Stocks to watch: Goodman Property, Guinness Peat, oil price

Friday 15th May 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 snapped a three-day slide, led by banks such as Citigroup, on optimism access to credit markets is starting to thaw. US initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose by 32,000 to 637,000 last week, reflecting plant closures by bankrupt automaker Chrysler. Crude oil fell for a second day.

Goodman Property Trust (GMT): The trust’s units rose 2.5% to 82 cents yesterday after the property investor reported a distributable profit of $83.8 million in the year ended March 31, up from $68.7 million a year earlier. Net income turned to a loss of $74 million, reflecting a $172.8 million reduction in the value of its property portfolio.

Guinness Peat Group (GPG): The diversified investment group released a simplified balance sheet as at May 4, showing the firm had $825 million in cash and valued its main Coats threadmaker unit at $782 million. Its UK share portfolio was valued at $251 million, Australian shares at $431 million and New Zealand at $199 million. The equity value amounts to $1.41 a share, it said. The shares fell 1 cent to 75 cents yesterday.

New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZO): Oil fell for a second day after the International Energy Agency cut its estimate for oil demand this year, which is predicts will dwindle to the lowest since 1981. The IEA said demand may slip to 83.2 million barrels a day this year, a 3% drop from 2008 levels. Crude oil for June delivery fell 2.5% to US$56.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Shares of NZOG fell 3 cents to $1.50 yesterday.

Pyne Gould Corp. (PGC): The company’s MARAC unit entered a partnership with Suzuki New Zealand to provide finance and insurance services to its customers. The Suzuki partnership “continues to strengthen MARAC’s position in the motoring market,” it said. Pyne Gould’s shares fell 2.3% to $2.20 and has soared 26% in the past week.

Xero (XRO): Operating revenue from subscriptions surged to $959,000 in the year ended March 31 from $134,000 a year earlier. Payments to suppliers and employees rose 52% to $8.36 million, resulting in a full-year loss of $6.75 million. The company is raising $23.2 million by selling shares to new and existing shareholders. The stock traded unchanged at $1.50 yesterday and has soared almost 75% this year.

Businesswire.co.nz

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