Stocks to watch: Pike River, NZX, Smiths City

Wednesday 20th May 2009

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

Themes of the day: Stocks edged lower on Wall Street after figures showed US housing starts sank to a record low last month, led by a slide in apartments and condominiums. The kiwi dollar held above 60 US cents.

NZX (NZX): The stock exchange operator plans to establish a trans-Tasman small cap market via its acquisition of 50.1% of NSX, according to its prospectus to raise $20.55 million in a one-for-five rights issue. The shares were unchanged at $8.25 yesterday and has surged 52% this year.

Pike River Coal (PRC): The coal miner yesterday said it had put its first heavy coal cutting machine back into action after completing a temporary ventilation hole while the main vent is restored following a cave-in. As of yesterday, the Alimak raise – an angled bypass to the main damaged shaft – was 58% complete, the company said. CEO Gordon Ward said he expected to have all three mining machines cutting coal by early June. Pike was unchanged at $1.03 yesterday and has gained 19% this year.

Smiths City Group (SCY): The Christchurch-based department store operator said sales in the six months to April fell 5.7% to $113million, while same-store sales fell 4.5%. The retailer said sales grew at the expense of margin in a “highly competitive market” and full-year profit would be “substantially down” on last year. The stock was unchanged at 35 cents yesterday and has gained 13% in the past month.

Widespread Portfolios (WID): The minerals investment group said there are signs the Vietnam government may reduce a proposed 20% tariff on nickel exports, a move that would enhance the viability of the Ban Phuc nickel mine. The mine is controlled by Asian Mineral Resources, Widespread’s biggest investment.

Businesswire.co.nz

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