Market close: Shares rise, led by NZX and Kathmandu
Tech stocks Diligent Board Member Services falls 0.3% to $3.84, while Trade Me, the online auction site controlled by Fairfax Media, slips 0.8% to $3.99.
BUSINESSDESK: New Zealand shares rose, paced by Kathmandu after the retailer showed an improvement in second-half trading and said it expects a better performance in 2013. NZX and Contact Energy were among leading gainers.
The NZX 50 Index rose 21.38 points, or 0.6%, to 3819.28. Within the index, 31 shares rose, 12 fell and seven were unchanged. Turnover was a $167.9 million.
Kathmandu, the outdoor clothing and equipment retailer, rose 2.9% to $1.75 even as the Christchurch-based company posted an 11% decline in full-year profits to $34.9 million. Sales rose 13% to $347 million. Same-store sales rose 5.7%.
"I don't know if just because you can increase your turnover that is a good result but the market seems to have taken it well," says Paul Vault, investment advisor at Craigs Investment Partners. "The fact that they have been able to increase sales. That's a positive for the coming period."
Restaurant Brands, which operates the local Pizza Hut, KFC and Starbucks brands, rose 0.5% to $2.20. Its second-quarter sales rose 2.3% to $96.1 million in the 16 weeks ended September 10, led by an increase in Pizza Hut and KFC revenue.
"It just shows that people can still afford to buy takeaways in tight economic times," Mr Vault says.
Contact Energy, the country's biggest listed electricity generator, gained 2.1% to $5.29.
Telecom, New Zealand's largest listed company, rose 0.9% to $2.33 after it shed its dividend of 11 cents per share. The telecommunications company also named Chris Quin as chief executive of its retail unit, effective from October 1.
Port of Tauranga, the nation's busiest port, gained 2% to $12.95, the stock having climbed about 30% this year. It shed its final dividend of 27 cents apiece on Thursday.
The gainers were led by the NZX, the stock exchange regulator, up 2.7% to $1.13.
The decline was led by NZ Refining, which fell 3.5% to $2.74, and Heartland New Zealand, the lender formed from the merger of Pyne Gould’s Marac Finance with the Canterbury and Southern Cross building societies, down 1.6% from its 11 month high to 62 cents.
Mainfreight, the biggest road transport company listed on the NZX 50 Index, dropped 1.2% from its 13-month high to $10.50. The stock has risen about 6.1% this year.
Tech stocks Diligent Board Member Services fell 0.3% to $3.84, while Trade Me, the online auction site controlled by Fairfax Media, slipped 0.8% to $3.99.
Shares in Ryman Healthcare, New Zealand's largest retirement village operator, fell 0.8% to $4.09.
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
Market close: Shares rise, led by NZX and Kathmandu
24001