Poultry producer Tegel Foods has begun trading on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges today at a premium to its issue price.
The company's shares opened at $1.69 each this morning, compared with the issue price of $1.55, which had valued the company at $552 million.
The company's chair James Ogden said the issue price was not too low.
"Setting the issue price at the lower end enabled us to keep the register nice and tight," he said.
The company was focused on growth, he said.
"Tegel has an established and growing export business, with premium quality exports to Australia, the Pacific Islands, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong, and continues to work with potential customers as it seeks to diversify its sales channels in existing markets and enter new international markets," he said.
The Tegel float is the first significant entry on the sharemarket this year.
