NZ stocks end firm after Sky, Vulcan, annual meetings
New Zealand share prices ended firmly after annual meetings from NZX index constituent stocks offered some optimism about the future and no nasty surprises.
Friday, October 31st 2025, 6:53PM
by BusinessDesk
The S&P/NZX 50 Index ended 89.03 points or 0.66% up at 13,548.32, with 37.05 million shares, worth $144m, trading.
Over the month, the index has gained 1.9%.
On the day, there were 84 rises and 54 falls on the main board.
Fisher and Paykel Healthcare (FPH), the market’s biggest stock, rose 65c or 1.8% to $37.10.
Harbour Asset Management portfolio manager Shane Solly said FPH had gained on the back of a positive earnings report from its main competitor, Australian-US firm ResMed, which reported a 9% increase in revenue for the first quarter.
A number of annual meetings on the day offered investors some reassurance in a difficult market for most.
“Today is another day where maintaining conservative guidances seems to be the thematic coming through,” Solly said.
Tough year for Sky
Beaten-up casino operator SkyCity Entertainment Group told shareholders at its annual meeting that 2025 had been a difficult year and that 2026 was likely to be the trough.
However, CEO Jason Walbridge said the company was positive about 2027, with the new NZ International Convention Centre likely to deliver a full year of events.
SkyCity reaffirmed its forecast of $190m to $210m in ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) for 2026.
The stock ended half a cent higher at 73c - off its peak of 74.5c.
“They (SkyCity) are saying they’re not seeing any change in consumer spending, and you can read that in two ways,” Solly said.
“It’s not getting worse, but maybe it’s not getting better,” Solly said.
Port of Tauranga lifts
Port of Tauranga ended 3c higher at $7.86 after its annual meeting.
The company said its volumes for the first quarter were 6.6 million tonnes, up 5.9% on the same quarter last year.
Total container volumes were 319,000 TEU (20 foot equivalents), up 9% on the same quarter last year.
“Based on the first quarter’s results, and notwithstanding any significant changes to trading conditions, we expect full-year underlying earnings to be in the range of $137m to 147m,” the company said.
Solly said the port’s update was a bit lower than market expectations.
“On the one hand, they’re saying volumes are probably better than what most folk in the market were expecting, but the guidance was below the mean of consensus expectations [$148.3m].”
Vulcan drops
Vulcan Steel dropped 43c or 5% to $8.12 after its annual meeting, where it said its first quarter revenue was down 3% year-on-year, driven by a lower average selling price.
Overall, the volume of activity for the group looked to be stabilising over the quarter, with the pace of recovery expected to strengthen in the second half, it said.
“They’re saying the thing that many businesses have been saying ... it’s a very uneven recovery in the economy. Construction infrastructure is slow," Solly said.
Aussie interest in IkeGPS
Tech company IkeGPS gained 8.5c to $1.26.
Solly said the company looked to be on the radar screens of some Australia-based institutions.
He pointed out IkeGPS had rallied by 38c since its last capital raise, which was done at 88c/share.
| « Freightways outlook and Fonterra vote drive upbeat day | NZ stocks ride wave of 2026 optimism » |
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