Stocks to watch: Skellerup, TeamTalk and Sky TV profit surges

Friday 19th February 2010

Skellerup shares surge 12.5% on the back of reporting stronger sales and effective cost control, TeamTalk shares climb on a positive first half profit and Mainfreight also reports a very good result. Sky TV attributes its profit increase to the success of the MYSKY HDi decoder.

Skellerup Holdings (NZX: SKL ): The maker of milking equipment and rubber goods, surged 12.5% to 54 cents yesterday, after announcing it had slowed the decline in earnings in the first half. There was "growing confidence that the second half of the current year would see a marked improvement in profitability," said chairman Selwyn Cushing.

TeamTalk (NZX: TTK ): The communications company yesterday said first-half profit jumped 38% to $1.98 million, reflecting a reduction in financial costs such as a reversal of IFRS related revaluations of interest rate hedges and significantly lower interest costs. Sales were little changed at $15.3 million.
The stock climbed 4.4% to $2.35 yesterday.

Mainfreight (NZX: MFT ): The biggest trucking firm on the bourse said EBITDA in the third quarter climbed 14.8% and it expects similar growth in the final three months of the year. “Most people have price targets well and truly north of where it is now,” said Rickey Ward, who helps manage $400 million at Tyndall Investment Management. “It’s a very good result.”
The shares gained 1.7% to $5.90 yesterday.

Sky Network Television (NZX: SKT ): The country’s only pay-TV operator boosted its first half profit 19% to $50.7 million amid rising residential satellite subscriptions which drove higher revenues. Chief executive John Fellet attributed the better result to the success of the MYSKY HDi decoder, which has a lower customer churn rate.
The shares rose 0.9% to $4.71 on the NZX yesterday, and are down 7.5% this year.

OceanaGold Corp. (NZX: OGC ): The operator of New Zealand’s biggest gold field at Macraes, plans to raise US$75 million selling securities to close out-of-the-money hedge contracts, it said yesterday. “By closing out the hedges now it gives us full leverage to the gold price,” spokesman Darren Klinck said.
Yesterday the shares were unchanged at $3.09.

Turners Auctions (NZX: TUA ): The second-hand car dealer boosted its net profit 207% to $3.3 million in the year ended Dec. 31 as it slashed expenses 14% to $65.8 million amid dwindling revenues. The shares last traded two days ago at $1.25.

Economic themes of the day: Stocks in Europe and the US extended their gains amid renewed optimism about the pace of the global recovery. An unexpected deficit in the UK's January public finances sparked fears the country may have its triple-A credit rating downgraded, and pushed the pound down to a month-low against the kiwi dollar.

Reserve Bank of Australia's Governor Glenn Stevens is testifying before Parliament today and is expected to give a fairly bullish assessment of the Australian economy.

Businesswire.co.nz

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