Stocks to watch: Hallenstein, Pyne Gould, Skellerup

Thursday 24th September 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 shed their gains in late trading, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 ending the session down 1% after the Federal Reserve signaled the end of its various efforts to underpin the world’s largest economy. Hallenstein Glasson Holdings posted a drop in earnings as margins shrank, following weaker results from Pumpkin Patch yesterday. Crude oil tumbled almost 4% and the kiwi dollar weakened to 71.84 U.S. cents.

Hallenstein Glasson Holdings (NZX: HLG ): The clothing chain reported a 19% decline in profit for the year ended August 1 as tough trading conditions shrank margins as sales rose. “The battle for market share has resulted in margin erosion,” chairman Warren Bell said today. The shares fell 3 cents to $2.93 yesterday.

Horizon Energy Distribution Ltd. (NZX: HED ): The Bay of Plenty-based lines business said a proposal by Marlborough Lines Ltd. to acquire 51% of the stock won’t succeed without the approval of majority owner Eastern Bay Energy Trust. The trust rejected proposals for mergers last year because of concern at loss of control and harm to regional employment, it said. The shares rose 4.8% to $3.25 yesterday. Marlborough is offering $3.96 per share.

New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZX: NZO ): Crude oil tumbled after a U.S. Energy Department report showed U.S. stockpiles unexpectedly rose by 2.86 million barrels to 335.6 million last week, while supplies of gasoline swelled. Crude oil for November delivery fell 3.9% to US$68.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. NZOG shares fell 1 cent to $1.63 yesterday.

Pyne Gould Corp. (NZX: PGC ): The finance company with ambitions to become a bank yesterday said it plans to raise as much as $270 million selling shares at a 60% discount, to restore a balance sheet eroded by write-downs on property loans. The equity raising includes a fully-underwritten six-for-one offer at 40 cents apiece to raise $237 million. The stock fell 1% at 99 cents yesterday.

Rakon Ltd. (NZX: RAK ): The manufacturer of components for navigation devices, tumbled 14% to $1.28 when its stock resumed trading yesterday after being halted for a $45 million placement to expand its Chinese manufacturing operations. The Auckland-based manufacturer sold the shares at $1.10 apiece.

Skellerup Holdings (NZX: SKL ): The manufacturer of rubber goods and milking equipment was the biggest gainer on the NZX 50 yesterday, rising 3.8% to 55 cents. The company’s underwritten rights issue for $21.5 million rights issue will resolve its debt issues, says Forsyth Barr analyst John Cairns, according to the ShareChat website. Cairns reduced his valuation on the stock to 74 cents from 82 cents to reflect the two-for-five issue.

Businesswire.co.nz

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