Big Wednesday was followed up by an almost bigger Thursday as the S&P/NZX 50 index sank under the weight of more red ink for ailing retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare and the discounted sale of a near-billion-dollar chunk of Ebos Group shares.
A flurry of earnings had some bright spots and some not as Goodman Property Trust and Mainfreight rounded out the big end of town reporting, with results from Trade Window Holdings, ikeGPS, Black Pearl Group, and Green Cross Health on the undercard.
And Fonterra Cooperative Group laid out a strong milk price forecast for the coming season as it raised the lower end of earnings guidance for the current financial year.
Meanwhile, stocks across Asia and US futures were broadly stronger after Nvidia’s latest result beat expectations and as US President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs were struck down by a court ruling.
Big block
The NZX50 dropped 80.95 points, or 0.7%, to 12,281.31, with 33 stocks declining, 14 gaining and three unchanged. Turnover was a chunky $1.13 billion across the main board, with Ebos accounting for $965 million of that after the Zuellig family sold down its stake in the healthcare products maker in a block trade run by UBS.
Ebos fell 4.2% to $37.30, still higher than the $35.50 price the Zuellig’s Sybos entity sold 26.7 million shares at. The scale of the trade weighed on the broader index.
“The growth profile isn’t what it used to be, but it’s a very good quality business that’s growing earnings,” said Jeremy Sullivan, an investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene. “It’s going to help with liquidity.”
Ryman Healthcare led by the bourse lower, sinking 7.9% to $2.22 after reporting a wider loss and negative free cash flow, with the books having to be restated over assumptions the firm made about its deferred management fees and the time residents stay with the operator.
“Having to go back and restate your financial accounts doesn’t inspire confidence that management have a handle on the business,” Sullivan said. And with the share price at a substantial discount to the net tangible asset value of $4.18 it might become interesting to potential suitors out there, he said.
Trucking through
On the other side of the ledger, Mainfreight rose 0.7% to $67 after reporting what it described as a satisfactory result, with pre-tax profit down 3% at $383.6 million, and noting the ongoing uncertainty from the new trade environment.
That got turned on its head by the US Court of International Trade striking down President Donald Trump’s global tariffs, saying he didn’t have the power to impose them, which stoked markets across Asia.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.2% in late trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1.6% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.8%. S&P 500 futures were pointing to a 1.6% gain when Wall Street opens, with a better-than-expected result from chipmaker Nvidia reviving investor optimism.
The kiwi traded at 59.42 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 59.61 cents at 7am and 59.47 cents yesterday.
Goodman Property Trust rounded out the majors reporting on the local bourse, slipping 0.3% to $1.915 after reporting a 5.2% increase in cash earnings and lifting its distributions to 6.5 cents per unit. The landlord also announced a new capital partnership for the Highbrook business park in Auckland.
Buttering up
Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units fell 1.9% to $6.13 after the dairy exporter unveiled its first forecast for the coming season of $10 per kilogram of milk solids. Fonterra raised the lower end of earnings guidance for the July year, with third-quarter earnings up 11%.
Among smaller companies reporting today, Trade Window rose 5.3% to 18 cents after lifting annual recurring revenue 38%, ikeGPS increased 1% to 97 cents after lifting revenue 19%, Black Pearl gained 5.6% to 75 cents with annual recurring revenue up 70%, and Green Cross Health jumped 6.4% to 83 cents as it lifted operating profit.
Trading of TruScreen shares was halted – with the stock last at 3 cents – as it seeks to raise $3 million through a placement and share purchase plan.
Meanwhile, Eroad extended its rally, rising 5.2% to $1.42, with one-time suitor Constellation Software selling its 19% stake at about $1.22 a share. The stock has surged 51% so far this week.
Heartland Group Holdings posted the biggest gain on the NZX50, up 2.6% at 79 cents.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Curious News.
