Ryman lift highlight of flat NZ sharemarket

By NZPA

Thursday 22nd February 2007

The highlight of the New Zealand sharemarket today was Ryman Healthcare's 14% rise after Australia's Babcock & Brown took a 6% stake.

Babcock & Brown bought 25 million shares in the company last night and 5 million today through an option over Ngai Tahu's stake, at $2.10 per share.

Ryman shares closed up 30c at $2.40.

Grant Williamson of Hamilton Hindin Greene said the move added speculation to the stock amid merger and acquisition activity in the sector.

"Babcock and Brown could be looking at the bigger picture and looking to continue to accumulate a decent-sized stake in the company," Williamson said.

The NZSX-50 benchmark index was down 6.01 points at 4089.77, on turnover valued at $161.3 million.

"Elsewhere on the market it's been pretty mixed," he said.

"The theme of the reporting season has been disappointment."

Telecom fell 9c to $4.82, Fletcher Building rose a cent to $10.84, and Contact Energy made up some of the ground lost earlier in the week to close up 18c at $8.58, ahead of its interim result tomorrow.

The country's biggest listed transport group, Mainfreight, lost 28c to a three-month low of $7.60. The company posted a 27% rise in nine-month profit, but said its New Zealand operations were below expectations for the third quarter.

"Very early days for them, it's only one quarter, so it's still considered a growth stock, and I wouldn't expect the market to sell it down much further than what we've already seen today," Williamson said.

The strong New Zealand dollar remained a concern for exporters, particularly Fisher & Paykel Healthcare which fell 7c to a five-month low of $3.95.

Auckland Airport fell 4c to $2.25 after a flat first half profit, which it had already flagged to the market.

Children's clothing company Pumpkin Patch, which on Tuesday reported a 6.4% rise in interim net profit, rose 8c to $4.39.

Resins maker and waste management company Nuplex Industries fell 4c to $7.00 after reporting a 78% fall in first half profit.

Australian stocks rose 0.9% to another record on the back of upgraded ratings for banks and upbeat company earnings.

In Japan, the Nikkei average gained 1.07% to top 18,000 for the first time in nearly seven years after the central bank raised interest rates but said further increases would be gradual.

Earlier in the US, blue-chip stocks fell after stronger-than-expected inflation data dimmed hopes for an interest-rate cut, while Hewlett-Packard failed to impress with its latest earnings report.

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