Chart looking great atm -- just waiting on some volume which I suspect will come in on the back of the quarterly.
Interesting read on NZ companies in the fin. 9Sp got a mention too
Share bargains on offer from New Zealand
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New Zealand's A2 Milk Company is among the best floats on ASX in the past few years.
by Tony Featherstone
Growth in New Zealand companies dual listing on ASX is creating opportunities to buy stocks that are re-rated as they attract a larger investor base.
Dozens of NZ companies have joined ASX in the past three years and others will follow as the initial public offerings (IPO) market improves in 2017.
NZ companies are dual listing on ASX to attract capital from Australian fund managers and benefit from higher share liquidity and market profile.
Nine of the top 10 NZ-listed companies by capitalisation and more than half of the top 50 have a primary listing on the NZ stock exchange (NZX) and a secondary listing on ASX. They include Air New Zealand, Auckland International Airport and Xero.
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NZ companies dual-listed on the ASX.
"NZ companies will continue to consider dual listing, particularly as their businesses grow in Australia," says Henry Chung, vice-president of investment banking at FNZC, a prominent NZ sharebroker. "A dual listing provides access to a significantly larger pool of potential investment because Australian fund managers often (their) restrict investment to ASX-listed stocks."
Fat Prophets' global head of research, Greg Smith, says: "We will see a lot more NZ companies, particularly small and mid-cap ones, dual listing on ASX. Some might even choose ASX as their primary listing in coming years."
The Auckland-based Smith says Australian investors should follow this trend. "Good-quality smaller companies are sometimes overlooked in New Zealand. Getting in front of a much larger investor base in Australia can help drive a share price re-rating." Investment mandate
Listing on ASX can expose NZ companies to some Australian fund managers that are required to invest in ASX-listed stocks to meet their investment mandate – and a capital pool estimated to be five times larger than that available for solely NZ-listed companies, a 2014 Orient Capital survey found.
Also, a dual listing can help NZ companies potentially achieve higher valuation multiples because there is a larger number of similar stocks in Australia for comparison. Some dual listings attract Australian stockbroking research coverage and greater promotion and profile.
Another driver of this trend is ASX's new category for dual listing, "NZ Foreign Exempt". The September 2015 change made it easier and cheaper for NZ companies listed on the NZ sharemarket's main board to dual list in Australia.
Chung says NZ companies suited to dual listing have growing Australian operations and are in industries well understood by investors here.
An example is the 2016 IPO of New Zealand King Salmon Investments, a small-cap company that has comparable peers in Australia through Tassal Group and Huon Aquaculture Group. The FNZC-advised company trades at a lower price-earnings multiple than Tassal and Huon.
Other small and mid-cap dual listings have performed well. Insurance provider CBL Corporation, cinema-software supplier Vista Group International and The A2 Milk Company are among the best floats on ASX in the past few years. Jewellery retailer Michael Hill International soared from a $1.05 issue price to $1.82 within months of its July 2016 ASX listing, but has retreated to $1.36 in a challenging retail market.
The large NZ privatisations are performing well. Mercury NZ (previously Mighty River Power) has a 23 per cent total return, Meridian Energy is up 28 per cent and Genesis Energy has returned 25 per cent over one year.
The fuel distributor Z Energy, another from the batch of 2013 NZ IPOs, has a 24 per cent return over one year.
But Chung says dual listing by NZ companies is no guarantee of share-price performance. "In nearly every case it would be artificial to say that the ASX listing alone achieved a valuation uplift, as it is normally announced together with another event, such as company results or a capital raising."
Some dual listings have burned investors. Trading in vocational educational provider Intueri Education Group, an investment disaster, is suspended. Several IPOs for dual-listed NZ companies this year are trading below their issue price on ASX.
NZ dual-listed stocks have collectively underperformed the ASX 200 index over 12 months, Smart Investor analysis shows, in line with a broader performance gap between NZ and Australian stocks. The benchmark S&P/NZ 50 index's 15 per cent total return compares to the 20 per cent return in the S&P/ASX 200 index over 12 months. Performance gap an opportunity
Fat Prophets' Greg Smith says this performance gap is an opportunity. "We see quite a few interesting dual-listed NZ stocks at current prices."
Fat Prophets, a long-term investor in Spark New Zealand, believes the telco remains undervalued. "Spark is our preferred dual-listed NZ stock," he says. "It's undergoing a well-executed transformation that is about rebranding, disrupting its market and digitising its services. Its strategy is a bit like Telstra's a few years back. Spark looks ready for its next leg of growth."
Smith also favours Michael Hill after its recent sell-off. "It's a good example of a NZ company that has its main base in Australia, is growing well but arguably did not get the attention it deserved when listed solely in NZ. We sold Michael Hill near its peak and think it looks a lot more attractive at the current price."
He says Genesis Energy is another preferred dual listing. "It has increased its stake in the Kupe oil and gas field, which differentiates it from other energy players. With the oil price improving, Genesis has good prospects."
Smith rates emerging data group, 9 Spokes International, despite its share-price weakness since listing in June 2016. "It's an interesting company. Most of 9 Spokes' sales are coming in international markets and it is signing up some good clients among larger financial and professional service firms."
Smith expects more micro-cap NZ stocks to offer opportunities for Australian investors in the next few years. "New Zealand has shown itself to be quite a good incubator of emerging companies. As many of them internationalise, a listing on an offshore exchange makes sense."
9SP Price at posting:
14.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held