The Reserve Bank said the path of interest rates that will best ensure inflation returns to target (2-3 per cent) in a reasonable timeframe remains uncertain, though it predicted the second half of next year, and the bank is not ruling anything in or out.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index had risen 1.3 per cent to 7781.9 points at 6pm NZ time.
At home, Tourism Holdings recovered 13c or 7.14 per cent to $1.95 after falling 36 per cent the day before on a significant profit downgrade. “The stock was seen as oversold by the market,” Sullivan said.
Spark was down a further 8c or 1.78 per cent to $4.41 following its earnings downgrade. Sullivan said Spark is a reliable blue-chip stock and it was disappointing to see the downgrade. But Spark has increased its IT services and some government cloud computing projects are being delayed.
ANZ Banking Group was up 70c or 2.26 per cent to $31.70 after reporting half-year cash profit of A$3.552 billion, down 1 per cent on the previous half, and revenue of A$10.347b, down 4 per cent. ANZ is paying an interim dividend of 83c a share, and is buying back $2b worth of shares.
ANZ New Zealand’s cash profit was NZ$852m, up 2 per cent, with moderate balance sheet growth of 1 per cent in lending and 2 per cent in deposits despite challenging economic conditions.
Sullivan said ANZ New Zealand’s net interest margin of 2.59 per cent was “pretty impressive” compared with Australia’s 1.56 per cent. “I’d put it down to New Zealanders’ love of term deposits and having money in savings accounts earning very little, and this money can be used by the bank on high-yielding mortgages.”
Westpac gained 68c or 2.28 per cent to $30.48, and Heartland Group eased 2c or 1.98 per cent to 99c.
Other gainers were Oceania Healthcare up 3c or 5.45 per cent to 58c; Synlait Milk increasing 2c or 4.55 per cent to 46c; and Vista Group adding 4c or 2.21 per cent to $1.85.
Ebos Group was down 25c to $35.25; Skellerup declined 11c or 2.62 per cent to $4.09; Turners Automotive decreased 10c or 2.36 per cent to $4.13; Sky TV shed 6c or 2.14 per cent to $2.74; and Comvita eased 4c or 2.14 per cent to $1.83.
Pole monitoring technology company ikeGPS rose 7c or 16.67 per cent to 49c after announcing five new subscription agreements with major United States power companies with an expected total contract value of $4m and annual recurring revenue of $1.3m.
IkeGPS said since launching its next-generation product late last year, it has added total contract value of more than $12m, representing $4m of annual recurring revenue.
Briscoe Group, unchanged at $4.45, reported sales of $183m for the first quarter ending April 28, up 1.03 per cent on the same period last year. The homeware sales declined 1.09 per cent to $108.7m and sporting goods were up 4.28 per cent to $74.3m.
Fellow retailer Hallenstein Glasson was down 16c or 2.71 per cent to $5.75, and The Warehouse declined 3c or 2.26 per cent to $1.30.
Transport technology firm Eroad increased 2c or 2.38 per cent to 86c after releasing its roadshow presentation which said the company expects to be free cash flow positive later this year.
Foley Wines, down 1c to 80c, told the market its harvest was down 21 per cent to 6404 tonnes across its five wineries in Marlborough, Martinborough and Central Otago. Fellow wine exporter Delegat Group declined 12c or 2.06 per cent to $5.70.
Rural services company PGG Wrightson continued its torrid run, falling 8c or 4.28 per cent to $1.79 and nearing its all-time low of $1.67. It’s a far cry from its peak of $21.50 in August 2008.
Other decliners were Napier Port down 7c or 2.92 per cent to $2.33; Third Age Health declining 3c or 1.83 per cent to $1.61; Winton Land easing 5c or 2.38 per cent to $2.05; Pacific Edge shedding 0.005c or 4.76 per cent to 10c; and Move Logistics falling 4c or 10.26 per cent to 35c.
