NZ shares flatline in light trading; Fonterra sinks after dropping dividend
The S&P/NZX 50 Index decreased 0.47 of a point, or 0.004 percent, to 10,872.74. Within the index, 25 stocks rose, 18 fell and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $92.2 million, with five companies trading on volumes of more than a million shares.
Contact decreased 0.5 percent to $8.26 on a volume of 1.3 million shares after reporting a 12 percent increase in operating earnings and met expectations with a final dividend of 23 cents per share.
"It was a reasonable result and in line with what the market was expecting as well," said Peter McIntyre, an investment advisor at Craigs Investment Partners. "There was a bit of talk about margin pressure with regards to the retail side of business, but every gen-tailer is finding that."
Fonterra Shareholders' Fund units led the market lower, down 5.1 percent at $3.57 on a volume of 411,000, more than twice its 90-day average of 175,000. Fonterra Cooperative Group said it will report an annual loss of up to $675 million after booking more than $800 million on assets worldwide, including its New Zealand consumer business.
Click the button below to subscribe and will have free unlimited access for a limited time to full article and all other articles on the site.
You will also be able to comment on articles on Good Returns.
![[Weekly Wrap] KiwiSaver in play; but outcome unclear](https://goodreturns.publit.io/file/c_fill,w_300,h_200/0ad582e4-c9a3-4692-bbe2-62d928f77fd2.jpg)
