Tourism Holdings has beaten its first half guidance, as it returns to profit on improved New Zealand tourism results despite a weaker Australian performance.
The shares jumped to their highest level in more than five years after the company said full-year profit would soar 175 per cent.
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 36 per cent to $NZ7.2 million ($A6.71 million) in the six months ended December 31, from $NZ5.3m a year earlier, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Net profit was $NZ2.5m, a turnaround from its $NZ466,000 loss a year earlier.
Sales climbed 3.5 per cent to $NZ112.3m.
The Auckland-based company, the largest holiday vehicle rental business in New Zealand and Australia, bought kiwi rivals United Campervans and KEA Campers in 2012 to reduce overall fleet numbers and improve margins.
In November, it said it expected first-half earnings would grow 25 per cent, as it saw the benefits of the merger and a stronger performance in its US market, which generated 88 per cent of EBIT in the period.
The shares rose 9.5 per cent to $NZ1.15 and earlier touched $NZ1.20, the highest since 2008, as the company said full-year profit would rise to $NZ10.5m from $NZ3.8m.
Tourism Holdings will pay an interim dividend of five NZ cents per share, up from two cents a year earlier.
In 2007, shareholders rejected a takeover bid by Australian company MFS Living and Leisure when the shares were at $NZ2.80.
The company's tourism division, which includes its Kiwi Experience backpacker bus service and Discover Waitomo group, reported a 16 per cent gain in first-half sales to $NZ10.3m as New Zealand benefited from record tourist numbers, while earnings more than doubled to $NZ1.7m.
Rentals New Zealand was the biggest division by revenue, up 31 per cent to $NZ38.4m. It narrowed its EBIT loss to $NZ2m from a $NZ2.2m deficit a year earlier as the company bedded in its merger.
Rentals Australia sales declined 20 per cent to $NZ38m and EBIT dropped 24 per cent to $NZ2.6m, hurt by a high kiwi dollar and challenging market conditions.
Rentals USA, which includes the Road Bear campervan business, lifted first-half sales by 12 per cent to $NZ25.6m while EBIT slipped to $NZ6.3m from $NZ6.4m.
