MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares rise; Chorus, Comvita gain, Property for Industry falls

New Zealand shares rose in a trading day that started late because of a technical glitch at the exchange. Chorus, Comvita and Contact Energy gained while Property for Industry dropped.

The S&P/NZX50 Index gained 10.6 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,178.23. Within the index, 26 stocks rose, 16 fell and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $150 million.

The stock market opened late after IT connection problems caused an hour-and-a-half delay. The late start was due to problems in Wellington-based NZX's trading system and FIX gateway connections.

Chorus led the index, up 2.8 percent to $4.02. It beat first-half profit expectations and raised its forecast for annual earnings in February, although the shares dropped back after the result, having gained ahead of that.

"It has basically just made back everything they've lost since February, the result looking back was not outstanding," said Greg Easton, investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. "Their performance has been okay but it's not a company that's going to provide a lot of growth. It's going to have to maintain a very steady dividend to remain attractive."

Comvita rose 2.6 percent to $7.80 and Contact Energy gained 1.9 percent to $4.91.

Vista Group International advanced 1.7 percent to $5.55. It expects to generate "meaningful revenue" for its Movio analytics division after signing US cinema advertiser Screenvision Direct as a customer. The deal boosts Movio's market share of onscreen advertising, with Screenvision operating programmes across 15,000 screens in 2,400 US theatres.

Restaurant Brands gained 0.6 percent to $5.39. It has changed its corporate structure, splitting into three regional operating divisions following its acquisition of the largest fast-food operator in Hawaii. In April 2016, it bought the biggest KFC franchisee in New South Wales, Australia. These acquisitions have transformed the business into a more complex international company, which it expects to accelerate when it pursues future growth options, it said.

Property for Industry was the worst performer, down 1.3 percent to $1.58, while A2 Milk dropped 1.2 percent to $2.43.

Outside the benchmark index, New Zealand Oil & Gas was unchanged at 62.5 cents. The Wellington-based company plans to return $100 million of the $168 million it reaped on the sale of its stake in the Kupe oil and gas fields through a court-approved share cancellation. It signalled the payment when it sold the Kupe investment, and today said it will do so via a scheme of arrangement to cancel one out of every two shares for a payment of 62.7 cents per share. Part-paid shares issued as part of NZOG's employee share scheme won't participate in the capital return.

ASX-listed Downer EDI dipped 0.07 percent to $7.205. The Australian-based infrastructure and mining firm will become New Zealand's second biggest 'vertical' construction company after Fletcher Building with the acquisition of Hawkins from the McConnell family. The company said today it has agreed to acquire Hawkins with a settlement date of March 31 but didn't give a price, which was likely in a range of A$50 million to AS$100 million. Fletcher fell 1.1 percent to $9.52.

(BusinessDesk)