The Commerce Commission quietly published a two-month-old letter to petrol station chain Mobil Oil New Zealand warning the transport fuels firm over disclosure issues the regulator reckons fell short of requirements.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index rallied into Friday, shaking off a broader downturn across Asia with US-exposed Infratil and Skellerup Holdings leading the benchmark higher.
That wasn’t enough to keep the NZX50 in the green for the week, and utilities software firm Gentrack posted its worst week in almost four years with a late slide after losing an Australian customer that it doesn’t think is material to earnings.
And across the Tasman, coal miner Bathurst Resources gave a very brief update on its courtroom stoush with shareholder and joint venture partner Talley’s Group, with respective strike-out claims by the competing parties striking out with the judge.
Quiet regulation
The Commerce Commission published a May 22 letter to Mobil on its website, warning the petrol station chain that the regulator’s taken the view the company breached its disclosure duties in what it describes as “recurring and ongoing” compliance issues, despite the commission's efforts to help the transport fuels firm.
The regulator decided to settle on a public warning letter, acknowledging some of the proactive steps Mobil’s taken to address the issues, but noting that was only once the commission pointed out information was missing and that the regulator found another undisclosed wholesale contract after Mobil made assurances its non-disclosure issues were fixed.
The NZX50 gained 48.33 points, or 0.4% to 12,853.46, with 24 stocks gaining, 22 declining, and four unchanged. Turnover across the main board was $94.4 million.
Infratil led the local market higher, up 2.3% at $11.45 and Skellerup rose 2.3% to $4.95. Investors regained some of their confidence earlier this week after US President Donald Trump cut a trade deal with Japan to soften the looming tariffs faced by the Asian nation, and European officials have been working to match a similar agreement.
Contact Energy rose 0.7% to $9.10 after Macquarie analysts resumed coverage of the stock, rating the power company an ‘outperform’ with a price target of $11.53.
New Zealand’s gain stood out with most stock markets weaker across Asia as that optimism about Japan’s trade deal with the US started to peter out. The NZX50 ended the week down 0.2%.
Slippery slope
Gentrack posted the biggest decline on the day, sliding 5.5% to $10.52 after saying an Australian customer told the New Zealand firm it’s no longer part of the process to replace its platform. Gentrack shares were down 12% this week, their biggest weekly decline since September 2021.
KMD Brands fell 1.9% to 26 cents after tapping Qantas Airways exec Carla Webb-Sear as its new chief financial officer, starting in August.
Fletcher Building slipped 1% to $2.98 after getting its Baa3 credit rating affirmed by Moody’s Investors Service. Of the almost 1.4 million shares that changed hands today, about 1.1 million were traded in a single transaction at $3 a share.
Air New Zealand slipped 0.9% to 58 cents, with airlines broadly weaker after soft results in the US from American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. ASX-listed Qantas was down 0.4% in late trading, while Virgin Australia fell 1.1%. Auckland International Airport increased 0.6% to $7.67.
ASX-listed coal miner Bathurst Resources eased from a four-month high after saying the High Court rejected strike-out claims by itself and Talley’s Group in their dispute over their joint venture.
Outside the benchmark index, ikeGPS was the most heavily traded stock on a volume of almost 3 million shares, ending the day unchanged at $1.03.
Metro Performance Glass rose 6.4%, or 0.3 of a cent, to 5 cents after the Commerce Commission released a statement of issues, identifying potential competition issues in the glass products maker’s unwanted attention from rival Viridian NZ, which is owned by private equity firm Crescent Capital.
On the Catalist junior market, Punakaiki Fund shares rose to a provisional $26.37 in the latest auction, from $24.99 in the previous event. That’s a discount to the $33.50 price in its most recent capital raising.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Curious News.
