Stocks to watch: Auckland Airport, Nuplex, Telecom

Friday 28th August 2009

The following stocks may be active on the New Zealand exchange after developments since the close of trading yesterday.

Themes of the day: Shares on Wall Street rose after figures showed the U.S. economy shrank a smaller-than-expected 1% in the second quarter while jobless claims fell. The kiwi dollar climbed back toward 69 U.S. cents. Building consents for July are released by Statistics New Zealand today, with investors looking for improvement from the 9.5% decline in June.

Auckland International Airport (NZX: AIA ): The nation’s busiest gateway posted a 63% slump in full-year profit to $41.7 million, mainly reflecting a reduction in the fair value of property. EBITDA rose 1.6$ to $280 million and the airport kept its final dividend unchanged. The shares traded at $1.75 yesterday.

Burger Fuel Worldwide Ltd. (NZX: BFW ): The burger chain “weathered this difficult period well and although roll out of new stores was slow, existing store sales remained strong and we have driven some further growth in these in the last quarter ending June,” chairman Peter Brook told shareholders yesterday. The shares last traded at 30 cents on August 20.

Delegat’s Group Ltd. (NZX: DGL ): Annual revenue climbed 37% to $229 million and net profit jumped 57% to $30 million, the maker of Oyster Bay brand wines said today. The shares were at $2.17 yesterday and are up 0.5% in the past month.

Lyttelton Port Co. (NZX: LPC ): The South Island’s biggest port company posted a full-year profit of $10.05 million, little changed from the year-earlier $10.35 million, it said yesterday. Sales rose 1.2% to $84.42 million. Container volumes rose 3.7% to a record. The shares climbed 2.2% to $2.35 yesterday.

New Image Group Ltd. (NZX: NEW ): The health company yesterday said annual profit jumped to NZ$15.5 million from $2.2 million a year earlier. Chairman Graeme Clegg said the company expects a pick-up in revenue and trading this year. The shares jumped 16% to 72 cents yesterday.

Nuplex Industries (NPX): The specialty chemicals maker yesterday posted full-year earnings that beat its guidance and announced a special dividend. “Things are not storming along but recovering slowly,” said Alan Moore, who helps manage NZ$300 million at Milford Asset Management. “You’ve got to believe the global economy is improving and they are the sort of company that will benefit from it.” The stock jumped 8.8% to $2.35 yesterday, the biggest gain on the NZX 50.

PGG Wrightson (NZX: PGW ): The nation’s biggest rural services company yesterday reported an annual loss of $66.4 million and said it had to gain a waiver from its banks, giving it time to increase and lengthen its facilities. It hired First NZ Capital and UBS to help review its capital structure. The shares fell 6% to 79 cents, the lowest since Feb. 25, yesterday.

Telecom Corp. (NZX: TEL ): The Commerce Commission yesterday said it is investigating a potential breach of Telecom’s operational separation, but has yet to decide whether to pursue a full inquiry for anti-competitive behaviour. Separately today, the commission said it would defer an investigation into mobile roaming. The shares fell 1.5% to $2.71 yesterday.

Businesswire.co.nz

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