15 Jul 2014

Confidence driving IPO demand

8:08 am on 15 July 2014

The strong demand for initial public offerings of shares to list on the NZX reflects confidence in the market and the strength of the New Zealand economy, an analyst says.

Forsyth Barr head of private wealth research Rob Mercer said the market was becoming more sophisticated in evaluating the financial positions of companies offering shares on the New Zealand stock exchange.

Both glass manufacturer Metro Performance Glass and apple grower Scales met some price resistence with their recent offerings of shares.

However, Mr Mercer said the prices reflected careful analysis of the fundamental strengths of the companies, rather than any market weakness.

"Most of the work that we've done has pointed to better value being at the lower end of the range," he said.

"We've got a market that's relatively full and fundamental, so it's a good time to bring new companies to market because the market is trading on high levels based on price-to-earnings ratios."

Current market median levels on a 12-month forecast were around 16.5, Mr Mercer said.