Stocks to watch: F&P Appliances, NZ Refining, Pike River , Telecom

Friday 25th September 2009

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

Themes of the day: Fisher & Paykel Appliances said it will miss earnings estimates in its prospectus and is in talks with its banks because the deterioration puts it outside the terms of its covenants. Stocks on Wall Street fell after sales of existing homes unexpectedly declined and central banks including the Federal Reserve announced they were curtailing liquidity measures that have flooded financial markets with dollars.

Auckland International Airport (AIA): The nation’s busiest gateway yesterday said international visitor arrivals fell 0.9% to 245,740 last month from August 2008. Those arriving from the US rose 3.9% to 9,158, the biggest increase in 12 months. The shares fell 1.1% to $1.25 yesterday.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances (FPA): Intense rivalry and depressed market conditions in the US mean the manufacturer’s first-half earnings will miss the target in the company’s prospectus for its share sale in May and outside the terms of its bank covenants. Normalised earnings before interest and tax are now expected $19 million to $24 million lower than the forecast, it said. It expects a 2010 net loss of $2 million to $5 million and is reviewing the carrying value of some assets. The shares fell 1 cent to 74 cents yesterday.

New Zealand Refining (NZR): Chairman David Jackson said the nation’s only refinery expects to operate at a loss in the second half because of the high kiwi dollar, pressure on margins and a planned four-week shut-down this month. “The worldwide supply of finished product is not something that the company caninfluence and refining margins will only recover as the supply-demand imbalances correct,” Jackson said in NZR’s first-half report. The shares fell 2% to $4.62 yesterday.

Pike River Coal (PRC): State-owned Solid Energy announced plans to team with fertilizer company Ravensdown to build a US$1 billion to US$1.5 billion plant in Southland converting lignite into urea. The shares fell 2 cents to $1 yesterday.

Pyne Gould Corp.(PGC): The shares tumbled 18% to 81 cents yesterday, reversing a similar-sized gain the previous day, when the investment and finance group announced plans to raise as much as $270 million selling shares at a 60% discount to restore a balance sheet eroded by write-downs on property loans.

Telecom Corp. (TEL): The Commerce Commission today said it will investigate whether the services Telecom provides to other telecommunications companies to be resold should be deregulated. “Regulatory intervention should be scaled back in areas where there is effective competition,” said Telecommunications Commissioner Dr Ross Patterson. “Nor should regulation impose or maintain burdens which are unnecessary.” The shares rose 1 cent to $2.62 yesterday.

Businesswire.co.nz

Comments from our readers

No comments yet