NZ sharemarket down 0.29%

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fluctuated between 12,308.34 and 12,353.64 before closing at 12,313.62, down 35.85 points or 0.29% following a late dip.

There were 86 gainers and 62 decliners over the whole market on volumes of 46.25 million share transactions worth $112.76m.

Comvita fell 10c, or 8.2%, to a 15-year low of $1.12 after reporting an unaudited full-year net loss of $16.8m, compared with a $13.1 m net profit in the previous year.

Continuing weakness in the Chinese market and a slowdown in other Asian markets meant Comvita’s revenue of $204.5m was below the previous guidance of $221m-$218m. Operating earnings (ebitda) of $17.1m were also behind the guidance of $23m-$28m.