The New Zealand Growth Fund returned +4.5% in May, compared to its benchmark return of +2.7%.

Infratil (+26%) performed strongly again after announcing its CDC Data Centres business had signed a massive 555 megawatt contract with a US based customer, one of the largest ever data centre contracts in the region. It is further validation of CDC's strategy which has seen it build a large pipeline of campus-style data centres well suited to modern AI applications.

Vista (+38%) was the standout share price performer after announcing three separate contracts with major global cinema companies Cineworld (UK), Cinépolis Mexico, and Cinemex (also Mexico). Overall, this provides strong validation for Vista's strategy and firms up the near-term growth outlook.

Mainfreight (+10%) released its recent financial year's result in line with expectations, with profit before tax of $351 million. Higher staff bonuses and some unexpected one-off costs meant the underlying quality of the result was stronger than expected. The company noted that despite higher fuel costs in recent months, April and May trading has been well ahead of last year in its key New Zealand and Australia businesses.

a2 Milk (-24%) shares continued to underperform after the company announced a small voluntary recall of a limited number of US a2 Platinum infant formula due to the presence of cereulide. This is a vomiting-inducing toxin that has been found in several infant formula brands lately, linked to a global oil ingredient supplier. There has been no contamination of its products sold into the China market. This comes as the company continues to work through stock-outs in China, driven by increased regulatory testing requirements and a production backlog as flagged last month.