“There is good, cheap generation and lower long-term wholesale electricity prices. It will take a while for lower retail prices to follow and [this] will be masked by line charges going up.
“Transpower has to fund all the connections to the new renewable generation being built,” Goodson said.
There was further good news for the rural sector, with prices bouncing back 1.5% overall in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, following the previous 4.9% decline.
Whole milk powder lifted 1.6% to an average of US$3486 ($5986) a metric tonne, and skim milk powder was up 2.8% to US$3234/MT. The largest increase was buttermilk powder, rising 10.5% to US$4737/MT.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.74% to 52,224.64 points; the S&P 500 increased 0.89% to 7509.2; and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.29% to 25,837.21. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained 5.21% to 12,356.16 points.
Brent crude oil was trading higher at US$92.26 a barrel at 5.45pm NZ time.
At home, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare gained 71c or 1.82% to $39.82 on trade worth $17.63m; Fletcher Building increased 9c or 2.41% to $3.83; a2 Milk added 11c to $8.53; and Infratil was up 23c to $15.70 on the back of the rebound in AI stocks.
SkyCity rose 7.5c or 12.82% to 66c after announcing it has a conditional agreement for the sale of The Grand Hotel in Auckland. The deal needs the consent of the Overseas Investment Office, and SkyCity is expecting settlement late this year.
It’s understood the price for the hotel sale is in the vicinity of $250m, which would reduce SkyCity’s net debt of $594m by nearly half. Real estate agents are indicating there’s a strong appetite for New Zealand hotel assets.
The casino operator is targeting $200m of asset sales by February next year, and has already sold the 99 Albert St office building and investment properties on Victoria St for $74.5m.
Mercury Energy was up 9c to $6.79 after reporting an increased trading margin of $390m for the fourth quarter – up 33% on the previous corresponding period.
For the year to date, trading margin was up $269m to $1.42 billion, and generation increased 1163GWh to 9070GWh. The quarterly generation was up 339GWh to 2344GWh.
Mercury said all wind turbines at Kaiwera Downs stage 2 in Southland were installed, and the Kaiwaikawe wind farm in Northland was expected to be fully operational in the first half of the 2027 financial year.
Elsewhere in the energy sector, Meridian gained 4c to $5.67, and Contact decreased 15c to $9.10.
Other gainers were Vulcan Steel, increasing 20c or 3.26% to $6.33; Pacific Edge rising 1.5c or 5.88% to 27c; Synlait improving 1.5c or 3.95% to 39.5c; Heartland collecting 3c or 2.5% to $1.23; and Comvita adding 3.5c or 5.07% to 72.5c.
KMD Brands, up 2.5c to $1.69, told the market that group sales for the 2026 financial year are expected to be $1.04b-$1.044b, up 5% on the mid-point of the previous year. Operating earnings (ebitda) are expected to be $38m-$41m, up 123% on the 2025 full-year.
For the 24 weeks to July 19, Kathmandu sales were up 4.8% and Rip Curl’s were down 2.8% on subdued Australian consumer sentiment. Oboz shoe sales returned to growth in the fourth quarter as anticipated.
KMD said it was divesting its Southeast Asian manufacturing facility, with a phased production wind-down over 12 months, and it would fetch net property proceeds of between $5m and $7m and free up working capital of $6m.
New Zealand Rural Land Company was down 2.5c or 2.66% to 91.5c after telling the market it was owed $300,000 in rent from Kiwi Crunch Farms (now in receivership) at the end of June. It would not receive any more rental income or arrears until a new tenant was secured.
NZ Rural said Kiwi Crunch no longer intends to use the three properties in Hawke’s Bay and they are now under its control. Given the season, no significant operational on-orchard work is needed at present.
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