Vista Group led the market lower, down 29 per cent at $3.85. Photo / 123RF
New Zealand shares fell, led lower by Vista Group International, which was punished for dialling back its expectations for revenue growth.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index declined 46.10 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 10,580.07. Within the index, 24 stocks fell, 23 rose, and three were unchanged. Turnover was $139.2 million, of which Vista accounted for $20.8m.
Vista slumped to a seven-month low after scaling back its projections for revenue growth to 10-12 per cent and reporting a 23 per cent slide in first-half profit. The cinema software analytics firm has lifted revenue by more than 20 per cent in each of the past five years.
The stock led the market lower, down 29 per cent at $3.85 on a volume of 5.2 million shares, more than 15 times its 90-day average of 336,000. It was the most traded stock.
"People start extrapolating the growth and they're prepared to pay in advance, but today's reaction is kind of an Australian-type reaction. They're fairly savage on companies that don't hit their targets and that's what we've seen today with Vista," said David Price, a broker at Forsyth Barr.
Meridian Energy fell 3 per cent to $4.88 on a volume of 1.4 million shares. Sky Network Television dropped 2.7 per cent to $1.10 and A2 Milk dipped 0.6 per cent to $14.02.
SkyCity Entertainment Group was down 2.3 per cent, or 9 cents, at $3.82 on a volume of 1.7 million shares. It gave up rights to a 10 cent dividend today.
NZX was down 1.6 per cent, or 2 cents, at $1.26, having hit a five-year high earlier this week. It shed rights to a 3 cent dividend today.
Of companies holding their annual meetings today, Oceania Healthcare decreased 1 per cent to $1.01 and Stride Property Group was down 0.9 per cent at $2.32.
Fonterra Shareholders' Fund units rose 2.5 per cent to $3.23 on a volume of 200,000, in line with its 193,000 average. Fonterra yesterday said milk collection was tracking 4.7 per cent higher in the season-to-July 31 than the year-earlier period. It was also yet to hit full swing.
The New Zealand dollar hit a four-year low today as a weak business confidence survey and tepid inflation expectations raised the spectre of more action by the Reserve Bank. Exporters benefit from a weaker currency and Scales Corp was up 2.4 per cent at $4.61. Kathmandu Holdings rose 1.6 per cent to $2.60, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare advanced 1.4 per cent to $16.29, and Skellerup increased 1.4 per cent to $2.23.
Of companies trading on volumes of more than a million shares, Fletcher Building was unchanged at $4.32, Precinct Properties New Zealand rose 1.1 per cent to $1.85, Spark New Zealand was down 0.2 per cent at $4.37, Goodman Property Trust increased 0.5 per cent to $2.155, Auckland International Airport was down 1.4 per cent at $9.46 and Kiwi Property Group dipped 0.3 per cent to $1.61.
Outside the benchmark index, Tilt Renewables was unchanged at $2.65 after its board approved a $276m project to build a 31-turbine wind farm in south Taranaki. Cornerstone shareholders Infratil fell 1.1 per cent to $4.55 and Mercury NZ increased 0.9 per cent to $5.12.
The domestic company earnings season has largely wrapped up with all of the major firms having reported.
Price said the season started off in line with expectations, but got gloomier as it progressed when firms downgraded their outlooks. He pointed to today's "pretty ugly" business sentiment survey as an indicator of uncertainty in the local economy.
A clutch of smaller companies outside the benchmark index reported earnings today.
NZ King Salmon rose 3.5 per cent to $2.06 after reporting an 8 percent increase in annual revenue despite a dip in its harvest. Profit fell as the fish farmer deals with higher mortality rates, which has prompted an increased investment programme.
Marsden Maritime Holdings increased 0.9 per cent to $5.36 after lifting annual profit 3.1 per cent as gains on its investment property portfolio offset weaker earnings from its stake in NorthPort.
South Port New Zealand was unchanged at $7.25 after the Bluff port operator lifted annual profit 1 per cent to a record $9.8m. It expects to report lower earnings in the 2020 financial year due to increased maintenance spending.
Mercer Group was unchanged at 17 cents after reporting positive annual operating earnings on a 32 per cent increase in revenue. The stainless steel products fabricator narrowed its net loss to $707,000, which included a one-off $1m cost to settle a claim by Fonterra over the collapse of a silo at the dairy processor's Edendale plant in 2016.
Wellington Drive Technologies rose 5.1 per cent to 20.5 cents after reporting a 19 per cent increase in first-half revenue and a near doubling of operating earnings to $2.5m.