NZX50 rallies as F&P Healthcare intake overcomes Infratil’s exhale

The RBNZ policy review and government’s budget are keenly awaited.

Tuesday, May 26th 2026, 6:03PM

by Paul McBeth

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare led New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index higher as the medical device company beat earnings expectations and delivered a fatter dividend, overshadowing a sell-off for Infratil after the infrastructure investor’s monthly surge ran out of steam.

Stock markets across Asia were mixed and the kiwi dollar dipped against the greenback as the latest skirmish between the US and Iran prompted investors to second-guess President Donald Trump’s claim that peace talks were progressing nicely.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank’s policy review on Wednesday is expected to keep the official cash rate unchanged, with the yield on 10-year government bonds easing in the run up to the government’s budget on Thursday.

Elsewhere in the domestic earnings season, Goodman New Zealand nudged higher after raising its annual profit and dividend and Ryman Healthcare advanced as it continued to repair its balance sheet, while New Zealand King Salmon Investments surged after upgrading its annual guidance on a solid first-half result.

Yin and Yang

The NZX50 climbed 99.46 points, or 0.8%, to 13,069.74, with 27 stocks gaining, 19 falling and four unchanged. The S&P/NZX 20 index futures contract for June was unchanged at 7,405. The NZX20 rose 0.3% to 7,407.54.

Turnover across the main board was $165.5 million, of which Contact Energy accounted for $35.5 million as the most heavily traded stock on the day with a volume of 3.7 million shares. The power company slipped 1.1% to $9.35, the only one of the major electricity generator-retailers to fall on the day after the Electricity Authority said it would introduce non-discrimination obligations for the big four in selling hedges to independent retailers.

F&P Healthcare surged 9.1% to $36.73 in its biggest daily gain since August 2024 on a turnover of $29.2 million. The medical devices maker led the NZX50 higher after increasing its dividend as annual profit rose 24% and forecasting another year of double-digit earnings growth.

Meanwhile, Infratil dropped 5.1% to $15.17, with $24.5 million of stock traded, after lifting its share of earnings from its investments by 11% in the March year and projecting a 21% lift in the coming financial year. The decline was the steepest on the NZX50, slowing Infratil’s gain so far this month to 22%, in what’s shaping up to be its best month since December 2020.

“Our market was a bit of Yin and Yang with Infratil and Fisher & Paykel going head-to-head in terms of direction of our bourse,” said Jeremy Sullivan, an investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene. “Both had fantastic results.”

Among other companies reporting today, Goodman NZ increased 0.3% to $1.95 after lifting annual cash earnings 5.7% and raising its distributions 5%, while Ryman advanced 1.4% to $2.22 after reporting its first positive free cash flow result in a decade as it narrowed its operating loss.

Tim O’Loan, a research analyst at Amova Asset Management, said Ryman’s result was a solid step forward, with losses moderating and the balance sheet improving.

“What’s most important here is that the recovery is being driven by operating performance and cash flow, not asset revaluations,” O’Loan said in a note. “This shows that the business isn’t just a property play for investors, but also an age-care business which will benefit from the structural tailwinds from the ageing population.”

Summerset Group Holdings climbed 4.3% to $7.85.

Give peace a chance

Stock markets across Asia were mixed as investors digested the latest strikes between the US and Iran, cooling earlier optimism that a lasting peace might be near. The Polymarket prediction market was pricing in a 25% chance of a deal by the end of May and a 57% chance by the end of June.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.3% in late trading and Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 0.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.5% and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.6%. The kiwi dollar fell to 58.49 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 58.77 cents yesterday.

The Wednesday policy review by the Reserve Bank is expected to keep the official cash rate at 2.25% ahead of the government’s budget on Thursday, with finance minister Nicola Willis operating under a tighter operating allowance.

The yield on New Zealand’s 10-year government bond fell 3 basis points to 4.61%.

Hamilton Hindin Greene’s Sullivan said the central bank’s policy statement would probably have a “pretty hawkish” outlook, with the projected track the major focus for when the rate would start creeping higher.

Logistics firm Mainfreight’s annual result on Thursday would provide another clue as to the impact of the energy shock. The shares fell 0.8% to $58.

Outside the benchmark index, NZ King Salmon surged 16%, or 3.5 cents, to 25 cents after raising its annual guidance as it returned to profit in the first half.

Savor was unchanged at 19.5 cents after annual operating earnings were at the top end of guidance and shored up its balance sheet with a view to paying its first dividend later this year.

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand climbed 6% to $3.35 after outlining how it responded to the latest global uncertainty at today’s annual meeting. CDL Investments gained 4.5% to 70 cents after telling shareholders the property developer’s earnings would likely be considerably lower this year than in 2025.

Paul is a staff writer for Good Returns based in Wellington.

Tags: Market Close