MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares fall, led by Pumpkin Patch

MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares fall, led by Pumpkin Patch, on cautious consumers

Nov. 24 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand shares fell, led by children’s clothing chain Pumpkin Patch, amid concerns cautious consumers are making it hard for retailers to lift their margins. Cavalier rose after a court appeal against its plans to dominate the nation’s wool scouring was rejected.

The NZX 50 Index fell 27.568, or 0.8 percent, to 3241.097. Within the index, 35 stocks fell, 10 rose and five were unchanged. Turnover was $110 million.

Pumpkin Patch dropped 8.6 percent to 64 cents, having touched 62 cents, a record low the stock first reached earlier this month.

Retailers “have a lot of problems ahead,” said Alan Moore, a director at Milford Asset Management, “Retailing, fashion, it’s not just Pumpkin Patch. It is the same problems with Postie Plus.”

Postie Plus was unchanged at 25 cents after the clothing chain reported a 4.3 percent drop in first-quarter sales, blaming the changes to the school year to cater for the Rugby World Cup for sapping demand for school uniforms.

The Christchurch-based company’s sales were $23.97 million in the three months ended Oct. 31, down from $25.01 million a year earlier, it said in a statement.

Restaurant Brands, which operates the KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks chains in New Zealand, fell 3.3 percent to $2.06.

Chorus, the telecommunications network company spun off from Telecom, extended its advance in its second day of trading, gaining 2.8 percent to $3.30, and up from a listing price of $2.94.

Telecom, which is now a retailer of telecommunication services, fell 1 percent to $2.005. The company spun off Chorus in a one-for-five bonus issue, allowing the company to participate in the roll out of the government’s high-speed broadband network.

Auckland International Airport, the nation’s busiest gateway, fell 1.5percent to $2.315. Auckland International Airport, the country’s major gateway, lifted the number of international passengers by 9.3 percent in October, making up for a decline in domestic travelers.

International passengers rose to 634,994 excluding transits in October, from 581,088 in the same month last year, helped by Rugby World Cup visitors. The volume of overseas passengers climbed 5.8 percent in September.

Rakon, which makes components for navigation systems, rose 5.6 percent to 57 cents, gaining from a record low. On Nov. 15, Rakon said the high New Zealand dollar contributed to a $3.5 million first-half loss.

PGG Wrightson rose 5.4 percent to 35 cents.

Cavalier, the carpet maker, rose 0.9 percent to $2.23 after the High Court in Wellington dismissed an appeal against the regulatory approval for an acquisition that would give Cavalier Wool Holdings the ability to build a wool scouring monopoly in New Zealand.

Judge Jillian Mallon and lay member Kerrin Vautier turned down carpet maker Godfrey Hirst’s appeal against a Commerce Commission decision that would let CWH buy rival NZ Wool Services International and become the nation’s only scourer, Cavalier Corp said today. The full decision is with counsel, and will be published once confidential information has been deleted.

CWH is half-owned by Cavalier.

(BusinessDesk)

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