Stocks to watch: Briscoe, Comvita, OceanaGold

Friday 31st July 2009

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

Themes of the day: Crude oil jumped more than 5% after better-than-expected jobless figures in the US and stronger company earnings helped lift Wall Street and stoked optimism the global recession is abating. The kiwi dollar held above 65 US cents.

Briscoe Group (BGR): The diversified retailer posted 3.7% gain in second-quarter sales to $95.1 million. Its first-half results will show an improvement in gross margin and a net profit of at least $6 million, up from $3.1 million a year earlier. The shares rose 2 cents to $1.08 yesterday.

Comvita (CVT): The manufacturer of honey and pollen-based health products yesterday said it will avoid paying the ‘earnout’ component of the purchase price of an olive leaf extract business after it failed to meet a target for revenue growth. The company had agreed to pay A$26 million in cash and stock for the unit of Olive Products Australia, of which A$6 million was dependent of revenue growth of 65% over the two years from date of purchase in 2007, it said in a statement. The shares were unchanged at 87 cents yesterday and have declined 57% in the past year.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances (FPA): The appliance manufacturer is rated ‘outperform’ by First NZ Capital analyst Greg Main, according to the ShareChat website. The company recapitalisation has restored its balance sheet strength while it has gained a potentially valuable cornerstone shareholder and strategic partner in China's Haier Group, he says. “The potential to access the high-end Chinese appliance market provides some upside for FPA," Main says. Still, the drive into China is likely to be a longer-term goal. The shares rose 1.2% to 86 cents yesterday.

Fletcher Building (FBU): Australian home-building approvals recorded their biggest gain in four years last month, according to government figures yesterday. Lower borrowing costs and government grants probably helped fuel the increase, economists said. Permits to build or refurbish homes jumped 9.3% in June. The shares fell 0.6% to $7.03 yesterday.

NZ Farming Systems Uruguay (NZS): The shares jumped 8.5% to 51 cents yesterday, leading the NZX 50 higher as the tumble in the New Zealand dollar lifted companies that get their revenue overseas. NZ Farming Systems this week sold US$30 million of bonds to investors in the South American country, allowing it to continue with its dairy farm developments.

OceanaGold Corp. (OGC): The operator of the Macraes gold mine announced record first-half year gold production of 158,277 ounces at an average cash cost of US$349 per ounce. The shares rose 6 cents to $1.30 yesterday.

Businesswire.co.nz

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