Stocks to Watch: AMP Office, NZ Oil & Gas, Fletcher

Friday 13th March 2009

Themes of the day: Bank of America led a rally on the Dow Jones industrial Average after chief executive Kenneth Lewis followed his counterpart at Citigroup and said the biggest U.S. bank was profitable in the first two months of the year and would continue to earn money in the full year. The price of crude oil jumped 11%. The New Zealand dollar climbed above 52 U.S. cents on the prospect of an end to New Zealand�s steep interest rate easing cycle.

New Zealand�s third-largest listed property trust yesterday said the value of its property portfolio has been reduced by 10.6% as a result of its latest independent valuation. The portfolio fell by NZ$166.9 million to NZ$1.4 billion in the nine months ended March 31, the trust said in a statement. AMP Office�s units were unchanged at 95 cents yesterday.

Fletcher Building (FBU): Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard told the parliament�s finance select committee the he expects house prices to extend their slide this year. �We think on the housing side, new building troughed at the end of the first half this year,� he said. �Prices for houses keep dropping through to the end of this year."

New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd. (NZO): Crude oil jumped 11% to US$47.03 a barrel in New York ahead of OPEC�s meeting this weekend, which will likely reiterate cuts to production. The shares rose 1 cent to NZ$1.43 yesterday.

Pike River Coal Ltd. (PRC): The South Island coalminer which is tapping investors for more funds has dismissed a prediction by UBS that coal prices could plummet to as low as US$85 per metric ton this year, BusinessDay reports. Mines general manager Peter Whittall said the figure was outrageously low, and the industry was forecasting between US$120 and US$150. Shares in the company climbed 2.7% to 75 N.Z. cents yesterday.

Restaurant Brands New Zealand (RBD): The fast-food retailer was unchanged at 70 cents yesterday after reporting that same-store sales rose 3.9% in the fourth quarter, with total revenue in the 13 weeks ended March 2 climbing 1.5% to US$77.2 million

Telecom Corp. (TEL): The largest listed company in New Zealand is continuing to roll out its next generation network, having completed its first IP phone call on one of its landlines. Its rivals have accused its refusal to set a definite timetable for going all-IP as hindering competition, the NBR reports. Its stock fell 1.3% to NZ$2.35 in yesterday�s trading.

Warehouse Group (WHS): The biggest retailer on the NZX 50 yesterday posted a drop in first-half profit to NZ$49 million from NZ$64.3 million a year earlier. The results included a NZ$7.4 million charge to exit from fresh food and liquor sales. Group revenue fell 2.9% to NZ$923.5 million and the company held its first-half dividend unchanged at 15.5 cents per share. The shares fell about 2% to NZ$3.45 yesterday.

Businesswire.co.nz

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