Stocks to watch: Infratil, NZX, PFI, Telecom

Monday 2nd November 2009

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

Themes of the day: Shares dropped on Wall Street and in Europe on Friday as figures showed US consumer spending fell 0.5% last month and consumer sentiment weakened. Highlights of the weak include the Reserve Bank of Australia’s review of interest rates tomorrow, Fonterra’s latest online milk powder auction on Wednesday and the Household Labour Force Survey on Thursday. The kiwi dollar fell as the greenback strengthened.

Infratil (IFT): The investment group said it exercised its put option over its 90% shareholding in Luebeck Airport, with ownership transferring to the City of Luebeck. The put option allowed Infratil to force the city to buy back the shareholding if passenger numbers missed targets. The exercise price was 25.5 million euros, or $64 million. The shares rose 4 cents to $1.63 on Friday.

NZX (NZX): The bourse said conditions have been met for the purchase of the assets of Melbourne-based Clear Group, giving NZX control of its Grain Exchange and IT development. The initial purchase price is about A$ 6.4 million cash with additional payments payable based in the value of the exchange over three years. The shares rose 6 cents to $7.95 on Friday.

Property for Industry (PFI): The industrial property investor reported a 3.3% gain in nine-month operating profit of $11.9 million. The net result turned to a loss of $11.1 million, reflecting a reduction in the value of PFI’s portfolio. The shares fell 1 cents to $1.20 on Friday.

Pyne Gould Corp. (PGC): The shares rose 2.3% to 44 cents on Friday after the finance company announced plans to replace four directors, including chairman Sam Maling. Separately today, its Perpetual Asset management unit said it completed the acquisition of Marac’s impaired loans. Pyne plans to have “distinct and separate” boards for its perpetual and Marac units.

Restaurant Brands (RBD): The shares of the fast-food franchise holder are rated ‘outperform’ by Macquarie Equities analyst Warren Doak, according to the ShareChat website. Doak said the company’s transformation of its KFC stores “continues to deliver extraordinary returns.” Full-year profit before one-time items may surge 40% to $16.9 million. The shares rose 2 cents to $1.48 on Friday.

Telecom Corp. (TEL): The shares are rated ‘hold’ by Craigs Investment Partners analysts Geoff Zame and Ian Martin, according to the ShareChat website. The government strategy for ultra-fast broadband will likely encourage Telecom's competitors to participate, they said in a report. That would leave Telecom at risk of being “cherry-picked in major metro areas," they say. The shares fell 5 cents to $2.54 yesterday.

Businesswire.co.nz

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