Stocks to watch: Fletcher Building's insulation, Telecom earnings

Friday 29th 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: Standard & Poor’s affirmed New Zealand’s AA+ credit rating and lifted the outlook to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’ after assessing the government’s plans to curb growth in debt. Stocks revived on Wall Street as Treasury bond yields retreated, easing concern the Federal Reserve won’t manage to keep a lid on borrowing costs.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances (NZX: FPA ): The appliance manufacturer climbed 2.9% to $1.06 yesterday, having soared from 66 cents on May 22, when it was halted for its capital raising. Stephen Wright, private client adviser at ASB Securities, said the company was “still in tough markets.”

Fletcher Building (NZX: FBU ): The nation’s largest construction and building products group stands to benefit from the government’s budget announcement of $323.3 million over four years to insulate homes and install clean heating devices such as heat pumps. The shares fell 10 cents to $6.30 yesterday.

Heritage Gold (NZX: HGD ): The operator of the Waihi gold operations posted a full-year loss of $678,000, reflecting mine development costs. Revenue rose 150% to $290,297. The shares rose 16% to 2.9 cents.

Mowbray Collectables (NZX: MOW ): The stamp and collectables dealer and auction house posted a full-year loss of $238,000 as revenue slipped 14%. Managing director John Mowbray said the group’s core business activities in New Zealand and the World Wide Fund for Nature Stamp Program in Australia traded profitably and within expectations. The Melbourne office of Mowbrays Australia traded poorly, and was a major contributor to the group deficit, he said. The shares trade infrequently and were last at $1.25 in September.

New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZX: NZO ): Crude oil climbed to a six-month high after OPEC left production quotas unchanged and figures showed U.S. inventories fell. Crude for July delivery rose 2.4% to US$64.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. NZOG shares fell 1 cent to $1.49 yesterday.

Telecom Corp. (NZX: TEL ): The phone company fell 3.5% to $2.52 yesterday. At analyst briefings in Sydney, New Zealand’s largest phone company forecast an adjusted net profit of $370 million to $410 million for the year ending June 30, 2010. That’s down from the $460 million and $500 million it expects to report this year. Earnings may rebound in 2011, it said.

Tower (NZX: TWR ): The insurer and fund manager posted a first-half profit of $26.6 million, 32% higher than a year earlier. General insurance was "encouraging" while heaqlth and life was impacted by lower level of returns from investment markets. The shares fell 4 cents to $1.57 yesterday.

Businesswire.co.nz

Comments from our readers

No comments yet