The updated charges for the pricing period of 2023-2027 represent a new targeted return of 7.82%, down from 8.73% and in line with the range considered reasonable by the commission.
The airport said softer traffic volumes and challenging economic conditions indicated returns would be well below this level. The commission said the planned investment was in line with other global airports and consistent with a competitive market.
The market shrugged off another sharp fall on Wall Street over the weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 715 points or 1.69% to 41,583.9; S&P 500 was down 1.97% to 5580.94; and Nasdaq Composite declined 2.7% to 17,322.99.
Devon Funds Management head of retail Greg Smith said markets were waiting for D Day on Thursday morning, when US President Donald Trump announces the extent of incoming tariffs.
“There is likely to be a consequential reaction from US trading partners — the landscape is pretty dynamic. There is a potential that cheaper goods may be coming our way from the US trading partners.”
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Mainfreight, caught up in the tariff uncertainty, were down 11c to $33.54 and $1.52 or 2.41% to $61.68, respectively.
Meridian Energy was down 7c to $5.60; Infratil decreased 14c to $10.38; Summerset declined 20c or 1.75% to $11.25; a2 Milk shed 7c to $8.73; and Synlait Milk was down 2c or 2.6% to 75c.
Vulcan Steel eased 13c to $8.77; Radius Residential Care decreased 1c or 4.44% to 21.5c; 2 Cheap Cars was down 2c or 2.74% to 71c; and wine exporters Delegat Group and Foley Wines declined 10c or 2.24% to $4.36 and 2c or 3.17% to 61c, respectively.
In the property sector, Stride was down 3c or 2.61% to $1.12; Goodman Trust decreased 3.5c or 1.84% to $1.87; and Vital Healthcare Trust eased 3c or 1.76% to $1.67.
Ebos Group added 21c to $38.10; AFT Pharmaceuticals gained 9c or 3.46% to $2.69; Millennium & Copthorne Hotels NZ increased 14c or 6.19% to $2.40; NZX was up 4c or 2.58% to $1.59; and Bremworth collected 2c or 3.23% to 64c.
Dual-listed banking groups ANZ and Westpac rose 66c or 2.06% to $32.66 and $1.12 or 3.29% to $35.19, respectively.
Contact Energy increased 17c or 1.89% to $9.16, and Manawa was up 1c to $4.93 following the move by the Commerce Commission to extend the date for its decision on the merger to May 9. Contact said it was targeting mid-2025 for implementing the scheme of arrangement.
Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund rose 17c or 3.14% to $5.59 after the dairy co-operative appointed Liz Coutts as chairwoman-elect of Mainland Group, the divestment entity of the global consumer business. Coutts chairs Ebos Group, Oceania Healthcare and 2degrees.
Insurer Tower went into a trading halt while Boston-based private investment firm Bain Capital sells its 19.9% shareholding comprising 68.3m shares. Tower is not a party to the transaction and applied for a halt to ensure an orderly and informed sale process. Tower last traded at $1.485.
Smith said Bain was crystallising some gains with a chunky block of shares as Tower had been on a strong run — its share price more than doubling over the past 12 months.
Kiwifruit grower and packer Seeka, up 7c or 1.98% to $3.60, has appointed Mark Dewdney as chairman following the retirement of Fred Hutchings. Dewdney is chairman of NZ King Salmon Investments and director of Tatua Dairy Company.
Cooks Coffee increased 1.5c or 5.45% to 29c after its Esquires brand won the EU Business Irish Enterprise award for Organic Coffee Shop Enterprise of the Year.
Being AI has appointed Michael Stiassny, Greg Cross and Steve Phillips as independent, but it remains suspended from trading until it provides a trading update as directed by NZX.
