[Market Close] Fonterra units jump on earnings guidance

Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund Units rose on New Zealand’s market today after the dairy co-op hiked its earnings guidance.

Thursday, December 8th 2022, 6:09PM

by BusinessDesk

Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund Units rose on New Zealand’s market today after the dairy co-op hiked its earnings guidance.

Today the S&P/NZX 50 index edged up by 6.2 points, or 0.05%, to 11,617.14. Turnover was $130 million.

The dairy co-op lifted its earnings guidance to 50-to-70 cents per share, implying earnings of between $806.2m and $1.13 billion, from 45-60 cents per share, or $725.5m-to-$967.4m.

Jeremy Sullivan, an investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene, told BusinessDesk that Fonterra’s news was the “story of the day”.

“They put a lot of money into our economy and it's a strong result from them,” he said.

“The earning per share of 50 to 70 cents was quite a wide guidance range to give – which would indicate the uncertainty that they're having in this trading environment. But I would expect that to flow through to increased dividends."

The units give outside investors access to Fonterra's earnings stream, whereas the shares are owned by farmers who are typically more focused on the milk price.

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund units jumped as high as 6% earlier in the day but closed up 4.7% to $3.14.

Air New Zealand jumped 2% to 78 cents after upgrading – and narrowing – the range of its earnings guidance in the first half of the current financial year, although it still remains wary about the full-year outlook.

The national carrier expects earnings before tax and “other significant items” to come in at between $275m and $325m in the six months to Dec 31.

Kiwi Property chair Mark Ford will step down from the company's board at its annual meeting next year after holding the position for 13 years, the company said in an update today. The stock was flat at 92.5 cents.

Rural Land Co still plans to expand its foreign investor base, the company reiterated at its annual meeting today, with its chair telling shareholders that productive and low carbon intensity rural land globally was an “increasingly scarce resource”.

“I am still surprised foreign investors seem to understand this better than many domestic investors,” independent chair Rob Campbell said. “Despite the critical role agriculture plays in our economy.”

Shares in Rural Land Co were up 2.9% to $1.08 by early evening.

Channel Infrastructure edged down 0.7% to $1.45 after it addressed the recent media coverage around the batch of jet fuel that had been imported by one of its customers into Marsden Point which after being tested was found to be off specification.

“When the product was identified the issue was immediately flagged with the fuel companies, and offloading of the product was stopped,” the company said.

Shares in tech company Black Pearl fell almost 5% when the market opened this morning after it was asked by NZ RegCo yesterday if it was still complying with NZX disclosure rules due to its share price plummeting 68% since it listed last Friday.

In a reply to Solarz this morning that was published on the NZX, Black Pearl’s chief financial officer, Karen Cargill, said the company “continues to comply with its continuous disclosure obligations”.

By the end of the day, the shares had slipped further and ended the day down by 7.1% to 39 cents.

NZ King Salmon's shares soared 16.3% to 25 cents. The stock has had an up-and-down week following two appeals being lodged against its open ocean farming project, Blue Endeavour.

Today, the NZ dollar was trading at 63.40 US cents at 3pm in Wellington, up from 63.16 US cents yesterday.

Tags: Market Close