Stocks to watch: NZOG, Kathmandu, Wool Equities, TrustPower

Thursday 7th January 2010

The following stocks may be active on the New Zealand exchange after developments since the close of trading yesterday.

Themes of the day: Trading remains light as the holiday season continues. Christmas spending figures from eftpos operator Paymark confirm that the traditional Yuletide spend-up was more subdued than usual. With fuel purchases removed, total consumer spending measured by Paymark increased 2.6% on December 2008, well below the double digit growth seen in the same months in 2006 and 2007. U.S. stock prices were in a holding pattern overnight, awaiting the release today of new jobs data and notes from the Federal Reserve Board's December meeting confirming "exceptionally low" interest rates for an extended period of time. November trade figurds are due out this morning.

Kathmandu Holdings Ltd (NZX: KMD ): The outdoor equipment and clothing company has already taken a significant knock on its share price in early trading this year, and the Paymark eftpos data from December shows little of the traditional seasonal lift in spending on outdoor and camping equipment. The shares traded down to $1.94 yesterday, compared to the $2.13 issue price in the initial public offering in November;

New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd. (NZX: NZO ): U.S. crude for February delivery fell 0.35% to US$81.47 a barrel, closing at its highest level since October 2008. Shares in the New Zealand oil and gas explorer shed 1.2% to $1.65 in trading yesterday;

Postie Plus Group Ltd. (NZX: PPG ): The mail order clothing company is exposed to relatively weak consumer spending and its share price has slipped from 45 cents at the end of November to trade last at 38 cents;

TrustPower Ltd. (NZX: TPW ): Heavy rains over the last month in key hydro catchments in both the North and South Islands suggest no prospect of winter shortages in 2010, with the likely impact of maintaining downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices. TrustPower sells more electricity than it produces. The shares last traded at $7.29;

Wool Equities Ltd. (NZX: WEL ): The investment company that focuses on wool products was turned down by the government’s primary growth partnership to fund a high-quality wool manufacturing venture, The Press newspaper reported. Wool Equities would’ve matched an initial $500,000 kickstart, with a goal of raising up to $10 million from government and its industry partners if the proposal went ahead. The shares, which trade infrequently, last traded at 29 cents on Dec. 29 having slumped almost 90% last September when the board was ousted by Wool Advancement Group.

Businesswire.co.nz

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