Stocks to watch: Pike River Coal, Air NZ, ANZ, PGW, Telecom

Thursday 22nd April 2010

Pike River gets first $10 million away no trouble and Air NZ is returning to its schedule for flights to the UK. ANZ shares rose on reports that the lender is in talks to buy a controlling stake in a Seoul-based Korea Exchange Bank.

Pike River Coal (NZX: PRC ): The coal miner confirmed it had made a placement of $10 million, the first leg of its $50 million capital raising which includes a rights issue. The company has been forced to return to the market several times to get cash to continue mine development, though the coal it will produce is currently at strong global prices. The shares climbed 3.6% to $1.14 yesterday. New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZO), which owns 29.5% of Pike and is participating in the capital raising, yesterday rose 1.3% to $1.56.

Air New Zealand (NZX: AIR ): The national carrier is returning to its schedule for flights to the UK after airspace was re-opened, putting a dent in a backlog of passengers that built up while volcanic ash hung over Northern Europe. It had estimated the disruption was costing it $500,000 a day.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (NZX: ANZ ): The lender is in talks to buy a controlling stake in Seoul-based Korea Exchange Bank for about US$4 billion, according to Korean media reports, widening its expansion in Asia. The bank is eyeing the 51% stake of KEB owned by buyout firm Lone Star. The stocks rose 60 cents to $33.50 on the NZX yesterday.

PGG Wrightson (PGW): Rural Portfolio Investments disposed of about half its holding in New Zealand’s biggest rural services company, raising $27 million, according to a statement yesterday. The shares had been seen as an overhang in the market, said Craig Brown, who helps manage $3.3 billion at ING New Zealand. The stock rose 5.4% to 59 cents yesterday.

Telecom (NZX: TEL ): The shares are rated a ‘hold’ by Goldman Sachs JB Were analyst Tristan Joll, according to the ShareChat website. The company’s reduced profit guidance included items already flagged to the market. Joll had already lowered his 2011 earnings forecast to the mid-point of the company’s new guidance, at $1.75 billion. The shares were unchanged at $2.15 yesterday.

Economic themes of the day: Finance Minister Bill English is scheduled to give a pre-Budget speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce today, which may provide clues to the economic stimulus, or otherwise, that government tax and spending decisions will provide in the next 12 months.

Shares were mixed on Wall Street and in Europe amid resurgent worries about Greece's ability to avert a financial failure.

Businesswire.co.nz

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