MARKET WRAP: NZ shares climb on Fletchers announcement

New Zealand shares rose today as Fletcher Building reassured its shareholders and A2 Milk played catchup.

The NZX50 index climbed 93 point to 8,998.78, on turnover of $134 million.

Fletcher Building rose 28c to $6.88. 

“No bad news is good news for a number of investors, having seen successive earnings downgrades and profit warnings over the past year,” Hamilton Hindin Greene investment adviser Tom McBride says.

Fletcher today unveiled a new operating model, coming into force from July 1, which it says will reduce costs by $30 million a year, although it will also $85-95 million in one-off costs to the results for the year ending this month.

There was also an executive shakeup and the company said its Australian operations will become a single division.

Board changes will be announced tomorrow.

A2 gains
A2 Milk rose 41c to $12.15, while its supplier Synlait Milk climbed 27c to $11.01. 

“[A2 Milk has made] more of a recovery from its drop in share price on the back of Nestle getting more involved in the A2 space by exporting its own brand to China,” says Mr McBride.

“It’s no groundbreaking strategy from Fletcher Building but I think the overall strategy going forward is going to cut some costs out of their operating model and potentially lead to better decisions,” says Mr McBride.

Restaurant Brands fell 15c to $7.85. The company today told a shareholder meeting it will raise capital to fund its expansion into mainland US once it finds the right fast food franchise to buy.

Chief executive Russel Creedy told NBR it's looking at operating KFC and Taco Bell chains in California and is seeking a US-based director.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare soared 20c to $15.20 and Ryman Healthcare moved up 9c to $12.04.

Mr McBride says Pushpay, which rose 9c to $4.27, and Pacific Edge, which went up 2c, or 7.69%, to 28c were the “recovery stories” of the day.

Auckland International Airport climbed 18c to $6.90. Sky TV rose 9c to $2.42.

Over on the ASX, Xero was up $A2 to $A47.72 at 5pm NZST. 

Record high dismissals "fake news"
Separately in a blog post today, Mr McBride's colleague, adviser James Smalley, dismissed scepticism of record highs in the New Zealand share market as "fake news.

“While each investor’s share portfolio will be unique to their particular circumstances, media commentary of ‘record highs’ should not concern or prevent investors from investing in the market," he argues.