Stocks to watch: New Zealand equity preview

Thursday 22nd January 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 New Zealand dollar held below 53 US cents. Shares on Wall Street rose, recovering from the biggest Inauguration Day slump in history, on optimism US President Barack Obama's fiscal stimulus plans will help revive the world's biggest economy. Crude oil climbed 2.2% to US$41.74 a barrel.

Air New Zealand (AIR): The national airline may post an adjusted net profit of $93.7 million in the year ending June 30, down from $146.3 million last year, Goldman Sachs JBWere head of research Marcus Curley said, according to the Dominion Post. Its fuel hedge loss for the year would be about $333 million, Curley said. Separately, Emirates began offering return flight from Auckland to Sydney at $299 per person on its A380 jumbo aircraft. The stock fell 2 cents to 88 cents yesterday and has dropped 24% in the past six months.

Australian & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ): The lender's New Zealand shares fell 3.7% to $16.38 yesterday and Westpac Banking Corp. fell 2.1% to $18.60 as banks tumbled worldwide on concern they'll need more capital. US financials rebounded on the Dow Jones Industrial Average overnight, with Citigroup gaining 21% and Bank of America climbing 23% to US$6.23 on optimism Obama's plans will help banks.

Contact Energy (CEN): Rio Tinto said it has no plans to re-start the 30% of capacity at the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter shuttered two months ago. The drop in power demand at the smelter is expected to contribute to a decline in Contact's profit this year, chief executive David Baldwin said this week. The stock fell 6 cents to $6.60 yesterday.

New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZO): The oil company's shares climbed 3 cents to $1.24 yesterday. Crude oil gained on the New York Mercantile Exchange as stocks rebounded on Wall Street.

Zintel Group (ZIN): The telecommunications services and products company said it gained exclusive import and distribution rights for Hypercom Corp. products used to process Eftpos and credit card transactions. The shares last traded on the NZAX market on January 19 at 16 cents and are down 40% in the past 12 months.

By Jonathan Underhill

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