Stocks to watch: Infratil, Lion Nathan, NZX, Wrightson

Friday 24th 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: The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 9000 for the first time since January, on a surprise pickup in US home resales and better than expected results from Ford Motor Co. and AT&T. The kiwi dollar headed for its second weekly advanced and was recently at 65.40 US cents.

Infratil (IFT): The investment group that controls TrustPower, climbed 1.7% to $1.77. The company’s manager, HL Morrison & Co., today said the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation had confirmed its commitment to invest $100 million in its $500 million Public Infrastructure Partnership Fund, or PIP.

Lion Nathan (LNN): The brewer's Australian beer volumes rose 6% in the three months through June 30 from a year earlier, reflecting an increase in the tax on spirits, brokerage Credit Suisse said, according to the ShareChat website. The increase also reflects a full quarter of sales from its Boags unit, versus two and a half months a year earlier, it said. It expects the takeover by Japan’s Kirin to close as scheduled in October. The stock edged up 0.1% to $14.51 on the NZX yesterday.

NZX (NZX): The chairman of Fonterra Cooperative Group, Henry van der Heyden, stepped down as a director of the stock exchange company, citing perceived conflict of interest as NZX prepares to launch milk powder futures contracts and deepens its involvement in the primary sector. NZX shares fell 3 cents to $7.50 yesterday.

PGG Wrightson (PGW): The nation’s biggest rural services company yesterday fell 4.1% to 94 cents, the biggest decline on the NZX 50, after Craig Norgate stood down as chairman, in favour of Keith Smith, who isn’t aligned to a major shareholder. Norgate’s Rural Portfolio Investments, which he owns with Baird McConnon holds 27.5% of Wrightson.

Sealegs Corp. (SLG): The maker of amphibious boats said it got an order for four vessels from the Commissioner of Police in Mumbai, to patrol the Indian city’s waterways. Chief executive David McKee Wright said the sales resulted from close co-operation with the company's reseller in India, New Wave Distributors. The stock was unchanged at 12.5 cents a share yesterday.

Solution Dynamics (SDL): Sales in the 12 months through June 30 were a lower-than-forecast $10.5 million for loss of about $250,000, unchanged from a year earlier. The company said the shortfall reflects smaller-than-expected Dejay licence sales in the second half. Sales prospects remain strong and it recently made a sale to a large mail house in Asia and will shortly go live with a hosting service in the UK. The shares last traded at 40 cents on June 3.

Businesswire.co.nz

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