Stocks to watch: Air NZ profit plummets, Goodman Fielder sinks

Thursday 26th February 2009

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

Themes of the day: Stocks on Wall Street staged a late rebound after the Treasury released details of the so-called stress test program for lenders, driving financial companies higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.7% to 778.75 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 7387.65. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6% to 1449.39. Oil rebounded.

Air New Zealand (AIR): The national airline posted a 79% drop in first-half profit as waning demand for travel and freight services forced it to reduce capacity, while competition drove down fares. Fuel costs rose. The stock fell 2 cents to 81 cents yesterday.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (FPH): Caledonia (Private) Investments and associates reduced their holding in the medical equipment maker to 6.3% from 7.39%, according to a filing yesterday. The shares fell 0.6% to $3.20 yesterday and are up 5.4% this year.

Goodman Fielder (GFF): The owner of food brands including Quality Bakers and Ernest Adams dropped 19% to $1.45 yesterday, the biggest slide on the NZX 50 Index, after posting a 22% decline in first-half earnings and saying full-year earnings may weaken by about the same amount as the downturn spurs consumers to buy cheaper, unbranded processed foods.

New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZO): The oil company yesterday posted a 30% gain in first-half profit as revenue climbed 8% and it recognised a foreign exchange gain of $19.4 million. Revenue is likely to be lower in the second half, reflecting the drop in oil prices and lower output from the Tui oilfield. The shares rose 1.7% to $1.22 yesterday.

Pumpkin Patch (PPL): Shares of the children's clothing chain have rebounded since the company posted its results this week, showing earnings from its Australasian businesses that exceeded some analysts' estimates. The shares jumped 8.4% to $1.03 yesterday.

Turners & Growers (TUR): The fruit grower and packer yesterday posted a full-year profit of $14.1 million, little changed from a year earlier. Chairman Tony Gibbs said the company is "trading adequately" and so far hasn't been affected by the market downturn. The shares traded unchanged yesterday at $1.25

By Jonathan Underhill

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