Fisher & Paykel Healthcare's strong annual financial result surprised some commentators.
Heavyweight Fisher & Paykel Healthcare surprised some commentators with another strong annual financial result, driving the New Zealand sharemarket higher by more than 0.7%.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index reached a morning high of 13,182.35 following Fisher & Paykel’s bumper release, then cooled off in the afternoon to close at 13,069.74, up 99.46 points, or 0.77%.
There were 89 gainers and 50 decliners on the main board with volumes reaching 40.3 million shares worth $165.5 million.
Market leader Fisher & Paykel Healthcare surged $3.07 or 9.12% to $36.73 on trade worth $29.23m.
‘The odd one out’
Greg Smith, investment specialist with Generate, said there was relief around the Fisher & Paykel result.
“Several big healthcare names across the Tasman had issued earnings warnings, and Fisher & Paykel had been the odd one out. Instead, the company delivered another blockbuster result.
“It was a good outcome, with Fisher & Paykel adding another $1 billion and more to its market capitalisation [through the share price rise],” Smith said.
The medical devices supplier reported a 14% increase in revenue to $2.31 billion and a 24% rise in net profit to $468.5m for the 12 months ending March. It is paying a final dividend of 33c a share on July 3 – an increase of 38%.
The hospital product group revenue was up 18% to $1.51b despite a softer flu season in the United States, and the homecare division contributed $802.7m, up 8%.
Commentators were worried Fisher & Paykel’s margins would be squeezed, but instead they grew to 63.7%, up 80 basis points, including a 90-basis-point impact from US tariffs.
Fisher & Paykel forecast revenue of $2.45b-$2.57b and net profit of $500m-$550m for the 2027 financial year.
Infratil dropped 81c, or 5.07%, to $15.17 following its annual results, after a strong run in the lead-up. Infratil slipped behind Meridian Energy as the third-largest local stock by market capitalisation.
Smith said some investors were questioning how much of the artificial intelligence growth was already priced in, given that AI comes with a high spending price tag.
Proportionate capital expenditure was up 17% to $2.7b, and Infratil expects capex of between $3.8b and $4.4b in the 2027 financial year. Its operational earnings are in the range of $1.3b-$1.4b, up 21%.
Infratil reported an 11% increase in operating earnings (ebitdaf) to $989m for the 12 months ending March, primarily driven by its investments in Australian CDC data centres and US renewable energy business Longroad, which is supplying power to a Meta data centre.
The company said demand for efficient AI infrastructure was striking and may be the investment opportunity of a lifetime. Infratil is paying a final dividend of 13.65c a share on June 29.
Other stocks
Ryman Healthcare, up 3c to $2.22, reported full-year operating revenue of $849.1m, up 10%; operating earnings (ebitdaf) of $88.3m, a rise of 94% and a net loss of $171.3m.
Ryman, which owns 47 retirement villages with 9959 units, told the market that positive free cashflow of $188m was the first in a decade, following gross savings of $57m over the past two years.
Its net tangible assets were valued at $4.07b or $4 a share. Ryman had sales of 1410, 348 new and 1062 resale, down 7% from the previous year.
Summerset increased 32c or 4.25% to $7.85; Oceania Healthcare gained 2c or 2.74% to 75c; Fletcher Building was up 8c or 2.57% to $3.19; and Gentrack collected 12c or 3.23% to $3.83.
Vista Group was up 5c or 2.2% to $2.30; Blackpearl Group added 2c or 2.99% to 69c; Metro Performance Glass gained 5c or 4.76% to $1.10; and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels NZ increased 19c or 6.01% to $3.35 after holding its annual meeting.
The dual-listed banks edged upwards, ANZ adding $1.66, or 3.84%, to $44.88 and Westpac collecting 88c, or 1.9%, to $45.03.
Mainfreight was down 19c to $58; Ebos Group declined 55c or 2.72% to a near eight-year low of $19.69; and Port of Tauranga decreased 16c or 1.96% to $8.02.
NZ King Salmon Investments rose 3.5c or 16.28% to 25c after reporting a 6% increase in revenue to $100.25m and a turnaround from a loss of $20.8m to net profit of $13.81m for the six months ending March.
Sales volume increased to 2799 metric tonnes, from 2624MT. NZ King upgraded its full-year operating earnings (ebitda) guidance to $23m-$29m, up from $19m-$27m, but its harvest remains the same at 5800-6100MT.
Goodman NZ, up 0.005c to $1.95, reported full-year revenue of $233.9m, down 15.8% and operating earnings after tax of $127.6, up 2.1%. Goodman’s properties under management were valued at $4.9b following a $11.2m revaluation gain.
- Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our Business newsletter – your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.