update, KMD said group sales were expected to be $546m, an increase of 34 per cent on the previous corresponding period. Kathmandu and Rip Curl continued the sales growth in January following the return of travel and international tourism.

Fellow retailers Hallenstein Glasson fell 18c or 3.27 per cent to $5.33; Michael Hill was down 2c or 1.8 per cent to $1.09; and Briscoe was up 3c to $4.83.

The flooding in Hawke’s Bay impacted three stocks. Apple exporter Scales was down 18c or 4.79 per cent to $3.58; Napier Port declined 20c or 6.76 per cent to $2.76; and Delegat Group, with vineyards in Hawke’s Bay, shed 16c to $9.84.

Goodson said the market was concerned about the potential damage of Scales’ apple crop from the cyclone, and of course local exports go through the Napier port.

SkyCity was down 8c or 3.16 per cent to $2.45 as Sydney and Gold Coast casino operator, Star Entertainment, fell more than 30 per cent in the past two trading days. The Liberals in the New South Wales election are proposing a significant hike in gaming tax.

Mainfreight collected 51c to $75.51; Serko was up 8c or 2.89 per cent to $2.85; Chorus gained 11c to $8.66; Ventia Services added 4c to $2.71; and CDL Investment increased 2c or 2.67 per cent to 77c.

Summerset Group declined 20c or 2.06 per cent to $9.50; Ryman Healthcare was down 13c or 1.99 per cent to $6.41; Gentrack shed 15c or 5.26 per cent to $2.70; AFT Pharmaceuticals decreased 9c or 2.37 per cent to $3.71; and kiwifruit grower Seeka was down 7c or 2.22 per cent to $3.08.

In the energy sector, Contact decreased 10c to $7.72 and Manawa was down 17c or 3.14 per cent to $5.25.

The property sector was weaker. Stride shed 4c or 2.74 per cent to $1.42; Property for Industry declined 4c or 1.71 per cent to $2.305; and Goodman Trust decreased 5c or 2.36 per cent to $2.07.