Stocks to watch: F&P Healthcare, Infratil, Kathmandu, Mainfreight

Thursday 19th November 2009

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

Themes of the day: Fisher & Paykel Healthcare reported record first-half sales and profit and gave an upbeat assessment of the remainder of the year, showing it squeeze earnings out of its sales of respirators and breathing masks even with a high kiwi dollar. Stocks on Wall Street slipped after an unexpected decline in housing starts and dimmer forecasts from two software companies.

Allied Farmers (NZX: ALF ): The rural and finance company climbed 6.1% to 35 cents yesterday after announcing a deal to acquire financial assets from Hanover and United Finance for about $400 million in stock, diluting existing holders to about 5%.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (NZX: FPH ): The company said it is “very encouraged” by the strength of sales, after posting a record first-half profit of $37 million. The company has revised its assumption for the kiwi dollar to average about 74 U.S. cents and still sees strong second-half profit. The shares rose 3 cents to $3.05 yesterday.

Infratil Ltd (NZX: IFT ): Negotiations for Infratil and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund to buy the Shell New Zealand assets will, come down to price, says McDouall Stuart, according to the ShareChat website. Shell's 17.1% stake in NZ Refining, at $208 million, is probably the most valuable of its New Zealand assets. Infratil was unchanged at $1.51 yesterday.

Kathmandu Group (NZX: KMD ): The outdoor equipment chain fell 3% to $2.14 yesterday, sliding to within 1 cent of its IPO price, having gained in its Friday trading debut.

Mainfreight Ltd (NZX: MFT ): The trucking company posted a 37% drop in first-half profit, though trading picked up in the second quarter. The stock jumped 5 cents to $5.65 yesterday and has climbed almost 15% this year, about matching the increase in the NZX 50.

NZ Windfarms (NZX: NWF ): The windfarm developer said it made a $1.8 million payment to Windflow Technology in recognition of progress in resolving their dispute over turbine specs. The shares were unchanged at 40 cents yesterday. Windflow (WTL) last traded at $1.20.

Businesswire.co.nz

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